Further Reflections on Bookbuying: Bookcases (Prompted by the Sudden Collapse of Same)

Groan. (A variant on "ow.")

Really, my house isn't normally this much of a disaster zone.

Er. As I was saying. When it comes to bookcases, skimping is penny-wise, pound-foolish. Whatever you do, don't waste your time buying anything "parawood" or "processed wood." They crumble if they get wet, get scratched and chipped with distressing ease, and have a bad habit of collapsing at awkward moments. Granted, the bookcase which just fell apart cost an economical $40 or so, but it a) didn't last very long and b) now has to be replaced. Do that a couple of times, and you might as well have just bought a good set of shelves on the first go-round. Your best bet is always solid wood, like pine or oak; unfinished wood furniture stores are probably the best bet for the financially challenged. If you're in a pinch, though, the fold-out wood bookshelves (these, for example) are far more durable than the parawood variety, and usually sell at reasonable prices. I don't recommend stacking them, however--I found that the shelves and frames can pull out of shape, especially if the books are heavy. A three-shelf folding bookcase, though, can stand up to quite a bit of weight. I'm using the two I still have to hold heavy reference books.

I've now got one more parawood bookcase which needs to be replaced, but that can wait until next year. In case you're wondering, 5,000 books = 30 bookcases in the house + 7 bookcases in the office. (It was so much more, um, entertaining when I was in Chicago; in my last couple of years there, I was sharing my studio apartment with 3,000 books. There were books in the closet, books in the dining area, books in plastic cubes in the middle of the room...)

Comments

[Sharon]

I now have two bookcases from a local organisation called Craft, which is run by the Salvation Army I think but also has some connections to the local authority. Not only do they take unwanted - and often very good, solid - furniture (and other things, like white goods and bikes which they check and do up) and sell it cheaply for those without much cash to spare for new stuff, they have a workshop that will make things like bookcases to order and to your specifications; you get properly made furniture, of real wood!, for absurdly little money. (And they also deliver it for a nominal charge. None of that struggling with flatpacks.) There are plans mooted to expand it beyond Aberystwyth around the county. It's a little gem.