Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #365062 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781402742125
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Library Journal
Powers, librarian of the Prince of Wales' Institute of Architecture, has collected a wealth of photographs depicting myriad ways to store books. He shows them in the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and home office; in hallways and stairs; and, of course, in the library. He provides some information on the care of books, but professional and student designers will find this book especially helpful for showing how other designers have approached the design of shelving and storage of books.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Attention bookworms! Put down that novel, and check out "Living with Books" by Alan Powers; it's full of wonderful examples of how to display your Prousts and paperbacks. A chapter called "Practicalities" outlines the basics of building do-it-yourself bookcases, from wood to metal racks. -- Good Housekeeping, September 1999

Book lovers, as the term implies, find it easier to acquire books than to get rid of them. Those with hundreds or thousands of volumes threatening to take over their homes can find relief in "Living with Books."

The large-format volume recommends shelving and other storage ideas that will eliminate clutter and place books in any variety of location, including halls, stairwells, kitchens and bathrooms. In providing shelving solutions for studies, home offices and libraries, it recognizes that books have a value beyond their content, for example adding warmth and color to rooms.

Photographs demonstrate what can be accomplished when the purpose is to limit the visual effect of books, or to make books a central element in the room where they are shelved, with a number of quirky options. "Living with Books" draws many examples from the homes of architects and includes a section on building bookshelves and bookcases with a minimum of experience or tools, which should enable the reader, if he is game, to replicate some of the examples illustrated therein. -- Charleston Post & Corier, June 27, 1999

Book-lovers especially will delight in Alan Powers' "Living with Books" for the many novel ways it suggests for giving books the storage space they need and deserve. This is no simple issue: Internet users can talk as much as they like about the appeal of electronic books, but bibliophiles can't be dismissed as Luddites simply because they value the real thing. And the real thing needs a place of its own. "Living with Books" is something of a wish-book, suggesting countless ways to use shelves in attractive and practial ways... -- Richmond Times-Dispatch, April 4, 1999

About the Author
Alan Powers is Librarian of the Prince of Wales' Institute of Architecture and a frequent contributor to various magazines. His previous books inlcude "Shopfronts" and the 20th century section of the bestselling "The Elements of Style." He lives in England with about 3,000 books.

Customer Reviews

Books in their natural habitats . . .
I have a feeling the previous reviewers were expecting a how-to book of home construction projects. Actually this is more of a tour guide. It's fascinating to discover the many creative, ingenious, and very original ways architects and ordinary booklovers have found to store books, display them, and enjoy being in their presence. Face it -- one never has enough bookshelves. And some of these homes are definitely masquerading as libraries! Here are bookshelves up under the eaves of an older house, or installed over the doorways in the hall, or built into closets and cupboards and under kitchen counters. Others are freestanding on metal shelves and poles and rigged like a ship's masts. There are small libraries built into the landings of staircases and others that cover entire walls of bedrooms. Some are two tiers deep, with the front one moving sideways on rollers. Others share space with lamps, TV sets, telephones, clocks, computers, ancient artifacts, photographs, and knick-knacks. And the one thing all the arrangements depicted in this book have in common is, none of them -- even the most attractively arranged -- are just for show. One look at the worn covers and frayed jackets tells you these books are the constant companions of their owners.

I disliked this book so much I returned it!
As a lover and avid collector of books, I had high hopes for this book -- at first glance it seemed entrancing, especially the topic. Unfortunately, once I started reading it more carefully, my spirits sank. Some of the pictures are visually interesting, but most are not. Even more disappointing, there is not much substantive information either. If you like the idea of this book and are looking for a more satisfying read, check out At Home With Books : How Booklovers Live With and Care for Their Libraries by Estelle Ellis(Editor), et al. That book is worth every penny, and you'll enjoy it.

A couple of good photos
If you want to see suggestions for how to live with large quantities of books, buy "At Home With Books". If you have some money left over after that, buy this book. There are lots of pictures, mostly not very inspiring, or very useful to a person who owns a lot of books. On the other hand, three or four of the photos were very inspiring.

Still, "At Home With Books" had a lot more to offer in the way of inspiration and ideas. I'm not sorry I bought this book, but I would be if my book-buying budget were even slightly more restricted than it is.