'All bookshelves are magical'
Neil Gaiman
I've always had a bookshelf in my bedroom. Even before I could read, I remember those white shelves full of toys, stuffed animals, and the books my parents would read to my siblings and I at bedtime. When I got older, the toys were switched to models, and the stuffed animals to action figures. The books remained, but instead of children's books, they were books I read myself.
I read everything as a kid, from books geared towards girls, often written by Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary, to books written for boys, like the Danny Dunn series and even some of my dad's old Hardy Boys. When I got a little older I discovered Stephen King, Robertson Davies, Sidney Sheldon, Tom Clancy and my hidden copies of Jackie Collins Lucky and Hollywood Wives.
At some point, my bookshelves actually became for books, just books, and I filled them with so many of my favorite books, I soon needed a second and a third set of shelves. I lugged those books, and those shelves over at least eight different moves in my twenties and early thirties. Various apartments, and houses I rented with friends, to a home, I eventually bought and owned.
Last year when I moved however, I needed to downsize. I'd own a big old house for more than a decade, and was moving to a smaller home with less space. As difficult as it was, I gave away two of my bookshelves, keeping the original one from my childhood bedroom. It's original version was painted white, but I later had it stripped, and varnished to it's original mahogany. For some reason, when I moved last year, I painted it white again. I'm sure I'll regret it eventually, but I wanted a change.
I also donated most of my books to animal shelter when I moved. They sell them at the mall to make money. It was actually easier than I thought. I kept all my favorites, and the books I like to re-read. I kept most of the books that I was given as gifts, especially those with handwritten notes from the gift giver.
I'd accumulated so many paperbacks, and collections from my favorite authors, too many, most that I know I'll never read them again. Books are meant to be read, so it made sense to pass them on to someone else who might read and enjoy them.
Now, my bookshelves look closer to how looked when I was a kid. There are books on all four shelves, but there are also pictures, art pieces and some glass figurines. Although I just have one, they're arranged similar to how George (Random Exposures) has his in this series of images.
I still buy a lot of books, several a month, but I've much better at realizing which ones are keepers, and which ones I should pass on. One of my brother's takes all my Steven King and James Patterson books, and my niece and nephews love all the 'pop culture' books, I love to buy on Amazon. The rest, I donate or take into work to give away.
As much as I love a great bookshelf, nothing beats a well built bookcase, than a well built hot male form in front of them. George and Nolan certainly increase the visual impact of this particular set of shelves. Like the images of model George on the previous page, I love how photographer George captured Nolan interacting with the shelves.
Nolan looks exceptionally hot bending down, and scanning to find just the right riveting read. I love the angles George captured, and contrast of Nolan's curves and lines against the structure of the large shelves in the background. If you've checked out my past posts featuring George's work, you know that Nolan is sort of a muse for the photographer or prose, and they've worked together over a half-a-dozen times. That means, there more of George's work with Nolan to come!
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