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| What does your bookcase say about you? | What does your bookcase say about you? |
| (11 minutes later) | |
| It has held books upright in millions of rooms around the world for 30 years. As Ikea's Billy bookcase enters its fourth decade, why do we display our reading material rather than just store it away? | It has held books upright in millions of rooms around the world for 30 years. As Ikea's Billy bookcase enters its fourth decade, why do we display our reading material rather than just store it away? |
| Billy is a behemoth of the bookcase world. Designed by only the fourth employee for Ikea, 41 million have been sold since 1979. The factory where the bookcases are made knocks out 15 Billys a minute; 3.1 million a year. | Billy is a behemoth of the bookcase world. Designed by only the fourth employee for Ikea, 41 million have been sold since 1979. The factory where the bookcases are made knocks out 15 Billys a minute; 3.1 million a year. |
| Many households in the UK have one of these no-frills, building-block style bookcases nestled in a corner somewhere, which means there are a lot of books sitting on its simple shelves. | Many households in the UK have one of these no-frills, building-block style bookcases nestled in a corner somewhere, which means there are a lot of books sitting on its simple shelves. |
| But not every Billy owner will be paying upwards of £25 to fill the space with improving literature. CDs and DVDs will find a home there too. | But not every Billy owner will be paying upwards of £25 to fill the space with improving literature. CDs and DVDs will find a home there too. |
| The continued popularity of such a mass-produced piece of MDF has led to less hand-wringing from designers than you might expect. It's not Eames or G-Plan but it does what it says on the tin, according to interior design writer Leslie Geddes-Brown. | The continued popularity of such a mass-produced piece of MDF has led to less hand-wringing from designers than you might expect. It's not Eames or G-Plan but it does what it says on the tin, according to interior design writer Leslie Geddes-Brown. |
| The minimalist approach - bookcase, but no books | The minimalist approach - bookcase, but no books |
| "It's nicely simple and good value. What's more, you can take it with you when you move, unlike built-in shelves," says Ms Geddes-Brown, author of Books Do Furnish a Room. | "It's nicely simple and good value. What's more, you can take it with you when you move, unlike built-in shelves," says Ms Geddes-Brown, author of Books Do Furnish a Room. |
| Its sheer plainness is what makes it so successful, says furniture designer Matthew Hilton. He says the Billy is one of the most developed yet anonymous furniture products ever. | Its sheer plainness is what makes it so successful, says furniture designer Matthew Hilton. He says the Billy is one of the most developed yet anonymous furniture products ever. |
| "It is ubiquitous, modernist, industrial design taken to the ultimate conclusion." | "It is ubiquitous, modernist, industrial design taken to the ultimate conclusion." |
| It is meant to be easy to construct (if you're a dab hand with dowels and a diagram) and is thoroughly inoffensive to all but the most critical aesthete. | |
| Bonnet busters | Bonnet busters |
| Above all, it is designed to be fit for purpose - supporting and displaying books. It's not about the finesse of the furniture - it's a means to an end. A bookcase is like a picture frame - the real design is about what you put on it. | Above all, it is designed to be fit for purpose - supporting and displaying books. It's not about the finesse of the furniture - it's a means to an end. A bookcase is like a picture frame - the real design is about what you put on it. |
| 'The first thing I see when I wake up' - Peter Sandico's bookcases | 'The first thing I see when I wake up' - Peter Sandico's bookcases |
| But why are we so keen to show off our books - necessitating all these shelves and swelling the already bursting coffers of Swedish furnishers? Books aren't essential - you don't need them to sit on or eat off (unless you are a student). If you want to read, or check a reference, there are libraries. | But why are we so keen to show off our books - necessitating all these shelves and swelling the already bursting coffers of Swedish furnishers? Books aren't essential - you don't need them to sit on or eat off (unless you are a student). If you want to read, or check a reference, there are libraries. |
