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There is no denying that electronic books have their own benefits. But even today, with so many devices and formats for electronic books on the market, many of us still prefer to hold a real volume in our hands. When asked about it, people usually give various reasons as to why they like reading paper books. Whatever those reasons might be, the fact remains that people still buy books. And what do books need? That’s right, a good bookcase.

Actually, a bookshelf will also do. Depending on your living situation, you might not have enough space to fit a big decorative bookcase in your apartment to put your entire book collection on display, but at the end of the day, it’s the creativity that counts. You don’t necessarily need to have a big bookshelf to make it original or style it in a unique way.

If you need some inspiration to help you organize your own book collection, we have gathered photos from all over the internet to show you what other people do when it comes to creative shelves and book displays. Some of them own old books that have been handed down from generation to generation, while others prefer brand-new, just-off-the-shelf books – but what unites them is their love for book reading and a well-organized library, however big or small. 

Do you like these styles? Upvote your favorite ones. And we are really curious to know how you organize your books. Show us your shelves and bookcases in the comments!

#2

My Parents Built Two Story Library Inspired By Sir Walter Scott’s When Building Their House

Brown bookshelf with books

thinkscotty Report

#4

Husband Officially Finished Building These Beautiful Bookshelves

Bookshelf under the staircase

BackDatAshUpp Report

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#10

United States Bookshelf I Built

United States Bookshelf on the wall

smittynumberone Report

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Domi
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I admire the person who made it. He had to be precise and consistent.

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#11

My Best Friend’s Living Room. This Isn’t Even Half Of The Books They Own

A room with bookshelf on the walls

Slapfishhh Report

#13

I Finally Made My Mini Library In My Flat, It’s Only Taken Me A Year!

Books and collective figures on the bookshelf

I have two other bookcases that are full of my vintage fantasy books (like David Gemmell and David Eddings). I’m so happy how it’s turned out!

AngelGrove_2169 Report

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#18

The Best Part About Visiting My Mother Is Getting To Bask In Her Temple Of Readerly Virtue

Red chair in the home library

Medeah Report

#20

A Dining Room Is A Good Place For A Library - Had Custom Built-Ins Made For Our 1906 Home

woman on the ladder searching a book

shereadsandcodes Report

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Monica Michelle
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I just inherited my dad's book shelves our dining room is now full dark academia

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#25

I Purchased A Beautiful Mid Century House In July. My Dad And I Built This 13'x13' Book Case Last Month

brown wooden bookshelf on the wall

I plan on building a rolling ladder for it to help me move some things up, and make them more accessible. I'm absolutely in love with how it turned out!

katherineleanne Report

#26

My Personal Library Over The Last Few Years

bed next to a bookshelf

Mostly housed in custom built cedar bookcases, but also on the floor, stuffed in fireplaces, stacked on mantles, because I refuse to believe there’s such thing as too many books.

satsumasilk Report

#28

Moved Into A New House And Wasn’t Sure What To Do With This Space - Absolutely In Love With It Now (Think My Cat Likes It Too)

cat walking next to a white bookshelf

Lunya78 Report

#29

I Moved Into My First Apartment And Told My Dad I Wanted A Nice Bookshelf. He Made Me This From Scratch

tv hanging on the wall

DutchNotSleeping Report

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#30

All I Want For Christmas Is Books. My Shelfs From A Different Side. I Really Need More Space

bookshelf with string light

kittycat3333333 Report

#31

We Are Listing Our House For Sale This Week. I Am Really Going To Miss These Shelves

white bookshelf

shereadsandcodes Report

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Jacki moore
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would too but I would make sure the next house has more shelves lol

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#32

Built This Bookshelf Myself For Our Oddly Shaped Bedroom. It's Our Mini Library! What Do You Think?

white bookshelf

treesdontlie Report

#34

My Boyfriend Built A Hobbit-Hole Inspired Bookshelf For A Lotr Themed Room. Top Shelf Is Reserved For The Hardback Series

Hobbit-Hole bookshelf

Leucosiasiren Report

#35

My Husband Always Promised To Build Me A Library For My Beloved Books... He Delivered

white bookshelf

krismc79 Report

#37

A Piano Repurposed As A Bookshelf

bookshelf made from piano

haddock420 Report

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and_a_touch_of_the_’tism
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

AUGH… gorgeous baby grand piano gutted… I mean, I love books but this is a bit much…

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#38

My Dad Made Me These Bookshelves For My Many Plants And Books

brown bookshelf with plants

TheAdequateGatsby248 Report

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Domi
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A framed fan, wow, I've never seen anything like this before.

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#39

I Just Moved My 1,980 Books To A New House. Up And Down Two Flights Of Stairs. Fun Times Haha

a room with bookshelf and a rug

cbadge1 Report

#40

When I Was A Kid I Swore I’d Have My Own Library When I Owned A House. Today I Built This

dark blue room with brown bookshelf

breauxsb4hoes Report

#41

My 94year Old Grandpa's Shelf (With Books Up To 200 Years Old)

Brown bookshelves

LuFisch234 Report

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#46

A Much Better Quality Picture Of My Father’s Library

A table with two chairs in the home library

bakeybakeybakey Report

#48

My Boyfriend's Bookshelf! :)

Wooden brown bookshelf

sytti Report

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Poppycat
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

how attached are you to your bf? would you be upset if I stole him?

