Yes, this is a real bookshelf from my real living room. No, there is no organizational structure. (Linda Holmes / NPR)

by Linda Holmes

While looking at this amazing entry about author Neil Gaiman’s bookshelves (with a hat-tip to Boing Boing), it occurred to me that my collection of physically owned books is much smaller than it used to be. In my case, this is partly because I lived for a time in a tiny apartment in which ownership of a large quantity of books was simply not possible, but I’m curious about how many feet of books most people own, in shelf space. (And, of course, in boxes.)

So here’s the question: What’s your rough estimate of how many feet of books you personally own and keep at home? (A four-shelf bookcase that’s two feet wide would hold eight feet, in this entirely unscientific estimating process.) Do you have cartons of them in closets? What makes up the bulk of your collection? Do you hoard your college textbooks? Are you unable to resist books about French cooking? Let’s talk collections.