bookshelf – Observations and Misunderstandings

I write this in a unique spot. I have a new armchair. Unique in that this is a unique moment for me writing this in a new armchair not unique in that I’m the only person out there with an armchair. New is not entirely accurate either, it was donated to the cause, my cause to be more precise and it’s dusty enough not to be new. It’s a vomit yellow colour which is unfortunate so it’ll be getting a throw put over it as soon as possible and despite looking a little uncomfortable it’s actually really cosy to sit in. It is currently sitting in a corner of my lounge which used to be piled up with random junk, it was my messy corner. Now however I am a man with an armchair and a reading corner.

I am going to attach a lamp and it’s shade to a wooden stool I have which will involve a drill and a little creativity, and I have bought something to go on the wall behind the chair. The something is a nautical navigation map of this area and this I would ordinarily find a little kitsch but I quite like the idea of it in a reading corner, there seems something fitting about it and not just in an ironic way. That could be also because I enjoy the humour value of creating a reading corner with an armchair, even though I want it for actual sitting and reading not just as an art installation. I’m sure humour is a healthy way to view these things. I have my reading corner and it’s ridiculous but I’m happy with it. Or I will be when I finish it and it’s not just a chair stuffed in the corner of a room. Which makes me realise I now need a bookshelf although it would probably have to be on the wall above my head which makes me nervous as I’ve seen my past carpentry. Perhaps I should just build a library and be done with it, that seems safer.

I’ve always wanted a good bookshelf so I can stack all my books in a highly visible manner in an attempt to impress people and look intelligent. I also want one for my own pleasure of course and for the practical necessity but there is a bit of ego involved I know for sure. I could stack my books instead that has potential for satisfying imagery but you need a lot of them for that. And a plant. I’ll definitely need to get a plant now. The problem with all of this is that I’m going to create a beautiful space and then have to move out. This flat isn’t forever so neither will the art installation representing my life. It’s like graffiti in a way, the temporary home like the impermanent wall mural. Someone will always paint over it one day just as someone else will live in this space and make it their own. Perhaps I shouldn’t get too attached to this new corner after all but I’ll just carry on enjoying it in the meantime.

There is something romantic about books. The smell of a new one. The smell of an old one. The clean, crisp cover of a new one. The worn, well read cover of an old one. The aesthetics of a well designed cover. The feel of a well made specially designed book. Browsing in a bookshop with an idea of the type of book you may like to buy, finding one by an author you know and getting caught up in the excitement that follows. Going off in a different direction and finding a completely random book on a topic you hadn’t previously thought may be interesting but somehow in this form all of a sudden became desirable. Why not buy them both. End up buying two more on top of that. The physical pleasure of holding a book as you read it as opposed to one of these electronic readers. While life may be more technological these days in many beneficial ways, nothing will be able to replace the simple pleasure of holding and reading from a book. Sitting in a cafe reading a book as you drink your coffee. Sitting in a cafe looking cool as you pretend to read your book. One thing in the same situation, appearing to all the world to be playing out the same way but completely different. Books even help people with our most base desires. Books are amazing.

There is one thing about owning books too and that is the ability to fill a book shelf of all your proudest ones. There is something incredibly appealing about this but I suspect there is a part of us driven by the same instinct that allows us to feel credible sitting in a cafe and not really reading as much as we like to imagine we are or were going to. The danger with books is that they become another aesthetic possession. There are plenty of really cool people out there with great selections of books positioned on very prominent shelves. I know I haven’t read all the books I own. Does the book become more that just a physical copy of a series of words formed in an interesting manner? Well yes is the short answer. You can’t have all the romanticism of the first paragraph without trying to impress people with your cool book collection. Be honest, only your very best make the public shelf.

Currently I’m going though what I can only describe as readers block. Like I said I love books, but what I didn’t say was that I love reading and this is an important distinction to make. There are times I love reading but right now I’m struggling. The desire is there but I keep on allowing myself the distraction of something else. Readers block has ahold of me. But I still love books and even if I am continuing to struggle I know this will pass. In the meantime I bought four books today when scouring the charity shops, great ones too, I’m really pleased with the finds. I will put them next to the ten books I bought two months ago, last time a went to the charity shops. Maybe I’ll actually read some of these ones this time and not just position them strategically around my flat for maximum impressiveness. I hope so because I miss reading. We have so much to learn and it’s all out there if we take the time. It may just be another part of this journey into discipline I seem to have found myself on but good things don’t always come easily to us even when we enjoy and benefit from them. I promise you there is a book review coming one day, let’s hope it opens some proverbial floodgate of sorts

Tag: bookshelf

A Reading Corner

Lovely Books