Outside, I enjoy those books too--- my late FIL went to school with Ferrol Sams and we love his novels. I hadn't realized he wrote essays as well. "When attending art shows, I swear off coffee table books but I am weak." We share that weakness, lol. Seems I am "always" never going to buy another huge book... Beagles, that room is fantastic, and I do see your pile of books peeking out from under that chair to the left :-) I'm with you on the kindle, but every now and then I like to hold a real book. Even though I find myself pushing the edge of the page instead of turning it (hanging head). No screen can reproduce the heft and color of those prints in large books, there is something about a good quality art print that is somehow more convincing than an image on a screen. Sloe gin, over the past decade or so I've seen many people putting lovely shelving in their dining rooms to combine functions or simply bring books into a room that doesn't often see them. I love that look, of a literary dining room! And your basket sounds eminently practical, we use our shagreen boxes and ceramic bowls for the same purpose--- the "stuff" has got to be corralled somehow. I have seen that Circus book, Robo, and the Atomic Ranch book also, they are both marvelous! It's clear that our collective enjoyment of these tomes is at least partly for the esthetic quality of the books themselves in addition to the content. I suppose that's what makes them "useful" decor :-) In some cases they might function purely as decor, as the leather books you've used, tinam. Have you seen the book purses that are so popular in some circles? Kate Spade has or had a few, and there's quite a cottage industry on Etsy making real old books into small handbags. They aren't a tenth big enough for me, but I love looking at them!

carolyn, I liked your word, "tidy-minded". It doesn't really apply to me as far as my reading, but I liked the word. Read more than one? Always. Always an upstairs book, at least one downstairs book. At least two in the car, one in my purse, one paperback mystery shoved under the seat of DH's SUV (just in case... shhhh... he doesn't know it's there.) and quite often, an audio tape in my car as well... the current audio tape is a Hamish McBeth mystery, Death of a Perfect Wife. And I usually have one textbook-type non-fiction book that I read in bits and pieces, too. Right now, that book is William J. Bennett's AMERICA: The Last Best Hope, volume 1. I cannot seem to hold myself to just one book. We are going on vacation in a month or two and with the new weight restrictions on luggage, I am seriously considering paring down the clothes so I can take the same number of books. PAM

Like some here, I learn skills best in an interactive situation where I observe, then try, then get corrections. But an instructor is not always available to me, and books work reasonably well when no teacher is available for the skills I want to acquire. And even when they are, books enhance and expand the learning experience for me. I prefer to have both, but will take either when that is all I can get. What have I learned? Gardening, cooking, quilting, sewing were all skills I learned to varying degrees from books, though certainly I have had some instruction, too, particularly with sewing and tailoring. I'm getting mentally prepared to learn to knit, and I think I want to take up playing the recorder. I don't play any musical instrument. Knowing that I would give up quickly if I don't get to a rewarding level fast I thought, why not the recorder? Children learn quickly to play it on a simple level, yet this instrument is capable of producing lovely music in the hands of a musician. And best of all, no one could ever ask you to sing along! Rosefolly

I've now tried both GoodReads and LibraryThing. So far I prefer the latter simply because more of the books I have read are in the database. I also like being to choose the actual cover of the edition I've read. Of course it's not perfect. I disagree with how it handles the issue of dates of publication. I personally prefer to note the year in which the work was first published, not necessarily the edition which I read. Other people may not think this is particularly important. The downside with LibraryThing of course is that it is a pay site. I have not reached my 200 book limit (I only entered a few years of books). Once I reach 200 titles, then I would have to pay $25.00 to continue. I haven't decided whether I am willing to pay for that privilege. GoodReads is a very good site. I didn't know that I could block on the "friends", quizzes, etc. Many people would enjoy those aspects of the GR experience. This may sound strange, but I am not particularly interested in "rating" books. If I like a book, I will remember the experience of reading it. Only rarely do I force myself to finish a book I don't like.