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Sunday, December 14, 2008

Books Galore

(Maybe this post should be titled 'Heidi's Addiction.')

Levi said the funniest thing the other day. It was something along the lines of, 'I've run out of books to read.' Granted, this boy is a voracious reader, but I have something to admit to you. I have an addiction. A book buying addiction. I've had it for many years. It will take a long time for Levi to get through the books I've purchased.

His comment did inspire me to share the book collection with y'all, though. Below is what I would lovingly refer to as 'the book tower.' It is the main collection of children's books (picture books, anthologies, easy readers, first chapter books, up to young adult fiction). It resides in the boys' bedroom and is within reach of Levi's bunk. Unfortunately, it is also within reach of Leif, who happens to enjoy stripping multiple shelves of books onto the floor.

(As a side note, the bookcase is very firmly bolted to the wall. This is very important since the boys like to use it as a ladder to reach the top bunk. Thank you, Dad, for making it so sturdy. It has lasted twenty years, so far!)

It seems as if I need to weed out the collection or find space for a second bookshelf. (Or stop buying books, heaven forbid.)
This next picture shows the incredibly distressed bookshelf of incredibly distressed board books. They have been, ahem, well loved. By you-know-whom.
And then there are the 'school books' in the 'school room.' I'm ordering (well, wish-list type ordering) custom built bookshelves to fill this space floor to ceiling (and all the way to the window on the right). Dad? Dad, are you there?
On the left, we have reference type books on the top shelf and four shelves of history and literature divided by time periods.
The right shelf holds a wider selection of Childcraft Encyclopedias, Math, Language Arts, Languages, Art, Music, Geography, Bible, and miscellaneous. The bottom shelf is full of science books. (Hmmm. Now that I think of it, I have a drawer full of beginning readers in the school room, too.)
The books we are currently using for lessons find their way to the stacks on the desk behind the couch along with library books and videos.
Our Christmas books are currently living in a basket on the ottoman.
And on the little table next to the couch.
And the music-related Christmas books are living on the piano with Levi's lesson books.
Just for fun, my 'pretty books' are on the shelf near the kitchen, along with cookbooks, decorating books, coffee table books, and gardening books.
But where do The Count of Monte Cristo, Pride and Prejudice, Ender's Game, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and Uncle Tom's Cabin live? Maybe in another installment...


The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants...

~Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

16 comments:

*~Dani~* said...

That is a lot of books! But you made me feel better but my ever growing book collection. I,too, need more bookcases. Now, if I could just get a chance to read them all, I would be very happy!

Shell in your Pocket said...

I have lots of books too! I love them...especially Children's books!
-sandy toes

SuperMomto3 said...

Oh my goodness, I'm jealous!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE books!! I worked in a library for years when I was in high school, and my favorite area was the children's room - I knew every book that was there! For financial (and space) limitations I've curbed my spending in that area, but we visit our VERY large library near us at least 3-4 times a month.
I have a bookcase to put in the big kids room but I've hesitated for fear of the baby throwing all the books on the floor - you have more patience than I do! LOL! We do have baskets in their rooms full of books, and I'm lucky enough to have very deep closets with shelves behind the hanging space, and that's where I store all the rest of the books we have(rotating them as the seasons and/or their ability change). Thanks for letting us see your books!
BTW, glad to hear your mom is feeling better!

Anonymous said...

Looks like we have a similar addiction! We too have books everywhere. Our bedroom has three walls covered with shelves for our books, thanks to my hubby. We live in a small house that's about the size of yours from what I can tell. I wonder what I'm going to do with all the books we'll have when I start homeschooling (which is still in the distance, since my boys are but 19 mo.). But, all that to say your house gives me hope we can pack our place out with even more books in the future! :)

Skeller said...

Hey! I've got that same addiction. The only problem being (besides the dust that I'm not very vigilant about removing from all those tops & spines!): I'm outta bookshelves. And the stacks of leftovers are sprinkled throughout the house and growing ...

Kathy said...

wow Heidi! you do have a lot! I thought we had a lot of books but we have nothing compared to your collection! well, there are far worse things to be addicted to ... at least books are valuable treasures! =)

Jen~ Lipstick and Laundry said...

Oh Heidi I LOVE this post... I thought I had a lot of books... I love the dad~made book shelf... AMAZING...

Unknown said...

reminiscent of home... when we moved into this heritage home that needed SO MUCH work, the first thing that happened was wall to wall, ceiling to floor bookshelves with a window seat in the upstairs landing because there was NO SPACE for our oodles of books. I also have an "on order from hubby" 3 walled bookshelf design for our schoolroom and kids all have one shelf in their room.

I sometimes think the only material possessions I would mourn the loss of in case of a house fire would be books and photos...

Trish said...

LOL. I love this post, Heidi. You're not even sheepish. I love how you showcase your ability to stack as many as possible on one shelf.

I tell Todd that all of us girls (and Nate) inherited that from our mothers. Todd is very concerned that our house may be sinking from the weight of my books.

Anyway, you made me smile today and I will not be ashamed of my own problem with books (ahem) anymore. Merry Christmas!

Trish

http://www.trishlawrence.com/blog

Joni said...

Just HAD to hand my laptop with this entry over to hubby and say, "See! I'm not the only one!" ;)

Anonymous said...

Books...."It's a WONDERFUL life"!!! :)

Amy said...

I'm also a book lover and collector ... I have them ALL over the house! I loved reading about your collection and how important books are to your family! It's so wonderful!

Lora @ my blessed life said...

Our home is overflowing with books, too! I think they're wonderful and I can't resist them.

Aja Jenise said...

AHHHH! Its like a candy land--TRULY!!

Beth@Pages of Our Life said...

I read once that a study was done on highly successful people and they all had one thing in common..."There homes were all filled with over 100 books when they were growing up".

I with you on the addiction and I am not ashamed to say it! ;)

Anonymous said...

I share your addiction! Mine is tempered by the fact that it`s hard to find English books down here, but I still have enough to fill a couple of bookshelves! And a very big box.

When I was growing up, my parents collected books like mad. My grandmother was a librarian and she sent us boxes of books whenever they cleared out the library of older or worn books. We had a long hallway with floor to ceiling shelves the length of it, plus two big bookcases in the living room and every one of our rooms had a large bookshelf, as well! There`s just nothing better than being surrounded by reading material.

And the solution to the problem is definitely more shelves, not leaving off buying books!