I Love My Built-In Bookcases

Four years ago, when we were house hunting but I was briefly out of town, my husband told me about a house he had found and was excited about. The main draw was the location and the view. But knowing me and my devotion to books very well, he also told me of an added inducement: "It has built-in bookcases!" When I got back from my trip and saw the house, I loved it as much as my husband did, for many reasons, and one was those bookcases. They are floor-to-ceiling, with an abundance of space for many books. Of course I love bookcases in general: at home, in my office at the university, anywhere.... But there is something extra special about built-in bookcases. They are an integral part of a room, a sign that someone made books a priority when the house was built. They are so solid, so permanent. Readers, we bought the house and moved in very soon after. And one of the very first things I did when we moved in was to arrange my books on those magnificent, roomy built-in bookshelves!