Too Many Books Break the Bookshelf

Being avid readers, writers (and people of other professions) can accumulate a lot books to the point where the bookshelf has books plugging every hole horizontally, vertically and, for the more desperate, diagonally.  That type of bookshelf can be nice to look through if you're in a second-hand bookshop; it gives you a sense of looking for lost treasure.  However, for a bookshelf in a home or office, it's not so nice.  That being said, I have come up with a few ways to lessen the burden we bookworms must bear:

Step 1 - Separate
    Go through all your books and see which ones you don't want anymore which may consist of:

·   Books you have not read in years and don't interest you

·   Books you know very well, but are not  among your favorites

·   Books that do not hold any sentimental   value

·   Books you have read and didn't enjoy

Step 2 - Donate
     Now that you've got a pile of books you no longer want/need, you can donate them to places like schools and city libraries or try friends and family members.

Step 3 - Make Money
    If you want to sell them, you can do this online by creating a profile on sites like Amazon and eBay.  You could also hold a book sale on your street; this could even be in conjunction with your family's garage sale.

Step 4 - Decorate
    You're probably thinking, "What if I don't have any books I want to donate or sell?"  You could take some out of your bookshelf and use them as decorations around your home.  

   When it comes to decorating, keep to a theme. 

    For mystery lovers, grab a couple of your books and lay a magnifying glass atop them.  In the image above, I have a volume of Sherlock Holmes's stories, Peter Falk's (who played Lt. Columbo) biography and several Nancy Drew books.  I recommend keeping your series together as much as possible, but to each their own.  You can always add the odd knick-knack or two as I have done with a wolf statue.

   Include books with your everyday style.

 

   My lamp and clock are always on this table so I incorporated my spare books that are crowding my bookshelf into my everyday life.   

An alternate design is this:

 

    You can place books horizontally or vertically, in a staircase or as a magazine-like spread.  Get creative and have some fun!

    Feel free to use book-ends in your design as well.  Indigo, Renaud-Bray and other stores have beautiful ones.  Indigo also sells interior design magazines, so have a flick through and browse the web.  There are so many ideas out there!