Fake wardrobe bookshelves

Hidden bookcase doors are both an attractive and practical addition to any room space but are particularly effective where included as part of a real or false bookcase.
Faux Books

What Do Famous People’s Bookshelves Reveal?

Bibliophiles do not approach bookshelves lightly. A stranger’s collection is to us a window to their soul. We peruse with judgment, sometimes admiration and occasionally repulsion (Ayn Rand?!). With celebrities now frequently speaking on television in front of their home libraries, a voyeuristic pleasure presents itself: Are they actually really like us?
New York Times

Bookcase Credibility

 Bookcase Credibility

Adam Parsons. There are positives, like the shelf of well-worn Penguin classics that have probably stuck with Adam since his English degree, but a bookcase wallpaper credibility grab must overpower to succeed and this sadly doesn't have the horses. Gaps tell. Books look stranded. pic.twitter.com/8WtG4BqHKK

— Bookcase Credibility (@BCredibility) April 28, 2020

Bookshelves videocall background

Hat tip to Marlies Tiepel.

T.S. Eliot inspired sink splash back

Custom design for The Poetry Pharmacy, Bishop's Castle, Shropshire. Hand painted porcelain.
Pretender to the Throne

Eric Clapton's bookshelf

Coronavirus STAY AT HOME bookshelf

Via Maks Viktor Antiquarian Books - artist: Mr. Phil Shaw

Please support your local independent bookseller

It's always important to buy your books from your local bookshop, but it's even more so at the moment. Even if you can't visit the physical premises, many (if not all) will take orders online and get the books sent out to you, like mine in St Albans, Books on the Hill, pictured above. There's a good article on the BBC website about 'How bookshops are helping with isolation'.

#showusyourshelves

Trending now on Twitter (and quite right too)

Make your own Ideal Bookshelf

Make your own Ideal Bookshelf, just like Jane does! Draw in the spines of the books you love most, the ones that changed your life and helped make you who you are today. We know, it's not easy to pick just ten! This is a perfect family project, especially when you're stuck at home and need some good edutainment! Also, many teachers have turned it into a very successful classroom project.
More details and downloads at Ideal Bookshelf

Miniature revolving wooden Shakespeare book case

Our smallest book is probably the ‘Ellen Terry’ Shakespeare, edited by J. Talfourd Blair and published by David Bryce and Son in Glasgow in 1904. It measures 50 mm by 35 mm. The Scottish publisher Bryce specialised in small text editions and produced a diminutive Bible and Koran. The 39 volumes are shelved on a purpose built revolving wooden book case. Ms A. H. Taylor donated nineteen volumes and the book case in 1957; in 2002 the set was completed by an anonymous donor.

The edition is dedicated to the actress Ellen Terry, a renowned Shakespeare actor and one of the most famous actresses of her time. In 1904 she went on a provincial tour appearing in Shakespeare plays and the publication of this miniature set might have been intended to coincide with her tour.
Some of the volumes are in a very fine condition, whilst others show signs of wear and tear. Perhaps they were handled, possibly by a child, and this set is the perfect accessory for a library in a dollhouse.

Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

18th Century commode in the form of a book

Whether they were originally made as a whimsical statement or in fact as a utilitarian portable convenience, there's no denying that a "book" toilet is a facility lacking in the homes of most modern book collectors. This situation can be relieved by the addition of this fine example, no doubt Continental in origin (they were all the rage in France). This example is constructed of wood and features hand-forged iron hinges, clasps, latches and nails. In its "resting" configuration, it appears to be a folio-sized book (19.75 x 14.75, 501 x 375 mm.) with lavishly decorated leather covered boards and a red morocco spine label bearing the appropriate title "Historia Universalis". But with some unclasping and skillful assembly of the component parts, there suddenly appears a 20 x 18 x 14.5 inch stool with the necessary hole. The stool would have concealed the more traditional bowl. This example remains in functional condition with some wear to the exterior leather covering and thankfully little or no sign of wear to the interior. 
Heritage Auctions

Win 1 of 20 copies of How To Give Your Child A Lifelong Love Of Reading

Win 1 of 20 copies of How To Give Your Child A Lifelong Love Of Reading by Alex Johnson, published by @britishlibrary and including comprehensive book lists provided by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education @clpe1

