# Decorative Books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 16, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443 "2018-09-16T16:19:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/21 "2018-09-17T19:59:19Z")
I find that very irritating. We saw an episode of Fixer Upper the other day in which Joanna put blank white bookcovers on some of the books she was piling on a mantel with candlesticks and such. Seems to me that if the books aren’t to be read, you could just use a couple reams of copy paper. Of course, if you do get a strange hankering to read something, you could just look at the wall, where it usually says “Love” or “Family”. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/22 "2018-09-17T20:16:13Z")
Reminds me of an old Dilbert strip, where Dogbert is selling “art” for the office environment. “How much is your art?” “Six dollars a pound.” ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/23 "2018-09-17T21:50:07Z")
First thing that came to mind when I read the OP was The Last Bookstore in LA. They have a neat [tunnel made of books](https://lainsidertours.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/hidden-gems-the-last-bookstore.jpg) and also some shelves where books are [sorted by color](http://lastbookstorela.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/colorshelveslargev2.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/24 "2018-09-17T22:29:29Z")
There’s a Flann O’Brien story that advertises a service that makes it look like said books have actually been read. Dog eared pages, margin notes, that kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/25 "2018-09-17T22:47:43Z")
I think it would be fun for a group of friends to each buy a set of books (each in a different color), read their set, then meet to discuss. As for myself, I don’t need no stinking broker in order to entirely decorate my apace with books. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/26 "2018-09-18T04:17:09Z")
> [@zombywoof](#): > > A local used book chain offers [‘Books By The Yard’](http://b.hpb.com/books-by-the-yard/), so you can “look smart” (their words, not mine) filling your shelf with those old Dan Brown and James Patterson hardbacks for $50/yd. Don’t forget about Danielle Steel! It wouldn’t surprise me if her books are the reason why they do this. This sounds like a great way for them to clear out their warehouses, and make a little cash at the same time. The library in my old town priced their books at 50 cents an inch (measuring the spine), and then after much hand-wringing decided to raise it to $1 an inch. Some people thought we would lose sales, but we didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/27 "2018-09-18T04:22:44Z")
Won’t make the edit deadline: And I see that Half Price Books pitches this service to, among other things, the hotel and hospitality industry. When I stayed in a hotel last month, they had their version of a Little Free Library in the lobby. It had a few shelves with a small sign that said, “Take a book, leave a book.” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/28 "2018-09-18T05:00:33Z")
My wife has a book up on the shelf titled, “20,000 Years of Fashion”. There is a stuffed Bumble Bee sitting on top of it. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/29 "2018-09-18T05:05:18Z")
You should have a look at that book, Gato. Not because I am worried about your fashion sense, but it may be where she’s hiding the cash or her stash.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/30 "2018-09-18T14:09:10Z")
I briefly sold books to decorators in my teenaged years. Many of them asked me for fake sets that were just a bunch of bindings stuck to a frame. I refused to sell those, and openly shamed them for asking. We had about 20 different “packages” for various types of households. I only ever pitched the three packages which included the Harvard Classics and Encyclopedia Brittanica. All of my customers also got the complete works of DuBois, Baldwin, Frederick Douglass, Tolkien, and several others. My parents seldom read their books, but I did. I always liked to imagine the children of those houses immersing themselves in great literature. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/31 "2018-09-18T17:24:34Z")
There is a restaurant/bar in the Pittsburgh suburbs somewhere that we visited for a beer/dinner pairing. Before it was a restaurant/bar it was a bookstore, and the new owners went with the books motif. From our table I could easily reach bookshelves, and did examine a few random books. My gf put an end to that (no books/phones at the table), but I could see it being fun. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/32 "2018-09-19T04:26:54Z")
There used to be a hotel in my area that was considered THE place to stay, or to have things like wedding receptions. It was also a fine dining establishment back in the day. Eventually, the owners sold the facility to someone who didn’t take care of it, and before it was demolished, the public was allowed to come in and buy the contents. I heard they had a big library, and being a book re-seller, I decided to check it out. 99% of what they had was worthless to me, or anyone else, because it consisted of A) Reader’s Digest Condensed Books; B) other books, mostly vintage law books, that were infested with black mold; and C) RDCBs that were infested with black mold. The Habitat Re-Store, which sells building supplies to raise money for Habitat for Humanity, made a small fortune from some of the stained glass they harvested. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/33 "2018-09-19T06:07:25Z")
