Monday 17 June 2013

Some Obsessive Penguin Chatter

All Penguins are double stacked on the shelves (back row to front row). One day I'll be able to space
them a bit more appropriately so all titles can be seen.

As I always enjoy looking at other people's book shelves I thought I'd put up a photo of my front room library.  This room should be the master bedroom but as it's at the front of the house with large wide windows and views over the River Derwent it seems a shame to waste it for sleeping.

T. had shelves built into one wall for the Penguin collection. Our friend is a Danish builder and designer and he did a wonderful job with them.  My Penguin collection is housed on this wall and only this wall now instead of everywhere I look.  The Boxed sets (also all Penguins) are across the top.

This wall is still in the process of being tidied up. (ahem)
The other wall houses the store bought book shelves and they are loaded with Non Penguin books. Everything else I love and many of them are still TBR. My collecting addiction really does get the better of me at times but I am always happy when I look at them.  As these books are read they will be moved on. The plan (haha) is to read all of those, move them on so the shelves are bare and then I can take the Penguins that are all double stacked on each of the Penguin shelves so what you see in the photo- double it. I would like the front room to be the Penguin archive.

I know holding this dream is like holding fairy floss - a bit sticky - but it's good to think big at times.
I have Penguin paraphernalia or I should say ephemera on the closet doors and also next to more boxed sets above the Non Penguin shelves.  The reading chair is comfortable and the light is good. We recently moved a heating panel from another room into this room so I can now use it more comfortably in the winter when the overall lighting really fades early.

So this is where you will find me- either in the chair reading or at the desk working on the collection, Library Thing website and Travellin Penguin blogs. Thanks for visiting.

12 comments:

  1. Lovely. I wish I had a proper wall of matched shelves. It gladdens the heart! And I love the touches of orange to pick up the Penguin colour.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Vicki. It has been a lot of fun putting the collection together though I doubt it will ever be finished. So many books- so little time. Thank you for visiting my site.

      Delete
  2. Lovely pictures! I do envy you your bright front room (with a river view as well, what more could you ask!). Looks like a really conducive environment to read and to enjoy the pleasure of your books' company. :) Lovely looking boxed sets, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Michelle, The bright room is the only thing that keeps me sane sometimes from the cold winter darkness. We're so far south that it gets dark pretty early down here. Pretty dark by about 4:40. Could be worse. I could be in the northern part of the UK or Scandinavian countries. Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  3. Can I just say wow? I can't make any other recognisable thought right now because my jaw is on the floor. What an amazing collection!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ellie, just a bit of total obsessive compulsive behaviour on display but I really do love my Penguins. Just had a look at your blog and will put it on my list to the left here. Thank you for your comment, Pam

      Delete
  4. Hi Pam--
    I love peeking in at your roomfuls of books! And reading about your plans for them. I will now be able to picture you reading here.

    How is your weather now, exactly? I realize you're in the midst of the Northern Hemisphere's equivalent of the Winter Solstice, which is extremely dark here in northernmost New York State and cold. At the winter solstice, we get dark by around 4pm. This lack of light and cold sends me to the reading couch! Just wondering how it affects your habits.

    Best wishes,
    Judith (Reader in the Wilderness)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for visiting my library. We are in winter now. Winter solstice today and a big festival of light going on in town for 10 days celebrating it. We are dark here by about 4:40 pm. Temps in winter get to zero, sometimes below but generally a lot milder than New York winter. I grew up in MIchigan so I know what your winters are like. We definitely have four seasons but all of them milder. My sister lives in Northern Calif and our temps are much like hers. Snow on the mountains here though in the winter. Yes we are definitely hibernating a bit which is why I enjoy the bloggers world. Can read what the rest of the world is doing. Thanks for brightening up our day. I enjoy your blog.

      Delete
  5. So wonderful to see how your shelves are sorted, it's great to see your reading space. Thank you for the tour!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am so envious of that custom-built wall of shelves. We have mismatched shelves in every room... but it is a very small house, and if we had decent bookcases for all the books we'd have no room for other furniture... so our books spill out onto tables & chairs, under tables & chairs, in the wardrobe, on the bathroom floor...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, believe me I have shared your experience of too few shelves in the past. The shelves are very lovely but as you say they do prevent furniture from being placed too much near them. Fortunately we had this spare bedroom as our house is quite a small house, rooms are not that large. The library should be the master bedroom but we're crowded into the little back rooms but don't need much space for sleeping! Nice to hear from you Christine.

      Delete
  7. Very nice collection! Love the 40 years sign, very jealous, lol! Have a look at my collection of old Penguins at julesburt.co.uk or on Instagram @PenguinBookADay Thanks, Jules

    ReplyDelete

I love comments. I promise to try very hard to reply to any message left.