Enter now https://t.co/RVC5h79atb pic.twitter.com/maPbHv9Nbr

— World Book Day UK 📚 (@WorldBookDayUK) March 3, 2020

Alpacka bookcase

Innovative freestanding book storage. Comes with a set of different colour braid that loops bridges between the planks for additional storage.
Mike Hale

The Drover's Wives by Ryan O'Neill

The literary world can be rather po-faced sometimes, so it's always a pleasure to come across an inventive book which offers the dual delights of intelligent writing and funny jokes. Here, Ryan O'Neill riffs on the short story The Drover's Wife by Australian writer and bush poet Henry Lawson, retelling in 101 different formats the efforts of a mother trying to protect her children from a snake in the outback. From the contents pages to the note on type at the back via a Freudian interpretation, an Amazon-style book review, and a 1980s computer game (particularly clever this, especially if you ever played The Hobbit way back when), O'Neill is a dab hand at manipulating the text - the back cover even tells the story in paint swatches. Indeed, he has a track record of playing with the concept of literary greatness in his earlier Their Brilliant Careers and those who enjoyed that book will certainly enjoy this one too. So will readers who took to the similar approach of Raymond Queneau's Exercises in Style or who simply like the kind of literary wordplay of books like Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn. I read it in one go in a pause between sessions of Ducks, Newburyport, and found it a much-needed pick-me-up. Highly recommended and available direct from its publishers Eye Books as well as all the usual places.

Wisdom Tree bookcase

Readers love to read several books simultaneously. Wisdom Tree is a solution to keep your books neat and tidy. With the quick access design, you could quickly access to the page you left off.

Birch plywood, USB 2A powered warm LED light, 200mm x 420mm x 190mm
Bookniture

Band Rail bookcase

Band-Rail ripples effortlessly through space while holding considerable book weight. Storage space is integrated to the staircase and generates an elegant and vibrant environment. Made of wooden ‘gills’ and supported by a minimal steel beam the handrail is mechanically fastened and brought to site in a few pre-assembled pieces that fit inside a standard car.
VG Studio

Globetrekker bookcase

Harking back to the romantic era of long, luxurious voyages by sea, the Globetrekker range is inspired by an original trunk from 1914 that Timothy Oulton discovered at an antiques market. Intrigued by the intricate detailing and beautiful brass plate of the trunk, Tim deconstructed the antique, redesigning it to encompass a full collection of lamp tables, chests, coffee tables, and bookcases, evolving with a range of different innovative finishes. Globetrekker has a distressed aluminium finish inspired by military aircraft, transporting the original Globetrekker into the dynamic, modern world of travel.
Timothy Oulton

Rubook bookcase

This bookcase is inspired by the legendary Rubik’s cube! Freely inspired by such an iconic object, we created its perfect transposition into a piece of furniture: a unique and revolutionary bookcase. A solid, fun and adaptable bookcase that perfectly suits spaces with a strong personality, creating an absolute design corner. We imagined two completely rotatable horizontal surfaces (the base clearly remains still) which give the bookcase many customization options and modularity in use. The future calls to the movement: you cannot stand still! It’s time to move your home!
Invasionecreativa

The rise of the booknook

The concept became popular on Reddit, with the r/booknooks subreddit going from zero to 7,900 members in just two days. The website defines book nooks as "mini worlds created within your bookshelf", usually as a diorama of an alley. The idea seems to have originated in 2018 from a Japanese artist called Monde. They created a "back alley bookshelf" made to fit alongside paperback books. The tweet has been liked 179k times since.
BBC (pictured, Alby Martin's booknook)

Superhero bookshelf

A special bookshelf that gives a 'floating-on-air' feeling. The superhero character seems to easily stop the books from falling down to the ground.
Artori Design

Lego bookshop

Recreate the charm of a backstreet bookshop that you might discover in any quaint village or town with this LEGO® Creator Expert collectors’ toy. The 3-storey bookshop and adjoining modular town house building is filled with fun building techniques and surprising details, including a display window, reading nook and an open-out design.
Lego

Sit.Choose.Read.: an octagonal bookcase

Starting from the octagon, the author creates an interior space to isolate himself and focus entirely on reading.
Manel-Song Ollé Chin

Troy bookends

A cut metal bookend depicting the fighting warriors of the Trojan War. Part of a range to accompany the Museum’s current major exhibition, Troy: myth and reality.

