Sentiments Attach

I'm sentimental. So recently when someone told me that packing books and shipping them as part of a house move is a waste of time and money I looked at that person like they were crazy. I could never leave the books and things you see on the bookcases in the pictures above.

I have books that were gifts-- like my bible which was a gift from a dear friend. That bible came to me express-delivery one Christmas wrapped in a plastic shower curtain. My dear friend knew that I love the smell of new shower curtains because they remind me of the smell of the new plastic dolls I would get as Christmas present every year as a child. Also, every year at Christmas my grandmother always bought and hung new shower curtains and since then the smell of new dolls and shower curtains gives me the happy Christmas feels. So I could never part with my bible or any other book.

 I mean, I have romance novels written by Anne Mather, Sandra Brown and Mary Balogh that I'd kept since I was 14. Who doesn't get the sentimental value of books? I have Pengiun classics and my favourite copy of Pride and Prejudice which I read over once per year. I have all my Sydney Sheldons and Danielle Steeles and Dominique Dunnes; and for every country I ever visited, I also have a corresponding travel book. I have a copy of Dead Aid. And Alan Dershowitz's Chutzpah. And a biography of Justice Sandra D.  So I have over 1000 books! Does that make me a hoarder? I.THINK.NOT! I'd like to think I'm a collector.

So I am quite thankful to Ikea for its Billy bookshelves. I have hacked the Billy in so many different ways to lovingly display my colletion of books.

This week I am putting together Ikea Billies and displaying all my books once more. I always try to recreate the same styling I used since my first Billies in Washington DC. But alas, the more books I acquire, the less room there is for figurines and things. But I'll definitely try for the many-faced yellow vase arrangement you see in the first set of pictures from my Brussels home.