Here is one that’s a bit exotic, if for no other reason than I can not find a US distributor. So ordering direct may be your only option. I have no idea what shipping from Japan would be, but this $40 porcelain vase would be very cool on most any bookshelf.
After translating the page, you can see that it’s called the Hana Paperback planter. It’s about the size of a trade paperback. What’s really nifty is the slipcase it comes in, so when you have no flower to show you can flip it around so the spine is facing out. This would be a very unique gift for any book lover.
I saw this photo over on Exile Bibliophile (you do follow that site, right? You should) and it I saw so many things in this Parisian library that would improve my home library. Or yours.
First, the lamps. It almost looks like an oops and causes your brain to stutter, but then you realize how many problems these metal half-shades solve. It’s brilliant.
Next up is the curved bookshelf with the counter-height slanted standing desk along the top. While I could not use the curve. I do have the perfect wall downstairs where one of these would do just nicely. That extra top adds some utility and display function to an otherwise boring flat bookshelf top. Very very handy.
These are classic and absolutely beautiful. Up front know they run $90 for each 17″ shelf, but they would be so handy. I’m pretty sure that every book lover needs two. These are angled just right to serve as “presentation shelves”. So you could have your signed firsts or mini collection of Alvin Lustig‘s New Direction covers, set out so you can enjoy and your guests can take a look.
But these table top bookshelves are also portable, so you’d need one to sit on your desk to hold all of the books you need access to, on a daily basis, as you write your book (you do have a book in you. That’s not a question. You do, whether you know it or not).
Of course, if you buy three, then you’ll have to start looking for the perfect library table to go under them… hmmmm…
Church Street opened its doors on July 2, 2011. I stopped by on opening day to see what they had to offer, in the way of books. The selection there was great! It’s not huge, but very well curated. You can tell that this is a shop isn’t just run by folks who like coffee… they are also readers. It doesn’t take a customer long to figure out that some real thought and research went into the books part of the business. The first thing you see when you walk in is a floor-to-ceiling double bookcase of fiction titles. It was great fun looking through what they had and it felt kind of like visiting a neighbor’s home and perusing their personal library. There is usually just one copy of a book on the shelf and no floor stacks of the latest big-name thriller. So stop by and see what Birmingham’s newest indie bookstore has to offer.
They also have about 8 tables and a couple of big comfy chairs to sit in. I didn’t check to see if they have wi-fi and it was too hot, of a day, for me to buy coffee. But I did pick up a copy of Deborah Blum’s “The Poisoner’s Handbook“. It’s been my experience that coffee shops see books as an “add on” type deal. That’s obviously not the case here and I’m excited to see what they have to offer on down the road.
Below are some photos of what the shelves looked like on opening day.
This is what greets you when you enter the shop.They have a mostly-fiction section under the banner “Summer Reads”The kids section is tucked in the corner. Complete with bean bag chair.I like the shelf talkers that start each section. The look like bookmarks.The first case of non-fiction is to your right as you walk in.The other case of non-fiction is across from the coffee counter.Lots of books on little tables & around the registers. They even have books on the walls.
