Keeping Books I (Probably) Have No Use For, Just Because...

I'm not a total book hoarder. I mean, I do cull my shelves now and then. But because I have (occasionally) donated a book and then later regretted it (where are you now, A Field Guide to America Houses?) I tend to think twice (or three times or four times or...) before I remove a book from the shelf.

For that reason, right now I have a whole bunch of books on the French language. Yes, I took four years of French in high school and a semester in college, but I really don't speak the language, I haven't visited France, and during my few trips to Quebec, my high school French proved to be horribly inadequate and I had to revert to English (much to the relief of the people I was speaking to). A need to know French is probably not in my immediate future. And yet...I have those books. (Note: knowing a smattering of French does come in handy when doing crossword puzzles. Thank goodness I devoted four and a half years of my life to delving into the language. Smile). (Also Note: I have no regrets about those four and a half years. It's a beautiful language, I was--weirdly enough, given my present inability to speak it or understand it other than in written form)--good at it, I learned a few things about French history and culture, and I enjoyed it.

And then--getting back to my eclectic bookshelves--there are the books on gardening (I have more than what's pictured below) even though I'm a horrid gardener and always have been (clearly the books aren't paying off).

Of course, there are other books I have just because I like having them there (lots of history books) and I always hope that maybe someday I'll use them for writing a historical, even though it's been years since I stopped fiddling with writing historical romance and moved to contemporary romance. Speaking of which, why did I give away my copy of Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey? I loved that book!

In short, I hope that you too have books on your shelf that you love even if you never put them to use in your day-to-day life!

Best Wishes and Happy Reading,

Myrna

Book Nooks are My New Obsession

I've never been one for knick knacks, primarily because I don't like having to dust them (or store them or give up space for actual books). But while scrolling through some articles today, I came across one about something called book nooks, a sort of upright diorama that fits between the books on a shelf. The first one (apparently) was created by a Japanese artist, but interest has grown so much that there are a number of articles on the trend and a whole community on Reddit dedicated to booknooks.

There are a few which can be purchased, but they're very expensive. I can't really blame the artists/creators, because it seems as if a great deal of work goes into these, with people using 3D printers, cutting and painting wood, buying miniatures, adding lights, and of course, coming up with a concept, the artistry required, and the details to make it happen.

2024 Update: Originally I had links to individual booknook kits on Etsy and elsewhere, but those links don't work once an item is sold, so here's a general link to Booknooks on Etsy. Examples are below, but I can't guarantee that you can find those exact kits.

There are many choices (such as the one below) on Amazon. Since I understand that quality varies, proceed with care and do your research.

Here are a couple of very brief (mere seconds) videos with some finished book nooks.

Also, I highly recommend that you read this article from Bored Panda, which shows 33 of the book nooks (sometimes known as bookshelf inserts). It's one of the numerous articles I read which spurred my interest. Also, this one from the BBC talks a bit about the use of 3D printers.

And if you want to see how some of these are made, here are three videos that show one made from cardboard, one made from bricks (LEGO variety, I assume), and one constructed from wood and war gaming terrain kits (I'm not knowledgeable about such, but the creator says that they're from Games Workshop and are available at tabletop board gaming stores). As you can see from this first one, some of them are quite involved and take a lot of time and effort to make.

I'm sure there are many other ways to build these. The possibilities seem endless, and it looks like so much fun!

If you build your own book nook, please share. I'd love to see the finished results.

Best,