It isn't "home" to me unless there are many, many (well thumbed) books present! I also love to read the spines of books in photos of people's homes!

For whatever reason, I adore walls of books that extend around doorways and windows. I especially love the first picture. As for those worried about earthquake hazards, trust me: I've lived through several whoppers, and having a few books plop on your head is the least of your worries when you're hoping the walls and ceiling will hold. That said, don't store your OED overhead. It's probably the only tome imbued with skull-crushing heft.

It's a great concept and there are some beautiful and inspiring examples here.

Love the first room! My heart skips a beat just looking at it. The room looks positively magical.

That first room is the incarnation of so much childhood dreaming! I would never leave it.

What a great little round-up. I'm also drawn to rooms that are lined with books. In terms of decor, I think they add so much color and personality to a room. A big book collection is sort of like functional wallpaper.

Books always look cozy to me.

These make me smile so much. Great point, Slowdown.

Thank you for sharing photos of rooms full of bookshelves that aren't too staged and styled. The decor of real life is awesome. I also appreciate the tacit priorities in photo no. 9 -- a TV small enough to fit on the bookshelf.

Thank you for not showing books sorted by color. Serious readers only, please.

Oh would I love to relax in this room! Fabulous~!

love the first and second to last images...and pretty much like all the others. man, do i love books!

sorry to be negative on this, but books are no decor; books are for reading, not storing & showing

honestly, how ofetn those books are re-read (or even read once)?

donate them to libraries

Am I the only one who goes to libraries these days? Most of my modest book collection has come from gifts or splurges (before the library stocked a new book, etc).

@honeyhaze: I use libraries regularly and have a larger-than-average (though not as big as these) book collection. It's not mutually exclusive. The library often doesn't have books I need and my collection has my own annotations and underlining.

@nato: I agree that books are not mainly decor items, but there's nothing wrong with pointing out how they can warm up a room, just like textiles that are primarily meant to be functional (blankets, towels, etc.) or dishware or even piles of firewood. But just because YOU have no use for an extensive library, doesn't mean it makes no sense for others. As I said to honeyhaze, the library isn't adequate for my needs. And heck, some people just like having a lot of books. Would you suggest someone with an extensive wardrobe donate most of it to Goodwill? After all, who really needs more than a few shirts or pairs of shoes?

Well put, slowdown :)
I love browsing used bookstores (new ones, too, but used are much more budget friendly) and don't feel that I should have to defend my collection :)

This is a wonderful collection! But all of the rooms seem to have elevated ceilings. Would this look good with the lower, standard 9ft ceilings that most of us live in?

Books make me so happy. You can't have enough book shelves, can you?

"Books do furnish a room"-- Anthony Powell (1905-2000)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_Do_Furnish_a_Room_(novel)

Pic#1 could be a dream studio apt for me :)

Lovely. Every house should have at least one wall that is covered with bookshelves. Combine it with your AV equipment: the accoustics will be very good

The first one makes me feel so calm and transferred to another world.

Quite apart from their inherent beauty and appeal, books on an outside wall provide a bit of extra insulation!

I'm a proponent of personal book collections AND public libraries. It's not either/or.

Nice round-up. I love that these photos seem to depict 'real' readers' homes...no silly color-coding, all-white covers, or spines turned inwards!

That does it, I'm relocating to Paris or Berlin or some other place where fabulous built-ins coexist with soaring ceilings... 4 & 7 particularly are to die for.

How come there's an idea that organizing books by color equals non-'serious' reader? Isn't AT predicated on visuality (and, I can't believe I'm the only one who searches by spine color and type-face)?

I own hundreds of books and its easier for me to remember the title of a book and what it looks like than authors, Montoni, so I know what you mean. I love reading but I don't find alphabetization automatically much more helpful than just knowing where I put something or "its a blue softcover" or whatever.

nato- I do read and re-read my books. I also have "reference" books in relation to my hobbies. I also have novels that I share with my dad back and forth.

I own hundreds of books and can't imagine being without them.

When I moved a while back I gave away 3 boxes/150 books. Those were excess that I have never missed. I'm guessing that I still have about 600 books.

montoni- I try to keep my books by subject, but do pull them out based on recognition of the spine.

@monarda- thanks! now I have twelve more books on my wishlist :)

#2 actually looks like it's got a pretty low ceiling, but still manages to look spacious and comfortable.

Very inspirational.

I can't imagine living in a home without tons of books.
And going to a used book store, searching through their
shelves and smelling the dusty smell of old books, is one of my favorite things to do. A home without books, is like a body
without a soul.

good post

Very nice pictures of all those bookshelves!!
i have my small amount of books, and i am helping build my 2 kids, (son & daughter) their own reference books they can reread through the years, i try and teach them to think before they buy, and to take very good care of their books, so they will last them for years.
( i still have a few books from when they were toddlers, i think they are know as golden books ).

I organize my books based on 1) which ones I look for the most often (they go at eye level); 2) which ones are heaviest (they go near the bottom); and 3) where they can be crammed in. My parents encouraged impulsive reading and we kids always felt comfortable pulling books off the shelf and putting them back wherever.

I don't use libraries very much because I like to get comfy with books. I bend spines, I dog-ear, I fall asleep on top of open books, I toss them from my lap to the floor when the phone rings, etc. I just can't get comfortable reading a book that belongs to someone else. I buy a lot from used book stores and then bring the books back if and when I no longer want to keep them. Displaying them on shelves is the best way to store them so that I can find what I want quickly, so I choose shelving that is attractive and fits well in the room. It's no different than keeping your socks and undies in a nice-looking dresser.

lovely :-)

i am about to extend my bookshelves so they will cover the wall over the door, too, so i am pleased to see these lovely examples.