? for those who buy and keep books

[pippa]

I am a BIG reader and am very fortunate that I usually purchase my books. I have three large bookcases full of books and was looking at them today and realized I am less than enamored with the way they look. I think it has something to do with all the different colors and prints on the book jacket spines. I remember reading once that interior decorators tell people to discard the jackets of hardcover books. I always bristled at the thought of this as I don't like to 'mess' with my books, but now I'm starting to wonder if it might be a really good idea.

Does anyone do this? If so, what do you do with the jackets? If not, do you do something else or does it just not bother you(which I can understand, it never bothered me before)?

Thanks for any ideas!

 

[allwildgirl]

I really like the way hardcover books look without the jackets. If you can't bear to completely get rid of the jackets, you could keep them in a folder or something.

Some designers suggest covering all your books so they look the same, but I don't personally like that look. If I wanted all my books to look the same, I'd just buy encyclopaedias

 

[LauraMax]

I always get rid of the jackets unless it's a first edition b/c ya just never know......;-)

When I moved I emptied my bookcase quite a bit to make it more decorative. I left a few books that were meaningful to me on each shelve & then put vases, pictures etc in corners & in between. I really love the way it turned out, instead of having a bookcase crammed w/books.

I stored the ones I wanted to keep in my basement.

 

[SRP]

Heavens no, I don't get rid of jackets or anything like that. I love my books. I even love the old paperbacks that are literally falling apart because I've read them so many times. I like the way the different covers and spines look because I can tell exactly which book is where. Okay, maybe I'm a bit obsessed here...

 

[TeTe]

Yeah, what Shannon said.

DH and I are both book lovers, so there are books in every room...and lots of them. I occassionaly donate or give away books that I read and really didn't like, but most of them are packed in bookshelves all over the house. As nice as it looks, there's just no room for vases and stuff.

 

[swayzepetsitting]

I take the jackets off of the books as I am reading them and then either one of two things happens: 1) My cats tear them up or, 2) they get accidentally thrown away. This used to bother me, but there is no point in keeping them so now I just throw them away (unless I really like the art work).

 

[pippa]

Thanks to everyone who replied!

I just re-did a shelf with no jackets and I actually thinks it looks a lot better. I may re-do all three that way.

I know lots of people that are anti-jacket...they get rid of them the minute they buy the book. I've never done anything like that, but a lot of these jackets are just so colorful and slick looking nowadays. I'm beginning to find a lot of them really obnoxious. In fact, the solid color underneath really does look quite nice.

I guess I was just feeling paranoid that I may one day 'need' the jacket and regret not having it. I guess the way to look at it is, I've never 'needed' the jackets all these years so what in the future could make me need them?

Oh and just so there was no confusion....I wasn't talking about getting rid of any of the books, just the jackets.

 

[Stephanie0523]

I take the jackets off before I read them. They get in the way. I too am a big reader and have an over-stuffed shelf in our bonus/playroom. I'm hoping to put a new shelf in our greatroom. I like the way the books look without their jackets, but if I like the cover-art (like The Thirteenth Tale's) I'll keep the jacket on. Right now, my shelf is a mish-match.

Speaking of books... Have any of you read Penny Vincenzi's work? I highly recommend if you like sagas.