Putting Books on Shelves

Putting books on shelves; seems simple enough but which shelf — aye, there's the rub.  I was reading Gaby Hinsliff's — former Political Editor of The Observer — occasional column in The Times on Friday.  In this she tells us of the problem of books.  One thing handed down by her father and father-in-law to she [her?] and her husband is a voracious love of reading, which, she says, "Is lovely."  but shelving the ever growing collection is becoming a nightmare.  I understand completely, although, I suspect that the couple have rather more books than I have.  What is a good sized collection of books in a domestic environment?  I have no idea.  I have about 3000/4000 books and I have filled a lot of shelves.  I have them housed in bedroom No2 , which serves as my primary library — with an over-spill into the lounge and bedroom No.4, serving as my office.  But, is my arrangement a library?  I see libraries as [a] public buildings housing thousands of books which are lent to local citizens and are collections that strive to navigate through the waters of popular fiction, classic fiction, contemporary literature as well as provide an extensive collection of non-fiction and reference books.  They are institutions regulated by public service within the limits of available cash.  Then there are [b] libraries that exist in stately homes and are filled with lots of leather bound books of considerable age that no-one actually reads.  I am not sure of the purpose of such rooms except as a means of preserving old books.  Some old books are valuable for all kinds of reasons but surely not just as investments.

Gaby Hinsliff tells us that "obviously, all our books are organised by genre in their new house."  But sub-dividing inside each genre — "aye, there's the rub."  Is it?  Again, I need to know how many books they are trying to store.  My limited book collection is set out on shelves with little in the way of order.  Some books by a single author have managed to be put together on the same shelf and most of my books on history — particularly social history — are together.  But for the most part the layout is random.  On one very short piece of shelf next to my desk and the computer on which I type this blog, are eleven books and they are as follows : The Wrong Kind of Snow — a day by day examination of the weather over the centuries; Misadventure in the Middle East by Henry Hemming — a lovely book about the author and artists discovering the Middle East; Pies and Prejudice by Stuart Maconie —a tour of the North of England by a Wiganer; Death on a Galician Shore by Domingo Villar — crime novel set in NW Spain; Anthony Burgess by Roger Lewis — a fascinating biography of the famous novelist, who, I believe is best remembered for his use of language and his autobiography rather than his novels; The Devil's Acre by Matthew Plampin — a fictitious crime story linked to the short-lived factory [1853 - 1857] established by Samuel Colt to manufacture his guns in London; Nathaniel's Nutmeg by Giles Milton —a popular history of nutmeg and the spice trade; The Adventure of English by Melvyn Bragg — a history of the English language and a good read; We Danced All Night by Martin Pugh — a social history of Britain between two world wars; two volumes of Chris Mullin's Diaries — a diary that demonstrates the futility of MPs attempting to achieve anything at all as a minister.  

This set of books may not be a complete cross-section of my reading but it is a reasonable representation of what I like to read.  I read few modern novels — apart from crime fiction — but I do like to read. Get a book on the short list for the Booker Prize and, for me, it is the kiss of death.  I just know that it is highly likely that each will be a pseudo-intellectual road to boredom.  Books fascinate me and I can never resist buying more.  I have no great urge to read on-line but I do have access to a dozen or so books that I read occasionally  

Gaby Hinsliff finally admits that her filing of books is little better than random and that by the time that she has finished, no-one but her will be able to find anything.  That's my system.  I have to remember where I put every book.  It is a system that can work most of the time but — I have to admit — it's not foolproof.

#