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GUEST POST: 7 Tips for Creating a Home Library

On March 8, 2022

Every so often, the good people at Siege Media send me a nice infographic to share. It’s legitimately one of my favorite things to find in my Inbox. I think you’ll enjoy this one, and the nice introduction that they sent to go with it.

7 Tips for Creating a Home Library by Jennifer Anderson

Ever seen those picture-perfect home libraries and wish you had your own?

Adding a home library, or the specific place in the home for storing all of one’s favorite reads, is a bookworm’s dream for a reason. The beautifully organized shelving offers both a decorative touch to any space and a peaceful respite for the avid reader. You may have your favorite digital or audiobooks, but nothing beats an extensive library of physical books.

In this guide, we explain how to make a home library by starting with seven simple tips. Keep reading to learn everything you need to begin creating your own personal collection.

1. Analyze Your Collection
The first step to creating a home library is to gather all the books you currently own and sort them by category. You might find that you already have enough books to fill up your personal collection. If not, you’ll want to determine which kinds of books you want to add to your library.

Taking note of how many books you have will help you determine how much space you need for your home library.

2. Find the Space
Once you’ve determined how many books you have, you’ll need to find a space in your home that can accommodate your collection. It’s best to avoid spaces on outside walls, since their temperature can change frequently.

In addition, steer clear of areas where you eat and drink to avoid pests. Instead, opt for spaces you don’t use as much, like under beds or in corner nooks.

3. Determine Your Budget
Next, you’ll need to figure out a budget for your home library renovation. Take note of any costs that come with the storage and accessories you want, such as shelving, seating, and cushions.

If you don’t have enough books to fill your space, factor in any additional costs for book purchases. Check out compilations in your desired genre, like some of the best nonfiction books, and determine the price of those additions.

4. Choose Your Shelving
There are two main types of shelving used in home libraries: built-in and freestanding. Built-in shelving refers to permanent fixtures built into the walls of the home. Alternatively, freestanding shelving is a movable fixture, such as a bookcase.

The type you choose will depend on the kind of look you want, as well as whether you want your library to be temporary or permanent.

5. Think About Lighting
Since your home library is where you’ll do the most reading, it’s critical to have ideal lighting. To do so, you’ll want to make sure the natural and artificial light in the room meet your needs.

Try to choose a room with a window that lets in a lot of natural light during the day. From there, add lamps for accent lighting that highlights your home library and makes it easier to read at night.

6. Add Lots of Color
Many home libraries make great use of color, in the form of both books and extra elements. To give your space your desired color palette, consider painting your shelving, putting on wallpaper, or adding colorful trinkets on your shelves.

Whichever colors you choose, just make sure to match your home library’s color scheme with the rest of the room.

7. Pick an Organization Style
Your home library is your own personal collection, so it’s important to decide on an organization style that makes the most sense for you. Popular styles include chronological, alphabetical, by color, or by genre.

For those who have kids, place their favorites like the Harry Potter series on lower shelves so they’re within reach.

Making a home library can seem like a daunting task, but it’s actually easier than you think. Simply by following these seven tips, you can start creating the home library of your dreams.

For even more information and tips about creating a home library, take a look at the infographic below.

Just a Spoonful of Sugar—Non-Fiction to Smile With and Learn From

By HCNewton

On March 7, 2022

In Books, News/Misc.

(Updated and Revised 3/7/22)
Just a Spoonful of Sugar—Non-Fiction to Smile With and Learn From I stumbled onto my notes from Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic: A Comedian’s Guide to Life on the Spectrum a while back (and yeah, I forgot almost all of them in my post about the book). But it got me thinking about McCreary’s approach—taking a hard-to-talk about subject and adding a touch of humor (or at least a light-hearted voice) to it to make it palatable. It’s a great way to get someone to look at the subtleties of what the Autism Spectrum Disorder can be, how individuals can fall somewhere on that spectrum (and therefore have many things in common), and yet be very different from one another.

Now, I realize that some would point to our cultural inability to discuss difficult subjects with the sobriety and seriousness they deserve as a significant problem. And there’s something to that. More than something, probably. Still, I don’t like to think I enjoy these books and their approach because I’m shallow, but I guess I shouldn’t rule that out.

Shallowness aside, there’s something to the approach—whether it’s technical issues, trauma, socially awkward topics, disease, disorders, or other things people try to avoid discussing—doing so in a light-hearted manner or with plenty of laughs, tends to make the audience receptive. It takes a lot of skill to blend the difficult topic into an entertaining package. But it’s a great way to gain a new perspective, a deeper understanding, or learn something.

