Bookshelf Porn | Hacker News Reader

Bookshelf Porn

bookshelfporn.com

32 pointswglb15 comments

Seeing this makes me a bit wistful.. it used to be if I walked into someone's home and didn't see shelves full of books, my impression of that person was forever changed.

Now, my home has no shelves full of books. All my (dead tree) books are in storage and I just have a kindle.

I still read as much as always, but I feel as if a certain degree of intellectualism is lost. No longer can someone look at my shelves and say "oh, I loved this book" and spark a nice literary discussion.

I should add, however, I am probably one of the few regular users of goodreads.com, though it is hardly a replacement (and I've only got one or two friends).

Now, my home has no shelves full of books. All my (dead tree) books are in storage and I just have a kindle.

Which in its own way may lead some visitors to get an impression of your reading tastes too :-)

The majority of books I own either aren't on the Kindle or couldn't usefully be on the Kindle in its current form (most TASCHEN books, megasets like Modernist Cuisine, almost everything in large formats, atlases, Edward Tufte books, art and design annuals, anything with even the barest flare of graphic design..)

Which in its own way may lead some visitors to get an impression of your reading tastes too :-)

Oh I know, that is exactly what I meant. I fear the conclusions people might draw when the only reading material they see in my house are my girlfriend's Us Weeklys.

Your first line still rings true to me, it also reminds me of a quote.

“If you go home with somebody, and they don't have books, don't fuck 'em!” ― John Waters

Though I remember reading a much more eloquent version of that quote somewhere this is all google brought up.

John Waters has written some great books--I read an autobiography of his years ago called Shock Value and some of its hilarity is still with me.

Same here, ditto for records and CDs. Some of the books (especially art books) are still on shelves, but the fiction has really taken a beating.

I can't help but think every time I see a layout like this "oh boy another pinterest clone" and it's really too bad because I nearly instantly discard the idea no matter how cool it might be.

I realize the same cycle happened with digg, reddit, stack overflow, twitter, and facebook clones when they were the new hotness, but I really do wish designers and developers weren't so likely to take whatever the current fad is and apply it to their current idea.

I'd love to know how this works: http://bookshelfporn.com/post/26256181298/upstairs-in-the-th...

I presume this is either a) pressed together like stones in arches are (therefore rendering the books inaccessible), or b) held in by hidden shelving, wire, magnets or magic. :D

Thanks for posting this! As a lover of books, these photos are great.

Unfortunately this is not what I expected...