A HANDMADE BOOKSHELF

Four years ago, I bought my single shotgun house in New Orleans, not just because I wanted to live in this beloved city but also for the house's aesthetics: excellent light, high ceilings, hardwood floors. Also, there was a four-and-a-half-foot wide space lodged between a more than 100-year-old brick fireplace and a wall of the living room that sang to me. It was in this spot where I instantly visualized that which did not yet exist: a floor-to-ceiling custom bookshelf.

As an author and lover of books, bookshelves have always acted as kinds of altars for me, even as they serve a functional purpose. Still, I'd never had a fancy bookshelf before. I'd had Ikea particle board bookshelves and hand-me-down-from-friends bookshelves and dumpster-dive bookshelves and back-of-the-thrift store bookshelves. Never had I owned something stylish and new and tailored for me and my needs. A handmade bookshelf to fit a nearly 13-foot ceiling? Frankly, it was a sex dream.

There was also the idea of it being created out of thin air. A space existed, and it needed to be filled. This appealed to me as a novelist, a person who is constantly conjuring up universes where they previously hadn't existed, even as I felt a nervous energy around the decision. It can feel risky to imagine things, perhaps even riskier to ask someone else to imagine for you, particularly in this, the first house I had ever bought, which I had saved for for years.

To read the complete article, see:
The best $1,600 I ever spent: A handmade bookshelf (https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/2/4/21083866/jami-attenberg-best-money-custom-bookshelves)

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