Here’s a list of the books that I’ve read/posted about in the last few years that entertain while informing/giving insight:

bullet Go Back Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American by Wajahat Ali—Ali’s memoir of growing up as the child of immigrants from Pakistan. While telling his own story, he shines a light on the kinds of things that people that look like him and/or come from similar backgrounds have to deal with in school and society (both within the Muslim community and without). Of special focus are the days and years post-9/11 and how that’s changed things for better or worse (mostly worse). His telling shows a good sense of humor, and sometimes will spend a good deal of time on humor, but that’s not the focus.
bullet Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher—Fisher addresses her addictions and mental health problems (and the extreme solutions) in this frequently laugh-out-loud memoir
bullet Everything is Normal by Sergey Grechishkin—Grechishkin’s memoir of growing up in 1980’s-era Soviet Russia brings the grins (and a chuckle or two) while not letting us forget how hard and terrifying it could be.
bullet Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16 by Mose Kasher—Kasher’s account will make you smile, break your heart, and help you understand addiction
bullet We Had a Little Real Estate Problem by Kliph Nesteroff—This is the story of Native Americans/Indigenous people in Entertainment–particularly comedy, but there’s a little spill over to other areas, too. Unlike the rest of this list, the prose is straightforward and no-nonsense. But Nesteroff’s subject is comedy and he quotes frequently from those he tells the story of–and their humor shines forth while this dark, yet hopeful, story is told.
bullet Gluten Is My Bitch: Rants, Recipes, and Ridiculousness for the Gluten-Free by April Peveteaux—on the one hand, this seems the slightest of the issues addressed. Ask any person with Celiac Disease how hard it can be to find food that doesn’t make you violently ill—and just how violent that illness can be. But Peveteaux will make you laugh, while offering hope and help..
bullet Henry by Katrina Shawver—even in a Nazi work/death camp, friendship helps, people can find some release.
bullet Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic: A Comedian’s Guide to Life on the Spectrum by Michael McCreary—I realize I started this post talking about the book, but when I revised things, it felt like a bad list if it wasn’t on it. This Comedian talks about growing up with Autism Spectrum Disorder and how he became a comedian—he works to dispel some myths, and offer some real insight while entertaining.
bullet You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin, Lacey Lamar:—Amber Ruffin and her sister, Lacey, recount various racist things that people have said (or done) to Lacy on an almost daily basis in her professional and personal life. It may not sound that funny, but it frequently is.
bullet And Then You’re Dead: What Really Happens If You Get Swallowed by a Whale, Are Shot from a Cannon, or Go Barreling Over Niagara by Cody Cassidy and Paul Doherty—the publisher describes this as, a “gleefully gruesome look at the actual science behind the most outlandish, cartoonish, and impossible deaths you can imagine.”

Help me expand this list—what are some other works along these lines that I should read?

Saturday Miscellany—3/5/22

By HCNewton

On March 5, 2022

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

I’m preparing this Wednesday night, so we’ll be brief. Hope your week was good, will catch up soon—after I resume my typical Hobbit-ish ways.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet At least 7 state legislatures are proposing ‘book ban’ legislation, prompting concern from civil liberty advocatesm
bullet A. Lee Martinez on creating Constance Verity—Martinez is one of my favorite writers to read about writing (in addition to a favorite author period). Here he talks about creating an unreaslistic hero for his Constance Verity trilogy.
bullet I’m Dying Up Here: What a Decade of Stand-Up Taught Me About Fear and Thrillers—I’ve got to say this is not a perspective on thrillers I’d have expected to see
bullet Publishing Predictions That Never Came True

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet Barbican Station – Reconstruction by Mick Herron – Episode 13—Jeff Quest and I talk about this great Herron novel (this is the last time I talk about this podcast, really)

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Death in the Sunshine by Steph Broadribb—The first in a new series, Retired Detectives Club. Think Richard Osman + police procedural. (I’m guessing)
bullet Spelunking Through Hell: A Visitor’s Guide to the Underworld by Seanan McGuire—The newest InCryptid novel features Alice Price making a big push to find her husband. I can’t wait to jump in.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes who followed the blog this week. Sure, he’s been following for a while, but he’s got a new blog now, and I thought I’d share the link for it.

