I’ve always dreamed of having a wall full of floating shelves filled with books, so when I found two spare planks of wood at the Restoration Hardware outlet, I snatched them up. They’re not much, but they’re mine! Maybe more wood planks will show up at the outlet for me to swipe, and then I will be unstoppable!
That said, I do like how my limited shelf space has made me more particular about what books I keep in my collection, or at least it’s forced me to prioritise which books of my collection to display and which ones to keep stored in my bath tub (more on that later). Remember those five books I owned in multiples? I’ve sold some so now the only books I own in multiples are Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Little Women. Look at that character development :’)
In addition to culling my current collection, my new shelves have prompted a more rigorous criterion for new additions to my collection: Is it floating-shelf-worthy?? Although I had my shelves properly installed with hidden brackets secured to wall studs, I still don’t feel comfortable putting too much weight on them, so every ounce is precious. (A hardback has to be real special to make it!) So far, I haven’t felt the urge to buy any books, except for How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee, which I fully intend to buy some time this year. Fingers crossed that it’ll be my only book purchase of 2021? For some reason I really want to buy a copy of The Brothers Karamazov too, but I’m not allowing myself to give into that one until I read my copy of Crime and Punishment.