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#49

Had Wood Worms And Needed To Throw Out Some Parts. Now It Is Quite Chaotic, But I Like It Somehow

Wooden bookshelf with plants and books

beo19 Report

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#54

Got A New Reading Chair. Gonna Go Full Dad, Starting Tonight

Brown leather chair with pillow

bookhubby Report

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#59

Favorite Place In The House! Always Dreamed Of One Day Having A Little Library

Two red chairs next to a round coffee table

LividBenefit5 Report

#61

Spent The Weekend Building My New Shelves And Reorganizing My Collection. How Did I Do?

Back bookshelves

WorldSilver Report

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#63

Too Poor To Afford Real Bookshelves, So I Use Milk Crates

Black bookshelves with books

ContortedTrash Report

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Adnew
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We used cinder blocks and plywood planks. Miss those days when life was simpler.

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#65

Finally Got My Dream Bookcase, And The Reason We Bought This House

White bookshelf inside the wall

docmamaj Report

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Domi
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That reading nook is perfect, my introverted self would like a curtain there.

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#67

I Always Wanted A Home Library. Designed This And Finally Had It Built

Green bookshelf with clock

Veezlebat Report

#68

My In-Builts. A Major Reason I Bought My House

White bookshelf next to a fireplace

cfh294 Report

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Jacki moore
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Beautiful I would have bought it for that reason too lol

#69

Several Years Of Collecting And Now We Have Our Own Personal Library Room!

Black bookshelf with colorful books

Frequent-Fryer Report

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#71

Finally Rainbowed The Romance Shelves

rainbowed bookshelf

DeeElleEmm Report

#72

A Bookshelf Of My Friends Complete With Sliding Ladder

brown bookshelves

reddit.com Report

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#73

After Buying Our First House, I Finally Got The Reading Nook I Always Wanted

cat lying on a pink chair

martijnsta Report

#75

A Few Pipes, A Few Boards, And A Whole Lot Of Fantasy

books and small figures on a bookshelf

roelle01 Report

#77

Long Time Goal: Have My Own Library When I Own A Home. Mission Accomplished!

black bookshelves

TheNurseIsIn Report

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#78

My Synesthesia Means That I Remember Books Better By Their Color Than By Title Or Author

a table between two bookshelves

natalopolis Report

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Shawnna Clement
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That isn't Synesthesia. It's visual memory. Synesthesia is crossing of the senses. For example, I can see or hear things I touch. Yes, it's very annoying, but it doesn't with everything I touch just everytime I touch certain things I will get the same visual/ sound.

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#80

The History Section Of My Dad's Library

white bookshelves with ladder

al_almani Report

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Lori Rogers
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

WICKED AWESOMENESS! Can I come visit like for a couple weeks/months? I'll be quiet you won't even notice me there

#82

Just Bought My First Home And This Was The First Thing I Set Up. A Perfect Fit

white bookshelves

InVogueAgain Report

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#83

Had A Fun Afternoon Making These Look Nice

brown bookshelf

benbreadon Report

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#84

Here It Is, My Library Is Finally Painted And Decorated

blue room with painting and white chair

36chambersforever Report

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#85

Found These Bookcases On The Side Of The Road With A “Free” Sign On Them

black bookshelves

nreyes238 Report

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#86

Our New Bookshelf

blue bookshelf

gustafh Report

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#87

I’m Moving And Have To Give Up My Built-In Bookshelves, And I’m Questioning The Meaning Of Life

brown bookshelves

leftcrow Report

#88

Great Grandfather’s Book Collection (Contains Books Dating Back To 1894 And Contains Several Handwritten Books)

black bookshelf

Alookima21 Report

#89

My Grandfather’s Office And Library, In His Log Home On Vancouver Island, BC

Leather chair next to a brown bookshelf

kaytay Report

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#90

About To Start Packing For A Move. Pray For Me

home library with brown bookshelves

mr_snips Report

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LK
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When packing books for a move, use small boxes. Large boxes are too heavy to move around.

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#91

Finally Got Most Of My Books Onto My Shelves

black bookshelves

photojacker Report

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#94

New Bookshelves Means New Photos

white bookshelves

daniel1113 Report

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#95

New Bookcase For The Office. I'm In Love

dark brown bookshelf

Dimmest-Bulb Report

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#96

The View From My Bed, Cross Post From Bookporn

bookshelves filled with books

dracolibris Report

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#98

Best Seat In The Apartment

a room with plants and bookshelves

dj_pollypocket Report

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#99

I Always Wanted A Huge Bookshelf That You Need A Ladder For. This Year During Lockdown I Built One Myself

brown bookshelf

GenericThrowaway123 Report

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#101

My 2,700 Book-Shelf, With About 30% Read By Now

A room field with brown with bookshelfs

ImAVibration Report

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Tucker Cahooter
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Interesting how many of these photos also show a globe of the world on or near the bookcase. I wonder how many globe owners don't have a huge bookcase as well (I suspect very few)

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#102

New Shelves Are Done!

Books and speakers on the bookshelf

jenesaishuh Report

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#103

My Best Friend Has A Very Visually Appealing Book Collection

Brown bookshelf with books and frames

TheGirlWithTheLove Report

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