| And all those bonnet busters by the likes of Jane Austen and George Elliot - they can be called up at the touch of a mouse thanks to the numerous websites which reproduce out-of-copyright books. It's not the same as curling up with a paperback - but how often do you really re-read the old classics? | And all those bonnet busters by the likes of Jane Austen and George Elliot - they can be called up at the touch of a mouse thanks to the numerous websites which reproduce out-of-copyright books. It's not the same as curling up with a paperback - but how often do you really re-read the old classics? |
| When Penguin issued its first paperbacks in the 1930s, they were designed as an impulse purchase - for the same price of a packet of cigarettes. And no one keeps them after they are spent. | When Penguin issued its first paperbacks in the 1930s, they were designed as an impulse purchase - for the same price of a packet of cigarettes. And no one keeps them after they are spent. |
| Books were immensely prestigious. Not only did they show how very learned you were but they were also very expensive Leslie Geddes-Brown Interior design writer Trashy book amnesty | Books were immensely prestigious. Not only did they show how very learned you were but they were also very expensive Leslie Geddes-Brown Interior design writer Trashy book amnesty |
| Surely books should be temporary, disposable items? | Surely books should be temporary, disposable items? |
| And yet, more than 500 years after the invention of the printing press, the importance and value of keeping books is showing no sign of waning. The internet was supposed to spell the end of the printed word - instead one of its earliest success stories was an online book shop, Amazon. | And yet, more than 500 years after the invention of the printing press, the importance and value of keeping books is showing no sign of waning. The internet was supposed to spell the end of the printed word - instead one of its earliest success stories was an online book shop, Amazon. |
| It's hard to escape the theory that there is an exhibitionist side to our bookcase obsession - it's about showing off how much you have read, or plan to read, or pretend to have read. You are subtly suggesting that you are the sort of person who keeps Finnegans Wake handy, for example, just in case you ever fancy dipping in for a quick, albeit incomprehensible, catch-up. | It's hard to escape the theory that there is an exhibitionist side to our bookcase obsession - it's about showing off how much you have read, or plan to read, or pretend to have read. You are subtly suggesting that you are the sort of person who keeps Finnegans Wake handy, for example, just in case you ever fancy dipping in for a quick, albeit incomprehensible, catch-up. |
| HOW TO ORGANISE A BOOKCASE? Problem with alphabetical is forgetting the author or titleOrganise by subject, like gardening, cooking, novelsTall books at the bottomPaperbacks nearer topBooks you never read out of reach Source: Leslie Geddes-Brown | HOW TO ORGANISE A BOOKCASE? Problem with alphabetical is forgetting the author or titleOrganise by subject, like gardening, cooking, novelsTall books at the bottomPaperbacks nearer topBooks you never read out of reach Source: Leslie Geddes-Brown |
| Ever since manuscripts were first bound, books have had a hallowed air. | Ever since manuscripts were first bound, books have had a hallowed air. |
| "Books were immensely prestigious," says Ms Geddes-Brown. "Not only did they show how very learned you were - you could read - but they were also very expensive. At one throw, you proved your intellectual and monetary value." | "Books were immensely prestigious," says Ms Geddes-Brown. "Not only did they show how very learned you were - you could read - but they were also very expensive. At one throw, you proved your intellectual and monetary value." |
| Peter Sandico is a firm believer in books as an extension of the self. A book blogger, who is collecting photos of readers' shelves in his "bookcase project", he says the magic of book display is the ease with which they can be manipulated to present a certain front. | |
| "The books we choose to display in our bookcases say a lot as to how we want others to see us," says Mr Sandico. "People who want to appear to have serious or academic reading tastes display their classics, while keeping popular novels at the back of the bookcases." | "The books we choose to display in our bookcases say a lot as to how we want others to see us," says Mr Sandico. "People who want to appear to have serious or academic reading tastes display their classics, while keeping popular novels at the back of the bookcases." |
| Bookcase behemoths: Billys in action | Bookcase behemoths: Billys in action |
| If you are more relaxed about the presentation of your shelves, they can give an insight into an owner's character, he says. | If you are more relaxed about the presentation of your shelves, they can give an insight into an owner's character, he says. |
