Tips of the Season
Summer 2006

          Where Will You Put Your Books?

Where will you put your books?  Most Feng Shui thought frowns on books in sight because messy bookshelves are distracting clutter, and because of cutting chi sent from edges of shelves and books.  But I love my books, and believe it is good Feng Shui to be surrounded by the things that you love.  In my office, my desk is in the commanding position, back to a solid wall and able to see the door and the window.  I don=t have bookshelves in back of me due to cutting chi, nor do they face me to fracture my concentration.  My bookshelves are on a wall beside me so I can choose to look at them or not.  In my living room, I have some of my favorite books mixed with art objects in matching rattan etigeres, where it pleases me to look at them.

 Some people with more books than space build a shelf approx 12 inches below the ceiling on one or more walls, and place less-read books there (paint this shelf the same color as the wall so it will be less intrusive). Once I had bookshelves built on either side of a fireplace. They looked beautiful, and lent a warm, inviting, lived-in feeling to the room. If you have just too many books to cope with, you can pack up the old, out-of-date, reference, the probably-won’t-read-again books, and store them in top closet shelves, or in cartons in the garage (above ground). God forbid you should give them away, but consider it.

A caveat to all this is that you keep your bookshelves neat, preferably with the books all in a vertical position, so the eye always sees order. No stacking books horizontally on top of vertically placed books! Also, do not place papers or folders on visible bookshelves; these should be stored behind doors in a cabinet or closet.

If you have a lot of books, it may be helpful to group them by subject. Place all of your reference books together, books on areas of special interest, fiction, art, travel, poetry, non-fiction, business, health and cooking, etc., making it easier for you to locate a book.

I love looking at my books, and am very comfortable with them, as I hope you will be with yours.  Curl up with a treasured book and enjoy!