19 Reasons why Books will never go out of Style

19 Reasons why Books will never go out of Style
(and that's a fact)

If your childhood was spent tucked away in quiet corners by day, hidden under the duvet with a torch in hand by night and never a book out of sight then this is for you. Even though there were phases (hormones here we come), where I read very little with the introduction of boys, then electric typewriters and computers, I still have to have a handbag large enough for at least a couple of books. And my nightstand has at least 8 books piled on there. Admittedly all non-fiction but, allow for late nights and even later mornings.  

How many books do you have at home? 

In a time right now. where we are spending a lot more time at home and I have found, more often than not, we are focussing on the simple pleasures and away from mindless consumption. Statistics say that the second-hand market is growing and therefore:

"Rejecting the commercial volcano of consumption. We are learning how to be happy with that simple dress, rediscovering old favourites, reading a forgotten book trying old things in new ways, and repurposing things in creative ways to simplify and slowify our lives." (https://melissapenfold.com)


So here we go and Grace & Holmes shares the 19 reasons why books will never, EVER go out of style.  
 

Dream books or books that let you dream

 

1. Books fulfill dreams
They are a passport to other places and lives. In a book, you can go anywhere and be anyone and is especially motivating when you are home for longer periods. We are searching those bookcases for fat, hardcover novels, that never got finished. 

 

2. Books are works of art
Keep books where you’ll use them: cookbooks in the kitchen, reference books by your desk, coffee table books on display. Think about your shelves. If you can set aside a room as a library then lucky you. Otherwise, install shelves along one entire wall, including above the doorway. Use bookshelves to fill awkward nooks: down a hallway, under stairs, around a fireplace. If you’re in a tiny studio, build your mattress into a low platform with bookshelves on three sides. Solve the tall book problem by lying lanky volumes on their side, spines out, and stacked attractively. Let your books breathe, don’t make every shelf bulge. Consider breaking them up with collections that relate to their volumes. The ultimate finishing touch – use them like works of art.

A work of art      
                                                                                                              

3. Books soothe
Some books might be new, some old, hard or paperback, some longstanding favourites, and some you’ll be reading for the first time. Shelves soothe and comfort people and are decorative, interesting, and great company. Good books are a statement and that you are interested in the world.

 

4. Books are part of who you are
Your personal history. Mementos from trips you took some with inscriptions depicting memories. So many of my books show me my life’s story. My first bible, signed books from writers and beautiful words written by my mother. A tale of firsts, foremosts and the unforgotten. Those kinds of books are irreplaceable.

Books give us unconditional love

 

5. Books are incomparable
There is no comparison to turning the pages of a favourite book. You can feel the paper and hold the weight in your hands. Touch and the physical interaction with things in our surroundings is a vital part of being human. Reread your favourites (childhood books).

6. Books help us understand
Reading fiction can help us identify with others, research shows. “The more fiction you read, the more you think of yourself in their lives,” says Keith Oatley, a cognitive psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto in a recent New York Times article, “and the better you become at understanding other people and empathy.“ (https://melissapenfold.com)

With books, we never stop learning

 

7. Books are never boring
We may run out of things to watch on Netflix but books will always keep us entertained. Be it the story or it’s always fun to watch someone laughing because of something funny whilst reading a book on the away somewhere.

8. Books always find a place
The best way to keep books from overtaking a room is to “fill an entire space with bookshelves. When the shelves extend from end to end on a wall and up to the moulding, they blend into a room.” Recessed, built-in bookshelves are also a good solution. Try scanning the walls of your home to find a big blank wall where you can borrow space from an adjacent room, to do shelves from wall to ceiling. Built-in bookshelves needn’t steal a lot of depth from a room. The typical novel only requires a shelf that is 8 inches deep. “But it’s smart to give an extra 2 inches for deeper books.

Books don't have to be on shelves

 

9. Books are versatile
If you have a lot of books and don’t want to build bookcases, get creative, and use stacks of them in front of the sofa to use as a coffee table or as side tables. You can put tiny, wall-mounted affordable L-shaped brackets on each side of the bed as a stand-in to bedside tables which will hold around six to eight books each, with a clock on top. Keep books where you’ll use them: reference books by your desk; cookbooks in the kitchen.

10. Books are creative
Don’t confine books to shelves. A pile of interesting or beautiful volumes on a table or stool, in a basket next to an armchair, means no one need be bored. Coffee tables need books. Stack up some beautiful hardbacks and change them regularly. Choose ones with lovely pictures covering subjects such as houses, gardens, art, fashion, flowers, and food.

 Don't forget your bookmarks

11. Book appreciate being shown off
When you get carpenters in to build shelves, call the electrician to finish the job properly with picture lights over the top. Or if two shelves bookend a sofa, fit swing arm lights to their sides. Give your books the presentation they deserve.


12. Books adore accessories
Invest and collect in bookmarks. There’s nothing like a small collection of beautiful bookmarks. From leather to silk and from all around the world, each one holding a precious memory.  

 

13. Books want to be organised
Don’t let books grow stale, mildewed, or musty. First to go are outdated travel and restaurant guides, self-help books, unloved cookbooks, popular light fiction, and anything bought on a plane trip. Be ruthless with yellowing paperbacks.
 

14. Books love a library
invest in your dream library or the feeling of one. Be it dark woods, brass, and leather, ladders or modern and clean in white. And don’t forget the library-chair or ladder to get that Harry Potter feel.

Get those books sorted!

 
15. Books like to spoil you
Spoil yourself with first editions. You can get decent copies from shops like at Grace & Holmes or dealers in London and the USA who are often online. Collections never go out of style. They are often an investment but have a good reselling option if it ever came down to it (which we hope you don’t).


16. Books educate us
Be it poetry, cooking, dancing, or knitting, we can learn or relearn new things in a lot better ways than any YouTube video can. How many times have I rewinded a video to catch that particular second, because it was just too fast? You don’t get that with a book. Plus you have the option to take up that hobby any time.

Create your dream library at home, however small

17. Books are shared
Be it in a cardboard box to be given away or in Germany for example in specially adapted telephone-booth book libraries or in some buses on bus shelves; books guide us on our life’s journey wherever we go and help, entertain and teach us.

18. Books inspire us
Write your own book. Nothing looks better on your shelf or coffee table than your very own book. If it’s your dream, then why wait? Go for it and start now! 

What better teacher than books?

 

19. Books can be reused
And if the worst comes to the worst and your pages are ruined, yet you cannot bear to throw your favourite book away, there are upcycling options. A book clutch or book-hooks where hardback covers can be transformed into bags for your personals or as a way to hang your keys, dish cloths ot what-nots. The possibilities are endless.

 

Jane Austen as a bag? No problem!

 

19 Reasons, why books will never go out of style, was first published here at www.graceandholmes.com
Photos: Unsplash and Bagsyme