Yea, I said it. Bookshelf. Porn.
It’s not what you think (I hope).
I recently stumbled upon Bookshelf Porn, an account on tumblr that posts pictures of bookshelves, bookstacks, book cabinets, and even a book desk. It’s a glorious testament to the beauty of books. And of course I got a little excited. An apt name for the account, apparently.
I don’t think my books are as photogenic or as sexy as many of the books which appear on the tumblr account, but that’s okay — I love them, just as they are.
I spent quite a bit of time last year categorizing, organizing, and cataloging all of my 450+ books; the move from my childhood home and into my first apartment scrambled most of my work, however, and so my library is not currently up to snuff.
I’ve at least managed to put all of my Jane Austen novels and spin-off novels in one place — right now I’m at about twenty Austen-related books (novels as well as historical information).
And of course I’ve got the Bookworm. He’s stationed with the feminist literature so as to keep Jessica Valenti’s The Purity Myth and Wendy Shalit’s Girls Gone Mild from dividing by zero and causing the world to explode in a haze of conflicting feminist theories.
My most recently read, as well as books that I’ve purchased but have yet to read, all end up on the coffee table, sandwiched between a dachshund bookend and a Marmaduke plush toy. I think it’s the perfect place to keep books, but Best Friend insists that the stack makes it difficult to watch television or change the channels.
My response is always the same:
Who needs television when you’ve got books?
