A title that will appeal to those interested in book culture as well as furniture and interior design, Bookshelf is the first publication to take bookshelf design as its subject. From the conceptual ‘Read-Unread Bookshelf’ (which weighs books read against those still to be started) to the multi-function ‘Trick’ (a unit that transforms from shelf-space into a table and two chairs), Bookshelf presents over 200 inventive and experimental shelving designs in more than 400 colour illustrations that are sure to covet and inspire. Individual specification details are provided for each bookcase, including materials and documentation, and the accompanying texts by Alex Johnson, author and editor of ‘The Blog on the Bookshelf’, provide a fun and informative look at the history of the bookcase, as well as reflecting on how a new generation of designers have re-imagined a classic. One might have presumed that, with the advent of the e-book, the days of the bookshelf were numbered. In fact, readers are now taking almost as much interest in the furniture that houses their libraries as the books themselves; if the titles in your collection are a reflection of your personality, then so too is the design of your bookshelf.
Based on Alex Johnson's blog about bookshelves (theblogonthebookshelf.blogspot.com), this is a collection of the myriad styles of bookshelves as traditional cases, single shelves, furniture, and everything in between. The hardcover edition is nicely bound and chock full of beautiful full-colour images of every piece, each with a website address for the particular designer. At the back of the book is a further reading section listing book titles, articles and website links to related reading.
As a design book, it's great. For a serious bibliophile constantly struggling for creative ways to defy the laws of physics, it's a fun book to flip through but rarely does it offer practical ideas (though there are a few gems) for anyone but those that have small collections or extraordinarily large houses.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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10 July, 2018:
Finished reading
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10 July, 2018:
Reviewed