Spelling the Month in Books: March

By HCNewton

On March 4, 2022

In Books, News/Misc., Uncategorized

Spelling the Month in Books: March
I kept the focus this month on books I haven’t read in a decade or more. I sort of stumbled onto that idea mid-way through the January post and at this point I’m glad I did that–it’s fun strolling down Memory Lane with them. More than the previous two months, this month’s list made me want to hit “pause” on everything else I’m doing to re-read these.

	Must Kill TV Ken Levine’s one of those writers that I enjoyed for years without realizing–you too, probably (check out his imdb pabe)–and his blog is one of the more consistently entertaining. So back in 2013 when his novel came out, I jumped on it. The story of a TV exec doing whatever it takes to keep his network’s biggest star happy (or at least keep him showing up to work) is a fun Hollywood-satire/crime story, and it makes you wish he’d write a few more.
	Agatha H. and the Airship City Phil Foglio & Kaja Foglio’s novelization of the first arc of their webcomic is just a blast. I remember some random weekend years ago, when someone tipped me off to the Girl Genius comics and I spent hours pouring through them–and didn’t even come close to catching up. I couldn’t do another dive like that again, and never quite caught up. A couple of months later, this novel came out and it was even better than the comics (although, I’m glad I read them, so I could visualize some of the gizmos). This steampunk/gaslamp/whatever=genre-you-want-to-tag-it-with adventure is just fun. There’s action, romance, comedy, and a whole bunch of strong and smart female characters–and told with a flair that makes it a delight to read.
	Redshirts John Scalzi’s novel starts out as a pretty obvious Star Trek parody, and then shifts into a comic-SF story and the shifts into a nice meta-fiction. I remember being perfectly satisfied with the novel as it was before reading the codas that followed it, I remeber them elevating the book into something even more effective and affecting.
	Cat’s Claw This is the second in Amber Benson’s series about Death’s Daugher, Calliope Reaper-Jones. A perfectly “normal” twenty-something struggling to make her way in the world, who has to take over her father’s job when he goes missing. This book finds her dealing with ancienet Egyptian forces, Purgatory and Vegas. You know, typical Urban Fantasy fare. The book is a nice combination of fantasy action and coming-of-age story, told with a decent dosage of snark. I was suprised to find that I’d rated this 2 Stars back when I read it–I’ve often suspected that I used to be stingier with my stars than I am now. I rated three of the five books in the series with two stars, the other two got three from me–and I still read all five! There’s no way I do that today. But if i hadn’t looked up what I rated this on Goodreads, I’d have told you 3+ for the whole series.
	The Highly Effective Detective I talked about Rick Yancey’s YA series last month, so I pretty much had to talk about this one now. My son and I discovered Yancey at about the same time, and this was my introduction to him. Teddy Ruzak is a night watchman who comes into a little money when his mother dies and puts it all into starting a P.I. business. It’s not necessarily the best move for him, I’m not sure he’s right for it (Teddy might agree, almost everyone else in the book does). There’s a quiet humor to these books, as well as some nice PI action, and a sweetness throughout that the genre doesn’t frequently display.

Highlights from February: Lines Worth Repeating

By HCNewton

On March 3, 2022

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations

Highlights from the Month
Here’s a collection of my favorite phrases/sentences/paragraphs from last month that I haven’t already used for something. (I will skip most audiobooks, my transcription skills aren’t what they should be).

Ban This Book by Alan Gratz

How do you explain to someone else why a thing matters to you if it doesn’t matter to them? How can you put into words how a book slips inside of you and becomes a part of you so much that your life feels empty without it?

Probably because for all the amazing things books can do, they can’t make you into a bad person

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

If there’s a killer coming after you with a knife, embarrassment doesn’t even register.

If you have ever tried to stay afloat on a pair of magic bread slices, then you’ll know what it was like.

You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a cookie look smug.

The Blood Tide by Neil Lancaster

The other two much younger investigators were self-importantly wandering around the bridge, trying to give the impression that they knew what they were doing.

You’re job pissed, you are.’

‘I prefer the term dedicated.’

The Goodbye Coast by Joe Ide

If the price of keeping your job was shooting someone, maybe think about going to college.

Ren noted the shotgun. It was in its usual place, leaning against the wall between a rake and the long pruning shears.

“Quite a selection of gardening tools,” she observed.

“I grow ammo,” Marlowe replied. “The .357s are doing nicely. The 45s wont bloom until next year.” Ren didn’t laugh and she didn’t smile. He covered with a question…

“DeSallis is a tax accountant. He was mine for years but I let him go. He walks a little tog close to the line, but he could recite the IRS regulations and ski a the same time. DeSallis could find a deduction if it was hidden in my neighbor’s duck pond.”