Llama Bookshelf

Plywood CNC milled Llama with three cut outs for books or plants and one shelf.

Measures 4’ 3” × 2’ × 4’ 9” 
Ashley Fuchs

Save 50% off Edward Lear and the Pussycat: Famous Writers and Their Pets

The British Library is giving its online shop a new look and as part of the reorganisation my latest book Edward Lear and the Pussycat: Famous Writers and Their Pets is now available for a limited time only for a mere £5, a whopping 50% off. Click here to avail yourself of the offer.

Rotating bookshelf for children

Children can get books from suitable position easily by rotating bookshelf. The inside of the bookshelf is made of recycled waste bicycle rubber tyres to fix books of different sizes and to ensure the books do not fall out when rotated.
Xue Feng

Hand-shaped bookshelf

Usman Ahmed

BookTrust Christmas Appeal

BookTrust is appealing to the public to dig deep this Christmas and help send special book gifts to children who are vulnerable or in care. The UK’s largest children’s reading charity needs to raise enough money to send over 12,000 children in the UK a special Christmas gift.
Christmas can be a hard time of year for these children, but a surprise book gift can bring them joy and show them that there’s someone’s out there thinking of them. Just £10 will send a vulnerable child a surprise Christmas present to unwrap and treasure this December.

BookTrust has carefully chosen six beautiful hardback books for children aged three-13 in the Letterbox Club, BookTrust’s programme for children who are vulnerable and looked after.

Each parcel contains one specially chosen hardback book, a letter from award winning author and current Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell, a poster and bookmark created by Neal Layton, and a postcard.

Cressida Cowell, best-selling children’s author and current Children’s Laureate said: “I am so happy and proud to be included in the Christmas gift parcel this year, and thrilled children are being sent a book in this parcel as a present! Books make the BEST presents, because they help you dream big, and make your own magic. I hope this Christmas parcel puts a smile on every child’s face and makes them feel special and important – as all children should.”

Children who are looked after are more likely to experience home or school moves, and these parcels, which are delivered directly to them wherever they’re living, provide a sense of continuity and stability, which is very important throughout the year but even more special at Christmas time.

Diana Gerald, CEO, BookTrust says: “This time of year can be extremely tough for vulnerable children and at BookTrust we want to make this time a little easier for them if we can. A £10 donation can send a book gift to one child, and go some way to brighten their Christmas and help them feel special.”

Money raised from the appeal will also support sending book gifts during 2020 and BookTrust’s work with vulnerable children throughout the year.

For more information or to donate to BookTrust’s Christmas appeal visit booktrust.org.uk/xmas

The Telephone Box Library

The Telephone Box Library is an uplifting story about fresh starts and new beginnings, set in a picturesque Cotswold village, by bestselling author Rachael Lucas. Burnt out after ten years at the chalkface, Lucy’s taken a sabbatical from her job as a history teacher to focus on some research. She moves to a tiny Cotswolds cottage that comes with a reduced rent in exchange for keeping a daily eye on Bunty, an extremely feisty ninety-something.
Pan Macmillan, published January 9, 2020

Elton John's bookshelves

How do you organize your books?

Very well! I’m very meticulous about things like that. I have a huge library of books on art and photography, kept in the gallery at my home in Windsor, all cataloged and detailed so I can have what I want at my fingertips. They’re very well arranged. I hate seeing things lying on the floor in a horrible state. I’m a very organized bloke.

More at New York Times  

Photo of Elton's shelves at his Windsor home by Simon Brown)

Virginia Woolf Stand Up Desk and Bookshelf

A reproduction of Virginia Woolf's writing desk with bookshelf. Cherry wood with Washington cherry stain and a navy blue leather top.
Standupdesks.com

2S Chair bookcase

The 2S Chair is designed to be used, lived and decomposed day by day in a different way, creating the union between aesthetics and function.

