Bookshelf Wealth
Here we go again! And here I am eating it all up!
In a new article from the NYT: “Do You Have ‘Bookshelf Wealth’?” we learn about how “On TikTok and other digital platforms, there has lately been much ado about people who own a great number of books and — this is critical — have managed to stage them in a pleasing manner… If you’ve ever seen a Nancy Meyers movie, the look might ring a bell…Perhaps there is a cozy seating area near the floor-to-ceiling display, with an overstuffed couch topped with tasteful throw pillows.” Similar to when rainbow shelves were all the rage and back in the golden era of Gwyneth Paltrow and her “book curator,” people still have a lot to say about how books + décor go together.
It’s easy to see why: Even though books are essentially utilitarian objects (open, read), they can be so pleasing to look at. They don’t need to be fancy; even old paperbacks provide great visual interest and, if you actually read them, make for some fab art-you-can-use. In full transparency, we are doing some work on a house that will eventually have a large bookshelf wall.
But might true “bookshelf wealth” simply be owning books? This is hinted at in the article as it references a “clapback” video from someone who shares “a brief tour of her home, showing books everywhere — on shelves, in overflow piles here and there, and strewed across the bed.” In fact, for much of books’ history, owning even one book was a great sign of privilege. The Gutenberg printing press debuted in 1448, but books were basically for the church or universities until a “middle class” emerged. In her book The Social Lives of Books, Oxford professor Abigail Williams describes how 18th century England was a high point for the parlor “read aloud,” since greater access to current fiction led to “elocution” as a popular pastime. (I love this little factoid.)
Owning tens — or hundreds — of books is a very new phenomenon. Yet just because you or I do doesn’t mean that everyone can, which is why I love orgs that put books in people’s (preferably kids’) hands…ones that they can keep. (My pal Beth at Hygge House Books is doing great work!) #sharethebookwealth #bookshelfwealth
originally published on instagram