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#Post#: 1692--------------------------------------------------
Jack's Library?
By: David M. Katz Date: November 22, 2017, 2:27 am
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Jack,
I am not sure where the right place for this is so please feel
free to move it.
I have always been curious about how your home library looks and
is laid out. I was reminded of this again by the BOTD pictures.
I have always visioned that you have a set up similar to the
one "Fred" is in:
HTML https://image.ibb.co/d1Gm3R/F.jpg
HTML https://imgbb.com/
Maybe it isn't that elaborate?
Would you entertain my curiosity with a brief discussion about
your library.
#Post#: 1724--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jack's Library?
By: Jack Date: November 23, 2017, 5:13 am
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There's no easy way to answer this, so I took a stab at a visual
aide.
[center]
HTML https://www.bransomtx.com/Jacklibrary.png[/center]
Let me start by saying that, as you look at the right side of
this picture from your perspective, you're looking at the north
side of the house. The front door of the house is also on the
north side. When you come into the house, you're in a short
entry hall. When you come to the end of the hall, straight
ahead is a staircase (though you have to walk to the far side to
go up), to the right and ahead is the living room. If you turn
left, you go into the play room and the downstairs bedrooms. To
the right, at the end of the walk (it's open to the living room,
so not an actual hall), is the door to the library ('1') is
doors. The one at the bottom of the picture opens to the hall
to my bedroom and the staircase to the guest rooms and that
area.
Let me say that, if I had graph paper and a ruler, along with
the original floorplans, I could probably have gotten this to
scale. As it is - it gives you a rough idea.
'2' is a big window.
'1' on the left side of the picture is another door. This one
opens into the comics closet. On the far side of the closet is
specially built shelves to store comics boxes.
[center]Not Mine:
HTML https://s17.postimg.org/ii5ct8y7j/0feeffe23d5e1dc2cd792859f5fa7e19--comic-book-storage-book-organi.jpg[/center]
Mine is actually built into the wall, and has slide out shelving
for ease of access. There is also a table on the near side of
the room, so you can pull a box out if you'd like, and to keep
things like bags and backers and to work if needed. Also, at
the far end of the closet (the bottom of the picture) there is a
large, fireproof safe, mostly used for some high quality, key
issue comics, and a few pieces of art/collectibles that are
worth more than usual.
'A' - Bookcases... mostly. The one across the bottom is mostly
DVDs and CDs, along with few collectible albums. There are
some reference books there as well.
The rest of the bookcases are actually books. These look pretty
much like the book cases you can find at Target and places, but
they're custom made for maximum support and stability. I divide
my books up by subject, then they're alphabetical by author -
most of the time. There are things like Star Trek and Sherlock
Holmes where a great many authors are active, and those are
broken into their own 'subject'.
'C' is a display case, kind of like a China hutch. It is
primarily for my collectible chess sets.
'D' is a sitting/reading area that also has a chess table.
#Post#: 1727--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jack's Library?
By: Journey Date: November 23, 2017, 9:49 am
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This is really nice! I wish I could see your collection. My
bookcases are displayed along the hallway in my house, but I
wish I had a specific room for my personal library.
How many books would you say you have? And how many comic books
do you have? :)
#Post#: 1730--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jack's Library?
By: Jack Date: November 23, 2017, 4:48 pm
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As for comics, I'm going to guestimate 40,000. For a long time,
I got everything that came out (and read almost all of it).
Over the years, as I felt they started producing more and more
crap (and I was starting to have trouble keeping up even with
the good stuff), I quite that. As I took in more and more kids,
and had less and less time, I started becoming more careful
about what I picked up. I even started cutting back on the
number of comics I was keeping. A lot of monthly comics are now
released in collections, and it's much easier to re-read them in
that format, and those usually fit on a book case, not requiring
special storage or anything.
As for books, there's no guessing. Unlike comics, books come in
a variety of sizes, and few of them are as thick as the next.
That makes it hard to count. Atop that, there are now a number
of authors whom I enjoy, but who just aren't great, and I mainly
get their stuff on kindle, sometimes even rebuying a series,
then getting rid of the print version in some manner.
I love having my own library. It's something that I always
wanted, and since I was able to design this home, and i had the
money and the room....
#Post#: 13163--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jack's Library?
By: Jack Date: June 2, 2019, 6:47 am
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One thing I like to do is watch videos on youtube. I can start
and stop them as I have time, there are many that reflect my
interests, and some of them are really funny. Also, a lot of
times, the videos I watch give me ideas to discuss with friends
and family. I'm not just sitting around and watching cat
videos, though. I mostly love reviews - reviews of old movies,
reviews of comics, reviews of book, and... reviews of vampires.
One of my more recent discoveries is Maven of the Eventide.
Maven is a wonderful woman who loves musical theater. What
reminded me of this post, however, is when she did a video
discussing (in great detail) one of the main backdrops for her
videos - her vampire bookshelf.
