I Dream of Bookcases

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

03 Dec 2008 12:04 PM

I've always had a special relationship with books, for at least as long as I can remember. My very first books, The Poky Little Puppy and a set of children's encyclopedias were treasured as no other toys were. Through the years, I also dreamed of having my own built-in bookcases.

Through the years, I have had many substitutes for these imagined bookcases. First there was the headboard on my twin bed at home which held library books and a row of paperbacks I got for free through the library's Reading is Fundamental program. Later, in college, there were a series of purloined red milk crates to hold my pleasure reading. As an adult, I graduated to wood and particleboard bookcases, purchased cheaply at Caldors (remember them) or Sears.

When I married my husband, he came with some larger bookcases, still wood and particleboard but heavier and of better quality. His books somehow mostly migrated into the basement and mine mostly took over. To be fair to myself, my books greatly outnumbered his and his gave up. This arrangement sufficed, although the shelves were always in danger of overflowing.

Once we moved to our current home I envisioned those built-in bookcases, along with side of the family room window with perhaps a window seat for some stolen moments of reading. My husband put a computer desk and a filing cabinet there. I managed to sneak in two very small bookcases along side, but..well..sigh. He also told me that he would add a library on to the house for me, but well again, there are no immediate plans.

Today my books are mostly in boxes in the basement, with the exception of those two small bookshelves. Up in our bedroom, my husband laughed at me when I opened a clothes cubby to reveal stacks and stacks of not-yet-read books.

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog and caring for little ones in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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Heidi (5269) 03 Dec 2008 12:21 PM

This is one of my dreams, too!!! At the very least I want a wall of bookshelves, but in my dream/fantasy house it'll have a library! Before DS was born we had 8 6ft. bookshelves---all the "put-it-together-yourself" kind from Wal-Mart or Target. To clear a room for DS we consolidated into one large (nice) bookshelf in the living room and I had to give away over 800 books, but a girl can dream about her own library :)

Samual (11722) 03 Dec 2008 02:20 PM

Until recently all of our books were in boxes and random piles all over the house, we finally got two book cases a few weeks ago, some have made it to the shelves, but I must admit, most are still strewn in random places. I want my bookcase to be self stacking!

jonesx6 (1606) 03 Dec 2008 02:50 PM

My dh always says that we have issues with books. lol We have two big book cases full of books and the rest of our books are in boxes. When we moved into our current house the plan was to buy another bookshelf. It hasn't happened yet. Ah well. lol Laura

Mary Ann Romans (26886) 04 Dec 2008 11:01 AM

Woe, so I am not alone! That is good to know. Congrats on the bookcases Samual! Heidi you gave away 800 books? I don't know if I would ever be able to recover from that! Laura, if your husband wants to build me shelves, you can have my bookcases. LOL.

Heidi (5269) 04 Dec 2008 02:22 PM

It was very sad to give away those books and I still miss them, but it was either the books or the baby :) It actually worked out because at the same time I needed to "find a home" for my books a group of people from my church were conducting a huge garage sale for someone else at church who was battling cancer and was racking up medical bills, so all my books went to that sale. The great news is the man beat cancer and was able to pay off all his bills!

Mary Ann Romans (26886) 05 Dec 2008 07:51 AM

Heidi, that is a wonderful story! God must have called you to help.