When I moved into my little flat, almost a year ago, quite a few people asked if I intended to give a tour of my bookcases. I absolutely did intend to, but somehow it never quite happened. Now is the moment! It’s certainly not a new flat anymore, and it feels almost like another lifetime ago that I shared with three other people and most of my books were elsewhere. But, hey, here they are nonetheless!
The front door of my flat opens on the ground floor, onto a tiny hall and a staircase, so as we ascend the stairs we come across the first bookcases. On a little platform halfway up the stairs are…
The Persephone books, suitably enough, are the first things you see. I feel like I want to add that I took this photo a few weeks ago, and I’ve since (finally!) painted over the paint effects the previous occupants had on the wall, that weren’t to my taste.
Turn the corner, and a tall, thin bookcase snuck into a corner holds Persephone’s aunt – Virago:
It also houses my pile of Slightly Foxed journals. To the right: a painting of Sherpa by Our Vicar’s Wife. (I haven’t used that nickname in a while – for those not in the know, that’s my Mum!)
We’ll head across the little hallway and into the living room/dining room, which is where most of the books are. This angle might be familiar to those who follow my instagram, as it’s the easiest one to get the most in.
The bookcase wallpaper tends to give people a double take – I have a lot of books, but not that many. On the mantelpiece are my A.A. Milne books; on the windowsill are some of my books about reading – and the bookcase has my ‘old books’ starting at A. I divide my books into ‘old’ and ‘new’ which is very vague, but mostly hardback vs paperback. Essentially, the prettier books are in the living room.
We’ve turned around, and here are the rest of the old books – down the grey bookcase and then down the step-style one. Yes, it goes anti-clockwise, because I’m maverick. The step bookcase (I don’t quite know how to describe it…) is one I’ve had since I was about 15, and makes a perfect room divide. Not least because…
You can keep books on the other side of it! This bookcase has the most variety – it houses theology, poetry, plays, misc non-fiction, and the entire bottom row is books about Virginia Woolf, and her letters and diaries. The novels are elsewhere, but it shows that I do have quite a Woolf obsession.
Let’s turn around, and face the wall opposite that book wallpaper.
This is the dining space of the living area, which doubles up as my office when I’m working from home. Two of the bookcases (the two on the left) are biography and autobiography, alphabetical by subject. The third bookcase has two shelves of essays, two shelves of misc lit (theory etc.), and two shelves of letters.
The final wall of the room (opposite the sofa) has my little TV, but also – of course – some more bookcases (kindly put into the wall by Our Vicar, aka Dad). Here’s where I have all my E.M. Delafield and Richmal Crompton books.
We’ll pop our head into the kitchen – because there are, of course, some books in there too.
It’s the rest of my books about books and reading. They were on a windowsill in the kitchen, but got quite damp there. (I’m enjoying the spring and summer, for my books’ sake – it does get a little bit damp on some of the external walls in winter, so I may have to amp up my dehumidifer situ this winter.)
Scoot back through the living room, and head on into my (indeed, the only) bedroom. I haven’t gone subtle on the paint colour – I really love this shade of blue, and it makes me so happy to wake up and see it.
As I said, in here we have the paperbacks and newer fiction (and, tucked down in one corner, the children’s books). On top of the first set of shelves are my British Library Crime Classics and my Agatha Christies.
And that’s the end of the tour! I hope you’ve enjoyed having a mosey around my flat (and are perhaps relieved that I don’t have bookcases in the bathroom). There’s not really room for any more bookcases, though I’m mulling squeezing one into the living room that would mean I couldn’t quite open the door fully… watch this space.
I’m very nosey about other people’s books so I thoroughly enjoyed this post, and your wallpaper did cause me to double-take!
Also, my bedroom is painted the exact same shade of blue. So I think we should contact the paint company and ask that the shade be renamed Bookish Bedroom Blue – they’ll sell bucket loads :-)
Lovely! What a nice idea for a post. I might copy, although fiction is quite inaccessible at the moment …
I’d love that!
I am envious of your Persephone and Virago collections! Your kitty is adorable. I also have 2 black and white kitties.