Gennaro Attanasio

Menus That Made History

My third book of the year (no more now until 2020) is out today. I'm really pleased with this, co-written with my friend the actor Vince Franklin (Bodyguard, Thick of It, Cucumber, etc). It's available everywhere people sell good books plus via the usual suspects online. Here's what some famous folk very kindly said about it:

An absolutely riveting book - reading it makes you intelligent, full of brilliant anecdotes - and very hungry indeed.' - Richard Curtis

'This brilliantly conceived and well-researched book is a source of real delight.' - Dr Annie Gray, BBC Radio 4's The Kitchen Cabinet

'Superbly written, a complete joy to read, and just about the perfect present for anyone even vaguely interested in food.' - Mark Diacono

'A gastronomic delight. You can savour it a course at a time, or you may consume the whole banquet in one sitting. It's delicious either way - utterly scrumptious, in fact!' - Mike Leigh

And here's the lowdown on what it's all about...

This fascinating miscellany of menus from around the world will educate as well as entertain, delighting both avid foodies and the general reader.

Each menu provides an insight into its particular historical moment - from the typical food on offer in a nineteenth-century workhouse to the opulence of George IV's gargantuan coronation dinner. Some menus are linked with a specific and unforgettable event such as The Hindenburg's last flight menu or the variety of meals on offer for First, Second and Third Class passengers on board RMS Titanic, while others give an insight into sport, such as the 1963 FA Cup Final Dinner or transport and travel with the luxury lunch on board the Orient Express. Also included are literary occasions like Charles' Dickens 1868 dinner at Delmonicos in New York as well as the purely fictional and fantastical fare of Ratty's picnic in The Wind in the Willows.

Edward Lear and the Pussycat: Famous Writers and their Pets

My latest book, Edward Lear and the Pussycat: Famous Writers and their Pets, published by The British Library is out now. Here's some info about it:

Behind every great writer there is a beloved pet, providing inspiration in life and in death, and companionship in what is often a lonely working existence. They also offer practical services, such as personal protection, although they may sometimes eat first drafts, or bite visitors.

This book salutes all of the cats and dogs, ravens and budgerigars, monkeys and guinea pigs, wombats, turtles, and two laughing jackasses, who enriched the lives of their masters and mistresses, sat on their keyboards, slept in their beds, and occasionally provided the creative spark for their stories and poems. Gathered here are the tales of Beatrix Potter’s rabbit, Benjamin Bouncer; Lord Byron’s bear; the six cats of T S Eliot; Camus’ cat, Cigarette; Arthur C Clarke’s dog, Sputnik; and George Orwell’s goat, Muriel. Enid Blyton’s fox terrier, Bobs, ‘wrote’ her columns in Teacher’s World magazine, while John Steinbeck’s poodle accompanied him on his 1960 US road trip, their exploits published as Travels with Charley. Agatha Christie dedicated her 1937 novel Dumb Witness to her favourite dog, Peter – the ultimate tribute.

You can buy copies everywhere good books are sold, online direct from The British Library, and at all other online outlets. Please consider getting it from your local independent bookshop if possible.

The Slightly Foxed Revolving Bookcase

A delicately proportioned revolving bookcase made from solid quartersawn oak or ash with space for books up to 18cm high. The bookcase spins on a sturdy solid wood base using a high quality Lazy Susan bearing set.

Designed by Dominic and Arabella Parish at Wardour Workshops for Slightly Foxed.

LoculaMENTUM bookcase

Designed to meld traditional bookcase appearance with a modern interpretation and a twist. This twist allows for books or other collectible items to be artfully arranged, categorized, presented. Diagonal compartments are the spine of the bookcase, so there is a progression of shapes: from the bottom to the top, creating an uplifting feel that has maximum storage capabilities. This is true to the Bauhaus principle, which denotes “form follows function”.

Designed by Michael Schlütter

Loculamentum

Abacus bookcase

Inspired by the ancient calculation tool and brought an element of play to storing books.
Materials: Oak & steel
Co-MADE

Twist shelf

Laminated bent plywood, walnut veneers.
Total dimension: 17" H x 45" W x 13" D

Kino Guérin

Shed library

This isn't what you'd usually expect to find in a shed... pic.twitter.com/6wKBYlHMGu

— BBC Cumbria (@BBC_Cumbria) June 3, 2019

The rise of private libraries

Shhh! Private libraries are making a quiet comeback... As public libraries suffer from budget cuts, more people are turning to fee-paying alternatives.
More at the FT
(pictured above, Leeds Library)