As I look around my study, I notice rather a lot of books. Books arranged neatly in bookcases built either side of the fireplace, and books stacked on the ottoman in front of the sofa. More books are piled on side tables and on the corner of my desk. The facing wall is full of bookshelves from floor to ceiling.

I’m looking for more space, somewhere in our house, to install a new bookcase.

Our dining room has a spare wall presently occupied by a Chinese calligraphy table holding a neat stack of books with their bindings all colour-coordinated. These books will fit in my new bookcase, with a selection of red objects, such as a red resin seated Buddha picked up in Hong Kong and a red lacquered tea chest.

Walking down our hallway, I see more space where I can accommodate another bookshelf; not too deep or too tall, but sufficient to hold a table lamp and hang an artwork above.

I have a few rules to maintain my book collection. They must always stand upright, supported by bookends or a horizontal stack of books. No tilting on angles, which adds pressure to the spines. I am guilty of leaving books splayed open around the house. I should be using a card or a bookmark.

I have mixed feelings about books in the bedroom. I believe as a shared space it should only be used for rest, relaxation and rejuvenation. But we both like reading: the fourth “R”. I would like to think that the present book I’m reading is the only book on my bedside table, but I still have a stack of books given to me as Christmas gifts waiting to be read.

Bookshelves should play a prominent role in children’s bedrooms. A good idea is to have shallow shelves with the books facing forwards, where you can arrange your children’s favourite books.

No matter where my bookshelves are, I like books of the same height to be lined up together. When styling homes in the past, I colour-blocked rows of books, their spine colours in tonal progressions, but now I enjoy a mish-mash of sizes and colours, preferring to group together a category of like or similar books.

I’m loath to throw away old books that are past their use-by date. I prefer to put them in community libraries, but parting with my books is like parting with a friend.

Published in the May 2021 Issue of The Trentham Trumpet