20/08/07: Old tech inspired by new tech
Whenever I have the discussion with people about the future of literature I run into a brick wall: “But I Love Books.”
Well, so do I: here’s proof, if it was needed - the fruit of my Saturday. After months of having them stacked untidily around me, they’re back where they belong, out, accessible - and gorgeous.
I did try thinning the collection, going through the lot in the hope there would be some in their I could bear to part with. I ended up chucking three old guidebooks and a couple of unread proofs. I am incapable.
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Designed and built by 
How did you get them to colour coordinate like that? It looks so great, but is there more to it than colour coordination - I can´t see clearly. Publishers series´ perhaps? I can only ever find anything when filed by author.
It looks great though. I never throw anything away if I can help it.
Er, I moved them around?
It’s just the colour - which gives a nice random feel to it. Obviously publishers with a strong design identity - e.g. Penguin - end up grouped together in various places - orange fiction, blue/green 20th century classics, black classics, silver modern classics bottom right etc.
I work in digital publishing, much like yourself. If I had a penny for the number of times I have explained that I too love books….sigh.
Very much like the arrangement. I can pick out many an old favourite, but is that seriously a Riverside Chaucer in the blue section? It brings back memories, painful memories.
It certainly is. I never studied Chaucer at school, so took a Middle English course with some outside-department credits at University. It was good - in that I learnt about Chaucer - but yeah, I’m not much of a fan of that tome. Same goes for the Malory in the red section…
Well, you inspired me.
I did ten shelves this morning. The books look so good, and you are quite right about the random feel being nice - in fact it´s created a sort of cutups effect - with some curiously appropriate choices landing side by side.
I can´t believe I had so many pink spined books though. As the house is ful of books it´s a bit like redecorating. I think I like it. I´ve done one case of all black and whites as if they were piano keys - three blacks, white, two blacks etc…
DVDs next!
I thought I saw an OUP Malory there. Now that is Middle English I do like. “And he smyte hym withe his swerde!”.
Genius.
Wow, great job on the book organisation, a serious improvement from the previous book stacks! Categorised by colour in a rainbow ordering, I see… but then within each colour, alphabetically, chronologically…?
Chris - no, just colour. I’d like to get the colour really strict, but happy to let the happen organically over time!
Nice to see Charlie Mortdecai on the bottom row.
He does peer out rather well, doesn’t he?