Those RD books must have been in everyones houses. Must have cost pennies. I see them at every used book store or flea market I go to. I bought a large box of books at an auction one time. Got it for a song. More than half was RD. Disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/34 "2018-09-19T10:45:30Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I briefly sold books to decorators in my teenaged years. Many of them asked me for fake sets that were just a bunch of bindings stuck to a frame. I refused to sell those, and openly shamed them for asking. > > We had about 20 different “packages” for various types of households. I only ever pitched the three packages which included the Harvard Classics and Encyclopedia Brittanica. All of my customers also got the complete works of DuBois, Baldwin, Frederick Douglass, Tolkien, and several others. > > My parents seldom read their books, but I did. I always liked to imagine the children of those houses immersing themselves in great literature. At the least, you could construct a sturdy little fort for yourself. Try doing that with bindings. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/35 "2018-09-19T22:26:11Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > At the least, you could construct a sturdy little fort for yourself. Try doing that with bindings. Several years ago, a British resale shop did this with their donated copies of “Fifty Shades of Grey.” > **[A charity shop was given so many Fifty Shades of Grey copies it turned them...](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/oxfam-shop-begs-people-to-stop-donating-copies-of-fifty-shades-of-grey-a6947816.html)** > > The bookshop is now begging people to stop donating their copies of the E.L. James erotic novel The library in my old town used RDCBs as a table base; once in a while, somebody would want to buy one, and they could if they wished. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/36 "2018-10-15T10:43:14Z")
> [@The Great Gatsby](#): > > What do you think?" he demanded impetuously. > "About what?’ > He waved his hand toward the book-shelves. > "About that. As a matter of fact you needn’t bother to ascertain. I ascertained. They’re real. > “The books?” > He nodded. > “Absolutely real - have pages and everything. I thought they’d be a nice durable cardboard. Matter of fact, they’re absolutely real. Pages and - Here! Lemme show you.” > Taking our scepticism for granted, he rushed to the book-cases and returned with Volume One of the Stoddard Lectures. > > “See!” he cried triumphantly. “It’s a bona-fide piece of printed matter. It fooled me. This fella’s a regular Belasco. It’s a triumph. What thoroughness! What realism! Knew when to stop, too - didn’t cut the pages. But what do you want? What do you expect?” [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Great\_Gatsby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gatsby) ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/37 "2018-10-15T11:21:43Z")
Wasn’t there a BritCom about a surly bookstore owner … where a customer came and wanted “real leather” bound books. I thought I was going to be the next Blackadder. Talented people … but only a few episodes, then it just fell flat. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/38 "2018-10-15T11:47:15Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Wasn’t there a BritCom about a surly bookstore owner … where a customer came and wanted “real leather” bound books. I thought I was going to be the next Blackadder. Talented people … but only a few episodes, then it just fell flat. “Black Books”, season 1, episode 1: > [@](#): > > Rich Guy: Those books. How much? > > Bernard: Hmmm? > > Rich Guy: Those books. The leather-bound ones. > > Bernard: Yes, Dickens, the Collected Works of Charles Dickens. > > Rich Guy: Are they real leather? > > Bernard: They’re real Dickens. > > Rich Guy: I have to know if they’re real leather because they have to go with the sofa. > > [Bernard looks confused] > > Rich Guy: Everything else in my house is real. I’ll give you two hundred for them. > > Bernard: Two hundred what? > > Rich Guy: Two hundred pounds. > > Bernard: Are they leather-bound pounds? > > Rich Guy: No. > > Bernard: Sorry. I need leather bound pounds to go with my wallet. Next. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/39 "2018-10-15T12:05:08Z")
I babysat my brother-in-law’s kids for three days once many years ago so he and his wife could go on a getaway weekend by themselves. I slept in their bed, over which was a book shelf with the only books in the whole (large) house. They were a matched set of about twenty English and US “great” novelists like Hardy and Twain and Dickens. They were nicely bound and not one had ever been opened as far as I could tell. They were probably thirty years old. Maybe he still has them. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443/40 "2018-10-15T15:24:06Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > [The Great Gatsby - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gatsby) [Belasco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belasco_(Marvel_Comics)) never struck me as much of a reader. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decorative-books/821443.md?page=3)