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| My actual shelves |
I’ve been on the road and away from my bookshelves lately. I
miss them! As a book lover, I find it fun and inspiring to work while surrounded
by stories I love. Plus, when I want to promote my own books or run a contest,
it’s tricky to manage when I’m not within arm’s reach of my personal archives
to take photos and post online.
I asked one of my sons back home to take some photos of my
books for me, and in describing to him what I wanted, I got thinking about my
five favorite shelfies—bookshelf shots that are art for art’s sake. I follow
lots of them with the bookstagram hashtag on Instagram or shelfie tag on
Tumblr. I know… some people follow cute animal pics. I like following books.
Anyhow, here are some of my favorite kinds of book pics:
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| PopSugar - see full article here |
Rainbow- I think I love this motif
because I’d never copy it in real life. Who could possibly USE a bookshelf
organized by color, after all? I tend to group books by theme on my shelves.
Medieval history in one place. Decorating in another. Romance goes together.
Literary fiction has a place. But if you start grouping by color? I’d never
find what I needed! However, it’s so pretty to look at and makes you focus on
the physical joy of a book as opposed to the content. And sometimes, that’s
really fun.
Teacups and Flowers- Less a
shelfie than a book montage, the photograph of a beloved cover with coordinating
teacup or flowers has timeless appeal! A colorful Harry Potter cover next to an
equally jazzy bouquet or a quirky mug. A classic Jane Austen novel beside a
teacup on white linen. It makes me want to run to the library and start
reading.
White – Like the rainbow, I could
never go for a color theme, but I’ve seen shelves where people wrap their books
in protective papers so they all match. All white paper wraps are insanely
pretty! I like the clean look of lovely white rooms that feel like a breath of
fresh air. And to give the white some texture and depth with one book spine
after another is so beautiful.
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| Vintage... so pretty! |
Vintage- The history lover in me
could stare at vintage book bindings for days. Gold leaf. Worn leather. A hint
of must. It makes me wonder who else has held the same books as me, and how
many other minds have wrestled with the ideas in those tombs. There’s a
beautiful sense of connection to share a book, or maybe to find an insightful
marginal note scratched eons ago in a margin. It’s what makes estate sale
shopping so rewarding.
Fairy lights- My fanciful romantic
assures me every bookshelf in the world is just a little bit better with fairy
lights. I would fret that too much heat would hurt my precious titles, so LEDs
are a must with a little bit of distance from the books themselves. But I think
seeing the tiny twinkling lights around a bookshelf reminds me of the
transporting magic of a story. One of my favorite quotes is from the storyteller
Clarissa Pinkola Estes who talks about the power of story this way, “Whenever a
tale is told, it becomes night. No matter where the dwelling, no matter the time,
no matter the season, the telling of tales causes a starry sky and a white moon
to creep from the eaves.” Fairy lights help give that feeling, like the stars are coming out as night
falls and a story is about to begin...
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| Win my April release! |
What about you? Have you ever
followed the art of book photos? How do you like to see a shelf arranged? Share
with me this week on the blog and I’ll give one random commenter a copy of a
red-spine book for your red themed book shelf—an advance copy my upcoming
Harlequin Desire, The Magnate’s Mail-Order Bride. In the meantime, please be on the lookout for the next book in my Harlequin Superromance series, "Heartache, TN," Wishes at First Light, available March 1.