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pw6zkhVW20
While I don't go for as much decoration as she does (after all,
I'm not filming a video series (nor nearly as attractive as she
is), I do have a number of bookshelves that have been set aside
for certain topics (vampires and herlock Holmes are probably the
main two these days, but there have been others in the past,
like Star Wars, Star Trek, super heroes, in general first, then
specific ones later, as they became more popular and written
about). I love the way she mixes her reference, fiction, and
collectibles together to make an attractive display. While I
don't do mine quite the same way (once again, I'm not using mine
as a backdrop, so utility is my first interest), I do things
much the same general way she does.
#Post#: 13207--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jack's Library?
By: Jack Date: June 4, 2019, 8:34 pm
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Since finding that video from Maven, I've been looking at my
library. While my library is perfectly functional, I think I've
decided to do some re-modelling. The bookcases I have re
strongly reinforced and much heavier duty than what you find in
casual stores, but they're still about the same size as what you
find in Wal-Mart. Looking around, I found
HTML https://www.houzz.com/products/martin-furniture-toulouse-3-bookcase-wall-prvw-vr~87959029
which is nearly 8 feet tall - nearly two feet taller than what I
have now. Those have six shelves, which means nearly a foot
between each. I've already contacted a couple of people about
making and installing the shelves, but I'm still considering
whether to go with six or seven shelves. While it will cost a
bit more, I'll probably go with fully adjustable shelves,
because I do have a lot of paperbacks, which take much less
room.
I should also say that, if you look back in the picture attached
to my original answer, the 'A' in the middle is double-sided,
which is why it's drawn larger.
One thing I'm considering is moving some of the books out of the
library - whether to another room or simply re-homing them, I
haven't decided. Considering how much of my music I've
digitized, I'm liable to do away with that section, or maybe
just move all the CD's and DVD's somewhere else to give me more
space for books.
#Post#: 13208--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jack's Library?
By: Zyngaru Date: June 4, 2019, 9:37 pm
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I like that bookcase. It has a custom look.
When I was ready for my bookcase, I couldn't find anything that
would work and fit the wall how I wanted it. Thus, My brother
and I built a custom bookcase to fit exactly how I wanted it.
The only thing that could have been done differently, was the
bottom shelf. I had it set for large books, like the photo
books. They are always tall. I thought I had it tall enough,
but low and behold my sister brings me two books that won't
stand up on that shelf. So The only advice I would give is to
make sure you have at least one very tall shelf for those
oversized books.
#Post#: 13209--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jack's Library?
By: kalico Date: June 4, 2019, 9:54 pm
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Ohhh I really like that bookcase.....
Now you got me thinking 🤔 about a redo .... lol
Hugs kal
#Post#: 13212--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jack's Library?
By: Jack Date: June 5, 2019, 9:47 am
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[quote author=Zyngaru link=topic=191.msg13208#msg13208
date=1559702252]
I like that bookcase. It has a custom look.
So The only advice I would give is to make sure you have at
least one very tall shelf for those oversized books.
[/quote]
That's why I'm considering fully adjustable shelves. While I
have a LOT of paperbacks, I do have some very big books. While
I prefer to keep things fairly uniform, I'd prefer to have
shelves set at different levels and be able to have everything
well displayed.
To be honest, the boys and I could make bookshelves, and I
considered it. However, when it comes to making something like
fully adjustable shelves - that's not beyond my ability, but it
is beyond my time and concentration.
[quote author=kalico link=topic=191.msg13209#msg13209
date=1559703251]
Ohhh I really like that bookcase.....
Now you got me thinking 🤔 about a redo .... lol
[/quote]
It can be a lot of fun, and it's a relatively inexpensive way to
get a new look.
#Post#: 13215--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jack's Library?
By: Zyngaru Date: June 5, 2019, 2:54 pm
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[quote author=Jack link=topic=191.msg13212#msg13212
date=1559746023]
It can be a lot of fun, and it's a relatively inexpensive way to
get a new look.
[/quote]
And the good thing about those, they are movable, when you wish
to redo again later. Whereas my built in bookshelves are
basically permeant, unless I want to do a major rebuild, by
tearing them out. I have enough projects for this summer.
Trying to finish my privacy fence. Only 5 more panels, 4 posts,
to go, just need to find the time and for the weather to
cooperate. Having the energy is also a plus.
Currently replacing my utility room floor where the hot water
heater leaked and destroyed a 4 X 5 foot section of the floor.
Since I am redoing it, I decided to go ahead and lay new
flooring on the kitchen floor also.
At the same time, I am helping my brother remodel my sister's
living room, by tearing out a wall, lowering the ceiling,
putting in a support beam and making the room bigger.
After that project is done, we need to roof my brother's house.
He has put it off 2 summers already and it really needs redone
now.
So my summer is full with projects. I'll leave my bookcase just
like it is.
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