Are 'real' books your escape hatch? (Or are your bookshelves blocking your exit?)

Hi you. 

When was the last time you bought a book? Or, to be more precise, when was the last time you bought a real live book made of paper? You know the kind I mean: 

• they're the ones you can easily flip through to find that amazing paragraph to bore entertain someone with; 
• they're the ones you can easily bookmark using - hey, here's a novel idea - an actual bookmark ... or else anything else you have on hand. [Just tell me you're not a good-for-nothing corner-folder!!]
• and they're the ones that come wrapped in exciting cover designs, and that never run low on power, and don't break when dropped from the bed when you fall asleep mid-sente....

Yeah. Those kind of books. Because, if you've bought one of those gems during 2016 then you're in part responsible for the rise in traditional book sales.

Yesterday, after lunch at my parents' my Dad read out a story from the newspaper detailing how  sales of traditional books rose during the first half of this year while ebook sales have seen their first drop since statistics on them started being kept.

"That's because of you!" Dad said to me. Although to be honest - as I mentioned on National Libraries Day- as, while I do read a lot, the majority of my fodder comes courtesy of a library or three. 

The majority. But not all. And Dad might have a point because I've already bought more books this year than in any recent times. So much so that a few months ago I moved a little vintage bookshelf on to our landing to hold part of my burgeoning personal library:

In recent weeks I've been tempted to start selling off some titles, maybe through Ebay, just to keep things flowing around here; to prevent some books just lodging, on the same spot, forever. Read once, never to be re-read; simply taking up space on my petite little shelf where space is at a premium.

But if I ever begin to feel like maybe I have too many books on there, at least I can say that at least my book collection hasn't quite blocked my doorway ... not like in this secondhand bookshop I recently visited: 

And it's not as if I've had to cut my door down its length and re-hinge it so you can both still use the door while keeping all of the books!

It reminds me of how Stephen King explains that he always has a book with him, another world to visit at the opening of a page, as he never knows when he'll need 'an escape hatch'.

I guess we all just need to make sure that, amid this 'real' book renaissance, all our metaphorical escape hatches don't block our actual exit!  

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To continue the theme ...

• What was the last book you bought? Anything to recommend?
• Where do you keep your books? Shelves? Piles? In front of doors that only Hobbits can squeeze through? 

Feel free to tag me in photos of your latest read or your shelves via social media.

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