The Sunshine was the worst motel in Hollywood and Hollywood had a lot of terrible motels. It was like a dying sewer rat amid a crowd of healthy sewer rats.

All at Sea by Chris McDonald

…no argument with a woman of a certain age about money gets won, especially if that woman is Northern Irish—the sweetest old lady in the land can turn into Deborah Meaden at the mention of cash.

It made Adam think of the Titanic, which was not a comforting notion at all.

When they’d been growing up, they’d both been unlucky in love: unlucky in the sense that the opposite sex had generally considered them invisible.

A short, round man with weathered skin and a beautiful combover appeared from the back and greeted them warmly in English.

‘Is it that obvious?’ Adam laughed.

‘Yes, my friend. You look like human milk bottle. Now, how may I help today?’

Dead Man in a Ditch by Luke Arnold

(I really wanted to take the time to transcribe a bunch of the lines from this, but if I stopped to note every good line here I wouldn’t have finished listening to it)

Good gamblers can separate math and emotion. Bad gamblers look for ways to make them align.

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkein

“I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”

“Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.”

“And now leave me in peace for a bit! I don’t want to answer a string of questions while I am eating. I want to think!”

“Good Heavens!” said Pippin. “At breakfast?”

(Image by DaModernDaVinci from Pixabay)

WWW Wednesday, March 2, 2022

By HCNewton

On March 2, 2022

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

My youngest turns 18 today. This is a very strange feeling on multiple layers. It has nothing to do with anything I really talk about here, but it puts me in a strange headspace, y’know? I’m excited for him, nervous about what’s next for the family, and…yeah. I guess I don’t know what I’m saying there. Let’s get back to the books…

I’m headed out of town for a few days tomorrow, which is really going to throw my reading for a loop. Typically when I go somewhere, I find a way to make reading about 50% of what I do. I don’t think I’m going to have that kind of time. But I could be wrong. So planning for March is going to wait until next week. This post is largely a re-run of last week’s, which did make it quicker than usual to put together.

Anyway, on with March’s first WWW Wednesday!

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I’m still reading (and probably finishing today) Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith and am listening to Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan, Jesse Bernstein (Narrator) on audiobook.

Blank Space

What did you recently finish reading?

The last book I finished was Mark Pepper’s Man Down and Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead by Elle Cosimano, Angela Dawe (Narrator) on audio.

Blank Space

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should still be One for All by Lillie Lainoff and I have no idea what my next audiobook will be, we’ll see where I am next week (and what’s available at the library).

Blank Space

Hit me with your Three W’s in the comments! (no, really, do it!)

Saturday Miscellany—2/26/22

By HCNewton

On February 26, 2022

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

Another week where I didn’t spend much time online (and then when I did, I was reading things I don’t talk about here). This may be a shorter collection, but I think it’s a really good one.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet Get reading: this is how books can impact your mental health—if you’re reading this post, you likely know this/live this, but it’s always good to have the reminder.
bullet American Literature is a History of the Nation’s Libraries: Ilan Stavans on One of Democracy’s Bedrock Institutions—This one really resonated with me.
bullet When the Novel Was Dangerous
bullet If I Don’t Remember What I Read, Did I Really Read It At All?—Templeton asks an important question
bullet My Worst Books of All Time (books I hate so much they make me feel like I’ve reached rock bottom)—an interesting list, and (as usual with The Orangutan Librarian) now I can’t stop thinking about what books would make mine.
bullet Fantasy Focus: Romantic Fantasy—Witty and Sarcastic Book Club follows up their series on comedic fantasy with a series of posts on Romantic Fantasy

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet The Blood Tide by Neil Lancaster—When the first book came out, I called the series Your New Favorite Police Procedural, this is the second book and it’s better than that one. I spent a little time talking about it last week.
bullet Man Down by Mark Pepper—An Everyman struggles to keep his family out of danger, and things go horribly, horribly wrong at every turn. I blogged about this the other day.
bullet The Misfit Soldier by Michael Mammay—a SF Heist novel that looks like a lotta fun

WWW Wednesday, February 23, 2022

By HCNewton

On February 23, 2022

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

I know that February is the shortest month, but it still seems way too soon for this to be the last WWW Wednesday for the month. But here it is and I’m scrambling to finish a couple of goals for the month.

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Easy enough, right?