Bibliostyle: How We Live at Home with Books

Purchased it to justify to my relatives my gazillion books stacked everywhere. (They think I am senile).Amazon packed this book with no padding, corners are damaged and it looks like a used book. Loved the book hated Amazon's careless packing.

I have been collecting "living with books" volumes since the 1960's. I think this one is by far the best due to a number of factors. First the photography is amazing, almost like you are in the rooms. And then there is the format: 50 or so interiors are discussed, each with an essay explaining the background of the collectors, pictures of the owners, and an emphasis upon the art that shares space with the large number of books. The art ranges from pottery and portraits, to old leather basketballs. I was amazed to see how many collections store books in stacks on the floor or on chairs. I feel better now. There are also a few articles devoted to bookstores (such as my favorite, the Strand in NYC) and libraries including the much fire-damaged LA public library (with pictures taken before the fire), from my hometown.Some of the book owners are famous--Ann Pachett, Gay and Nan Talese, and Larry McMurty. The collections are from all over the world: Italy, Denmark, LA and San Francisco (many), New York and Paris (many again), Mexico and Berlin. The photography reveals the furniture in each reading area, much of which despite its plush surroundings looks as if it came from Goodwill. Comfort over art in this regard. The books are impressive as they tower to the sky on their shelves, but little is said about how one organizes books, advice I desperately need.The book physically is somewhat like a coffee table book, its 272 pages are 7.5" X 11" in dimension and printed on the finest paper to match the photography. I wonder if anyone uses their fireplaces for other than storing more books. The art and book orientation makes for most pleasant reading, especially just before bedtime. Reading this book (itself a work of art) just makes you feel good. If you yourself have many tomes, then the book also confirms that you are not wacky but in some very good company. Enjoy!

As someone who loves books and needs to cut back on my book collection habit (cough), this book may help me to that end, because it is so satisfying to look at the represented homes where books are treasured, even if I myself can’t support the lifestyle. Sure, the homes represent a certain level of income, but don’t let that stop you, because these are pretty extreme book lovers. Some pictures are so clear, you can even read the spines of some of them. Love that!

Lovely book but packaging was terrible. Some paper thrown in a box was not enough to protect the book for shipping. Purchased as a gift and had to return due to the damage on the corners.

Do you live among your books or with your books?I hoard books so it's both. I have closets full of books, books stacked on floors, on tables, by beds. In an attempt to design a library room, I purchased Biblio-Style. Like one of the featured library owners, “I’d like to have the space to let more books into my life” (Athena McAlpine).The book is beautiful, quirky, and full of bookish wisdom by my people.Proust volumes are perhaps an unintended thread amongst our tribe--a first edition that will be read before one expires, “Proust is for when I’ve retired,” “intricately figured Prousts" on a shelf. Has anyone actually read Proust?All of these profiled bibliophiles have organizational systems known only to themselves. It is truly organized chaos at its best.I had to laugh when a full page photo of Larry McMurtry’s library had the caption “While the library’s range is vast, obviously it contains a deep Western section.” Everything on the wall seemed to be Russian: Nabokov, Solzhenitsyn, Marx, Trotsky, Stravinksy, Lenin. Of course, there is a saddle on the floor in front of these Russian classics.New stops for me include the following bookstores featured:Booked Up in Archer City, TX (McMurtry's shop)Bart’s Books in Ojai, CAParnassus, Nashville, TNWe get to see in the libraries of the aforementioned McMurtry, Gay Talese, Ann Patchett and many other eccentric collectors.Really, this is my new favorite. Now, which stack should I put it in?

I'm a great fan of big personal libraries and as far as I'm concerned this book could not be better! The people who were picked, the pictures that were chosen, the organization, everything is superb! I usually don't use this many exclamation marks, but this book deserves them! One of the greatest things about this book is that the pictures look REAL, not staged. I LOVE THIS BOOK!

I love the book, It's really nice to see that others have a similar love of books and the way they collect and present them was fun to see and kind of eye opening, I don't stack my books, always on shelves with the spines out, but apparently there are other ways of displaying a collection and this book celebrates that.Gary

All pages are matte. The lighting in the photographs is minimal. The photos are all grainy. I'm reminded of burlap. They look good in the Look Inside feature online, but in the hardcover, not one sumptuous page. This is page 15 in the book. In Look Inside, the chairs are a beautiful turquoise color. Here they are dusty gray. Will probably end up using the pages for collage.

Gosta de decoração? Gosta de livros? Gosta de decoração e livros em casa? Então este livro é para você. Ele mostra como algumas pessoas ao redor do mundo convivem com seus livros e como isso se incorpara à decoração. Leitura agradável mas as fotos ganham destaque especial. Recomendo!

Excellent Book!

Para começar, o papel, fosco, uma delícia ao toque. As imagens e a escolha das imagens, maravilhosas. E a descrição dos proprietários deste mundo chamado livros, é envolvente, comovente. Lindo.

One of the best books in the subject. The text and photos are wonderful. Glad I bought it.

Ótimo livro para quem curte livros! Bibliotecas mais centradas na Europa e Estados Unidos, mas mesmo assim um deleite para quem gosta de estar cercado deste objeto tão instigante e prazeroso: o livro!