Books....

Some of my books, on cheap shelves. 

My biggest problem right now (with the living room, anyway), is the BOOK COLLECTION. At one point we had six full size book cases we had bought from a big box store. They were not 'quality' or even especially attractive, but maybe they passed for a little better because they were black instead of that faux wood finish shit. These six book cases were chock full of books, and there were MORE that would not fit. When we moved our things into storage, three of the book cases did not survive the move. So we were left with three and still had the same amount of books. So then we had BOXES of books. We've since gotten them out of boxes and onto shelves, put in different rooms, and more efficiently stored on shelving.

But there's a lot of them. A normal person would think that maybe it's time to cull and give some away. But I hold onto my books. When I was married to my first husband we lived like gypsies. We'd never live in one house for longer than six months. And every fucking time we moved, the books were something that left behind in a donation pile because they were too heavy. I'd buy books at yard sales, library sales, or thrift shops. I'd read them quickly, so they accumulated quickly. I love books. And I don't like getting rid of them. I love the set of encyclopedias I have from 1943, in near perfect condition. I love the children's books I've managed to hold on to since I was a kid. I have some of Beezus & Ramona books, and also the copy of The Velveteen Rabbit I've had since I was 7 or so. I have some very expensive hardback books, and I have some mass market paperbacks I've gotten second hand.

So, there's a lot of books requiring a lot of space in our small apartment. They're being shifted around while we're working on the living room re-do, and I need some more shelving to house my books, I'm thinking about some kind of Ikea hack, because ging all the way to the ceiling with the books would probably be a god idea................