I’m envious of all the space you have to keep your books! Mine are currently double-stacked into three bookcase with an additional, much more narrow one in the bedroom. I’d truly enjoy having all the bookcases you have for my books.
Like you, I am a huge fan of Virginia Woolf, and of the Bloomsbury Group in general. I’ll have to take the time to read through your older posts about Woolf and her fellow Bloomsberries. Thank you!
I love the bookish wallpaper!
I do have a bookcase in my bathroom! Why not, there is space and there are books…..and books and books….
Love the wallpaper too.
You’ve done well. I thought I had lots of books. Love to see pics of books and pets. My 3 cats say “Hello”. 🐧🤠
You’ve managed to fit a lot of books and bookcases into a one-bedroom flat! And it’s nice to see so many shelves of older books. I enjoy many of the new books coming out, but I also love some of my older books — especially vintage and antique children’s books, and my collection (sadly depleted after a plumbing leak) of Elizabeth Goudge novels.
Most satisfying and enjoyable tour! Love the way you have all the Persephone and Viragos arranged…I need to do that. But I had a shock of disappointment on seeing the painting of Sherpa with head mostly missing! Have you posted it elsewhere? From what I could see, it’s lovely.
Pure heaven!
I am eternally curious about other people’s books. A house full of books is the homiest kind of home. Yours certainly is full of books! Lovely.
I have bookshelf envy and need to get myself some new book shelves pronto! Lovely tur, am most impressed at your organisation skills. And the gorgeous cat!
So lovely to see and usch treasures!
Love the flat! You could always dispense with the door, keeping it under the bed in a just-in-case manner, and so leave room for that extra bookcase.
I was recently given two Persephone booktokens. Thank you for your reviews to help me choose!
Wonderful Simon, and thank you for sharing! I seriously want to completely revamp my bookshelves now… ;)
Impressive! If I came to your flat my neck would be stuck sideways perusing all the titles. Now I’m a bit sorry I downsized a couple of years ago, I donated tons of books to the library before the big overseas move. I did try to give away only books that I knew I’d never read again and could get from the library easily.
I am longing to move to a forever house where I can really decorate and install built-in bookshelves. Someday!
Fabulous tour!! Looks like book heaven in there! Am slightly envious of your Persephone collection! Mine is a work in progress! ;)
You have no cookbooks to shelve in the kitchen?
And do you have travel books? Eric Newby? Hunter Davies? Chiang Yee?
There are quite a few cookbooks, but I didn’t think to include them! And afraid I’m not a big travel book fan, but I do have Chiang Yee under misc non-fic.
I love it, Simon. I was always curious about your house and books. Thanks for sharing this. We are having a bathroom remodeled in our new house and the designer saw that we liked books so her first design included floor to ceiling bookshelves surround the bath tub. I nixed that idea rather quickly.
A wonderful collection, Simon – and a rather attractive cat! Thank you for sharing. I love ‘browsing’ other’s bookshelves.
What a fun tour (and your Persephones are stunning). I am currently divided into “old” and “new” as well. It seems to show both types off in their best suits. I assume Kitty was not available to pose in the other images: pity – such a class act!
Thank you for the look at your collection. Only wish I could read the titles. Love the suggestion that you remove that pesky door so you can install another bookcase. So glad you post regularly to your blog – it’s such fun!
A wonderful tour! I think you may need to take up carpentry as a hobby – more bookshelves are clearly needed and just think how wonderful fitted shelves to the ceiling would be.
I do love that you went for the bookshelf wallpaper. Because the one decorating touch missing from your flat was clearly books ;)
That wallpaper was actually there when I moved in, and I felt like I couldn’t get rid of it!
In my head, if you have a bit of flat wall, you stick a book case on it. Great tour, and great collection!
I am truly awestruck!! Your commitment to organisation and arrangement and categorisation… just blows my little “I kinda want to read these books and I kinda read those ones and these ones just need to go somewhere piles” mind!! 😂❤️ thank you for sharing!!
I was on vacation for part of July 2018 which is probably why I missed this. Thanks so much for sharing this. I love looking at other reader’s shelves and seeing how they organize their books. :D