| "Books somehow reflect an aspect of our personality that people don't easily see. I have a friend who has a reputation for being an ice queen, but when I went to her place, I noticed all these cheesy romantic novels in her bookcases." | "Books somehow reflect an aspect of our personality that people don't easily see. I have a friend who has a reputation for being an ice queen, but when I went to her place, I noticed all these cheesy romantic novels in her bookcases." |
| There's also a magpie aspect to our bookcase love. Books, like anything that can be bought in quantity, appeal to our collecting, acquisitive, instinct. Classic novels are always being re-issued with new cover designs and in different boxed sets. Historical reference sets can be beautiful, leather bound and often extremely expensive. | There's also a magpie aspect to our bookcase love. Books, like anything that can be bought in quantity, appeal to our collecting, acquisitive, instinct. Classic novels are always being re-issued with new cover designs and in different boxed sets. Historical reference sets can be beautiful, leather bound and often extremely expensive. |
| Faking it | Faking it |
| They are meant to be looked at and admired, says Mr Sandico. | They are meant to be looked at and admired, says Mr Sandico. |
| "Being a bibliophile myself, I like to take a peek at what other bibliophiles have in their shelves. It's the same thing as any collection - if you're into shoes, you'd get giddy looking at other people's shoe collection. With a book collection, there's always something surprising to see. You never know what's tucked in the shelves." | "Being a bibliophile myself, I like to take a peek at what other bibliophiles have in their shelves. It's the same thing as any collection - if you're into shoes, you'd get giddy looking at other people's shoe collection. With a book collection, there's always something surprising to see. You never know what's tucked in the shelves." |
| Is bookcase wallpaper better than the real thing? | Is bookcase wallpaper better than the real thing? |
| When bookshelves aren't giving away our deepest secrets or providing browsing or boasting opportunities, they can be decor essentials in their own right, says Ms Geddes-Brown. In fact, bookcases occasionally have nothing at all to do with reading. | When bookshelves aren't giving away our deepest secrets or providing browsing or boasting opportunities, they can be decor essentials in their own right, says Ms Geddes-Brown. In fact, bookcases occasionally have nothing at all to do with reading. |
| "People definitely buy books to fill up bookcases; sometimes they cover up the bindings to get an overall, supposedly elegant, effect. And interior designers sometimes order books by the metre to fill up a library, if there is one in the house." | "People definitely buy books to fill up bookcases; sometimes they cover up the bindings to get an overall, supposedly elegant, effect. And interior designers sometimes order books by the metre to fill up a library, if there is one in the house." |
| But don't despair if you don't have your own interior designer styling your shelves. If you long for the library look but don't have the necessary number of novels, there are companies who make fake books to fill the gaps (in your shelves if not your knowledge). | But don't despair if you don't have your own interior designer styling your shelves. If you long for the library look but don't have the necessary number of novels, there are companies who make fake books to fill the gaps (in your shelves if not your knowledge). |
| There are even ranges of "bookcase" wallpaper, which recreate the well-stocked effect for a fraction of the effort. Although, as Ms Geddes-Brown points out, "the repetition of the same books does give the game away". | There are even ranges of "bookcase" wallpaper, which recreate the well-stocked effect for a fraction of the effort. Although, as Ms Geddes-Brown points out, "the repetition of the same books does give the game away". |
| For many of us, of course, the problem can be more about being book-rich, shelf-poor. | For many of us, of course, the problem can be more about being book-rich, shelf-poor. |
| When this occurs and the charity shop rejects a box of your well-thumbed tomes, it might be comforting to know that you can get a "height extender" for the ubiquitous Billy. | When this occurs and the charity shop rejects a box of your well-thumbed tomes, it might be comforting to know that you can get a "height extender" for the ubiquitous Billy. |
| I recently resorted to it - but then I keep two copies of Finnegans Wake, just in case visitors miss the first one. | I recently resorted to it - but then I keep two copies of Finnegans Wake, just in case visitors miss the first one. |
| Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |
| The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions | The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions |