Home Is Where My Books Are

September 3, 2009

in My Home

Woohoo!!! It’s finally happened: I am sitting in my very own home! After an exhausting week (oh, you know, moving during a tropical storm, etc.) I am settled in at my desk (with internet!! Yay!!!) and ready to blog daily again. I am so excited to share more photos of my home with you in the coming months, and I have lots of creative, crafty home projects up my sleeve for the Fall that I can’t wait to tackle – all of which I will share with you here, of course :) I’m telling you, this Autumn is going to ROCK!

Picture 47

Rock, I tell you!! He he. Anyway, what I did the first morning upon rising in my new home (after coffee on the screened porch in the sunshine, ah…) was to unpack every single one of my beloved books. This is something of a point of contention in my household, as B doesn’t really see the point in buying books at all – he is perfectly content to read books in the bookstore! He literally does this all the time, remembering which page he was on for the next visit. I, on the other hand, have something of a book/magazine addiction. I feel naked without my books. I need books around me as much as I need clothes and coffee and chocolate and love. I love looking at books, I love the smell of their pages, I love purchasing new books and I absolutely treasure all of the books I own.

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Above you can see a little corner of my home where I am keeping a few of my favorite books and small, cherished items. I do weed out my book collection once a year or so, and I am perfectly happy to donate books that I know I will never pick up again, or those that I was not impressed by. But. That still leaves a lot of books! The three books pictured above are ones I have kept for a very long time: from left to right, we have Georgia O’Keefe: The Poetry of Things, which I ordered after visiting the Georgia O’Keefe Museum in New Mexico; The Sensual Home by Ilse Crawford (also pictured below); and The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo.

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I know that we are all different and that for you, perhaps, getting your books arranged is no big deal. But for me… as soon as I put on some music and began setting out my books, taking a few moments to leaf through my old favorites, I finally began to feel at home. At least a bit. It’s going to take some time to get to know this house and all of its little quirks – but for now, I have my music and my coffee and my books, and that is more than enough.

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Do you have any treasured old books that you would like to share? Feel free to leave a title or a link in the comments section – or maybe there is something else entirely that really spells home to you – I would love to hear all about it!

{images: Laura Gaskill}

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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Melissa A. September 3, 2009 at 7:48 pm

How wonderful for you to be settled into your new home. I love books as well. Especially design books and magazines. I do not have the ones that you have but will have to check out “The Sensual Home” and “The Book of Tea”. Thanks for adding the links. A couple of books that I look at again and again are “The Illsutrated Cottage” by Nina Williams
( http://tinyurl.com/nh35nk) and “Pure Style Living” by Jane Cumberbatch (http://tinyurl.com/nerdb3). Both are completely different in decorating style. Sometimes I can’t decide if I want things simple and clean or alot of color. I like both. For me home is also my books, my chai tea lattes or jasmine tea in the morning, fresh flowers in the spring and summer and candles in the fall and winter.

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2 Lolalina September 3, 2009 at 8:41 pm

Melissa A. – Mm, jasmine tea + candles = heavenly!! Thanks for the book links, I’ll go check them out :)

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3 Katie September 3, 2009 at 8:15 pm

Oh, I love these book images! I just love being surrounded by books!

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4 ChasingDavies September 3, 2009 at 9:36 pm

Congrats on the home!! My hub and I get our very first home in a few weeks and I’m SO excited. First time home owners…ahhh!

I too cherish magazines and books – the books I treasure the most are coffee table books or books that I can refer back to time and time again. My current favorite is the Domino, the Book of Decorating. I will be using this a lot as I embark on decorating my first home!
.-= ChasingDavies´s last blog ..Labor Day Weekend: Shopping Discounts! =-.

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5 Lolalina September 3, 2009 at 10:55 pm

ChasingDavies – Ah yes, the Domino book – I love that one, too! Congratulations on your new home!!!

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6 candace morris September 3, 2009 at 11:17 pm

I have been blogging about my coffee table books, actually. Here are the three entries, but I could never be me without my books. What a wonderful post, thanks for sharing!

http://www.antlermag.com/blog/?p=1317
http://www.antlermag.com/blog/?p=1050
http://www.antlermag.com/blog/?p=785
.-= candace morris´s last blog ..A long weekend… =-.

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7 Lolalina September 4, 2009 at 8:14 am

Candace – Thanks for sharing this – I love your posts on your coffee table books!!! :)

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8 Paula September 4, 2009 at 5:03 am

Great idea to collect these book titles – many are going on my Amazon wish list! Just wanted to add that I’ve moved more than 20 times in my life, but have never actually OWNED a house or property. That said, my adopted digs always include my books (most of them, some are stored at my sisters’, some at my Mom’s, I’m a bit scattered over the planet…). Anyhow, the one book I always have is my old copy of Winnie-the-Pooh, the original by A.A. Milne. Don’t know why, but it follows me around like a teddy bear.
Enjoy settling in!

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9 Lolalina September 4, 2009 at 8:12 am

Paula – Aww, Winnie the Pooh!! That really is a book to treasure :) A few other children’s books that will always have a place in my heart are The Secret Garden (*sigh*) and the entire Little House On The Prairie series.

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10 gaia• Other Such Things September 4, 2009 at 8:48 am

Congratulations!
I have an ever growing collection of vintage children’s books. They’re on a shelf right now, which always seems a bit of a shame to me. I love how you display yours open!
.-= gaia• Other Such Things´s last blog ..Sept Goals + August Goals Recap =-.

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11 Lolalina September 4, 2009 at 10:45 am

Thanks, Gaia! I’ve worked in a library & as a teacher, so I think that’s where I picked up my book display habits! Oh yes, and I love vintage children’s books – there are so many beautifully illustrated, inspiring ones out there :)

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12 Sam September 4, 2009 at 9:23 am

Congratulations! Your first home is always special. I love Jane Cumberbatch’s Pure Style Living. Whenever life feels a bit hectic, I pull out that book.
Have a lovely weekend.
.-= Sam´s last blog ..Inspiration…Printed with Betz White =-.

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13 Lolalina September 4, 2009 at 10:46 am

Okay, you are the 2′nd person who’s mentioned “Pure Style Living”…I think this is a sign that I need to purchase it :)

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14 Alexis September 4, 2009 at 11:08 am

Congratulations on your new home! Books, coffee, and music always help to set the mood, especially when settling in to a new house. Books that spell home to me are my Jane Austen collection. They go with me everywhere, and are a little bit worse for the wear. But, they bring home with me no matter where I am! :)

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15 Magchunk September 8, 2009 at 1:22 pm

My books help me feel at home too (right now about half of them are boxed up for OUR move and my living room is looking lonely). Jackie at Sweetie Pie Pumpkin Noodle is hosting a blogger book fair this week. My five book wishes will be up later this week!

That being said, I have two copies of “Middlesex” by Jeffery Eugenides. One paperback that I bought originally and read, and one hardcover that I couldn’t pass up for $5 on clearance at Borders.
.-= Magchunk´s last blog ..Top 5 Design Tips =-.

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16 Melissa de la Fuente September 9, 2009 at 9:21 am

*sigh* What a lovely scene you describe here Laura….I am so happy you have your books and they are out and making your new house a home for you…..I love the vignette of the three displayed. Just beautiful….
xo
Melis
.-= Melissa de la Fuente´s last blog ..Cheap & Chic: inspired by art on etsy =-.

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