Bookcase Styles

The Reading Rainbow, of course! It’s an excellent way to add pops of color to a living room or study.

Mine is divided by the language of the book (4 English, French, Portuguese and Arabic). And depending On how big is the language category, there’s subcategories of topic. So it’s like a real library, if you’re staying at my home, you will easily find what you want to read, first by the language and then the topic :)

I was tight squeeze but then in 2019, I ended up getting some bookcases from someone who didn’t want eight almost 9-foot wood bookcases they had. I just had to uninstall them from their house, then I could have them, for free. It ended up being a lot of work (for me and three very, very kind friends), but it was totally worth it. Five of the bookcases run along the long wall of the living room, and there’s only a couple of inches of extra space on the sides and top, so the sizing couldn’t have been much better and still fit. They look like we had them made for the space. But since they go up to the ceiling, we are not longer really tight-squeeze people anymore. :) (It’s one of the luckiest finds ever!)

Those color-blocked rainbow bookshelves give me anxiety. It’s just NOT aesthetically appealing to me ,for whatever reason. I respect your decision to do that if you must, but please know — you are causing me pain.

Tight squeeze forever

I am somewhere between stylish and tight squeeze depending on the day, but I’m getting some new custom shelves installed next week and then hopefully it can be all stylish all day!

I’m definitely tight squeeze. We are trying to downsize so we now have a rule – 1 book in, 1 book out. I only have books that I’ll read over and over or are in some way technical. I have 1 shelf just for library books and I give the library a healthy donation at the end of the year so they can buy new books.

Tight squeeze. I live with an academic and I’m no slouch at book-buying myself. We have more than 250 linear feet of shelf space and it isn’t nearly enough.

100% stylish bookworms here. We are pretty minimalist so we each have 2-3 library books on the nightstands and maybe a non-library book or two that are from or on their way to the little free libraries that our town loves so much. If I buy a book. It’s usually an ebook that I can’t get elsewhere.

Random: I just got back from returning my family’s last (curbside) book haul. As I slipped the books through that little drop slot drawer thing, I caught a whiff of The Library Smell and OH how I miss going inside…

A blend of stylish bookworm and reading rainbow.
My books are arranged by subject (Sci Fi, Cooking, Travel) with each section in a rainbow. Artwork is tucked in where space allows.

I’m definitely a mixture of bookworm/stylish and squeeze all the books I can fit onto my shelves. I have all kinds of plants also mixed it between and on top of book stacks.
I love my books.

Absolutely tight squeeze!!

Tight squeeze–English major, academic librarian, and now a part-time graduate student in a reading-heavy discipline, so lots of books here! I’d have more if I didn’t work somewhere I can use books for free. :)

Tight squeeze all the way, I cannot get rid of books because each one reminds me of a moment in time.

After having three children, our book collection got out of control (not to mention our overflowing library bags that are scattered across the apartment). We have a seasonal rotation, so right now Spring, Summer, and Fall are packed in boxes in the closet. It is always fun changing out the books and rediscovering them, but I mostly do it this way because it creates another way to store our enormous (and growing) collection.

What a delightful thread here, I am the Library here, I was at my library as a child all the time, books became my friends so now I have a wall of books as I love the library look of my childhood, it is comfortable to me. I also have run out of space so there are piles of books everywhere here, I put books in piles by authors mostly so I can go there to find what I want. and subjects also as those are in a certain place here when I want them. Yet I will be buying more books from my favorite sites as I have a sister who loves books as much as me and we talk books all the time. We compete over books, most ancient history books about times long ago.

I’m a tight squeeze that tries to be stylish by adding various decor to the bookshelf too!

Reading Rainbow all the way! I know it drives some people crazy, but to me it seems more orderly. And fun! And I have an excellent memory where my books are concerned – I can remember what the spine looks like for nearly any book, so when I’m looking for one I know exactly what color section to go to. Besides, even if it takes you a minute to find a book that you’re looking for, there’s nothing wrong with that.

I’m stylish bookworm, tight squeeze, and stylish floor piles(not pictured) all over my house.

Tight Squeeze. I adore children’s books. Now my boys are aging apart – early chapter books for big bro but still some board books for 3 yr old, and all the glorious picture books! Man these different sizes are tricky. But parsing down the books is not an option :-)

hahahaha! I love this.

We’re a tight-squeeze family, for sure. Although the kids’ picture books are a rainbow tight squeeze ;) Well… the ones that aren’t piled up in overflowing bins in bedrooms and family spaces…

Add the, “Reverse the Bindings So that Books Face Page Front.”

Design photography loves it. People who actually read books, not so much!

It started as a rainbow and is currently a tight squeeze. The span of time? Quarantine.

I am for sure the tight squeeze, that masquerades as a stylish bookworm. I LOVE looking at people’s bookshelves. Those Zoom bookshelf sneak peeks are everything!

I display my books in a way not shown here, because it’s ridiculous. All the spines face the wall. It keeps the shelf looking clean and quiet. And I know how to find the book I need (most of the time).