We devoted readers love to talk about our books, but let’s take a moment to appreciate the supporting cast — the bookshelves themselves. I’ve only recently graduated from bookshelf-beggar to bookshelf-chooser. That’s not to say I’ve suddenly acquired taste and discernment, of course, just that I’m no longer dependent upon particle-board shelves from big-box stores. The Lady of the House keeps a Facebook alert for bookshelves for sale within the area, and I’ve found a few really nice ones in the last couple years. I just got this one last week for fifty dollars. Over six feet tall, and made of real wood, even! Look at all that empty space. Doesn’t the potential of it just warm your heart? How many books that I have yet to discover will eventually come to roost there?
It was almost exactly two years ago that I got this other one. (It’s long-since filled.) I boasted to a co-worker that it only cost me twenty dollars. Maybe this will become a spring ritual of mine? The air is warming, the earth is coming back to life, people are cleaning out their houses, and library sales are blossoming again. What better way to celebrate than by getting a new bookshelf?