Regular readers may well recall the recent melodrama hereabouts in regards to reshelving the Baroque library. It was one of those things, in the manner of the good old story of the pot of geraniums, about which I have written before: an influx of possessions, of one sort and another, due to the closure of the Brockley Annexe, resulted in there being nowhere to put anything – and least of all the books.
It was because the bookshelf that used to be in the “office” (i.e., on top of the chest of drawers in the bedroom, a spot that now houses a Victorian mirror with several bevels) is now in the hallway. The funny thing is that the bit of that equation I couldn’t bear was the presence on that bookshelf of the Oscar Wilde set and Edel’s several-volume Henry James biography. I thought, no! THOSE can’t go in the hall! Needless to say, having rearranged every single other thing in the whole damn flat, those books are still on the top shelf of the little bookcase outside the bathroom door. It’s not good, is it.
The rest of it’s been rationalised fine, though. And the thing is, I’ve been asked to share the pictures of the particularly cunning living room arrangement, but have not yet, heretofore, complied.
So here it is. Basically, you’re not to know it, but it is a massive improvement. The art books are now on the larger shelves, and the doll’s house is where the disused turntable used to be – meaning the shelves are now shorter, making them ideal for the first half of the fiction…* I mean, who cares, but here it is, anyway. And if I recall the thing that my friend wanted to see was the bottom shelf. This is because I had tried to cunningly arrange all the children’s picture books in order of size (very sad, I know), and of course once I achieved this they all fell over. They listed horribly, somehow, even when the shelf was full. So I had to mix them up, which you can see in the present sort of stepped arrangement. My friend was laughing quite a bit. But I know it’s the kind of thing she herself would do.
So let’s just hope it will do some good! Some fascinating research just published in the US seems to indicate that the mere presence of books in the home has as great an impact on the educational level children go on to attain as does the literacy or otherwise – literally – of their parents. This seems to be true all over the world, and even in cases where (however unlikely it might seem) illiterate parents might have a small library in the home…
The article did make me laugh. They use 500 volumes as a base figure: in China, for example, having 500 or more books in the home (aside from all other considerations, you understand) propels young people 6.6 years further in education. (In the US it’s less: only 2.4 years.) But get this! “Having as few as 20 books in the home still has a significant impact… and the more books you add, the greater the benefit.”
It doesn’t say anything about the benefits of being completely overrun by the blighters, but I reckon the point’s made, anyway. And indeed the Baroque firstborn, affectionately known as the Urban Warrior, is now doing a degree. Mind you, he’s doing Digital Media. Not a book in sight.
* For those who are interested, the poetry magazines are now lining the hallway along with other children’s books, cookery books and other things. Biographies are in the alcove that corresponds to the picture above, over some rather impressive coffee-table-style piles of the really big art books. (I was gutted recently to find that although they are beautiful, they aren’t worth a bean. Just as well. I’m already regretting Mlle B’s decision to sell her Sylvanian Families, and we haven;t even done it yet.) Miscellaneous and plays and film books are in the other bit of hallway, and in the “office” the poetry is on one wall and letters, criticism and reference books are on another. Plus the heaps. Don’t forget the heaps.
I don’t actually feel too bad sharing all this. My friend, above, recently blogged the insides of her kitchen cupboards, with detailed descriptions of her preference in jars. I reckon if I could find that interesting, this can’t be so bad.
Baroque in Hackney 