Bookshelf Bliss - Brought to me by IKEA

I remember my sister looking at me like I was crazy when I picked her up from the airport in Minneapolis and suggested our first stop be IKEA. That was in May of 2005 when I graduated from college. She had an earlier flight than other relatives...and we had some time to kill...and its right there by the airport...and, though I didn't know it at the time, I am obsessed with this place.

Sidebar: How do I know when I am obsessed with something? I stalk it ...frequently... on Google News.

Being a moderately budgeted mid-middle class American, I have a deep appreciation for the low prices. As someone who completely lacks creativity, I love that whole rooms and apartments are on display - and you can buy pretty much everything you see. Even the books on the shelves in the showrooms are for sale. Craziness. Self-assembly is no biggie. To my credit are 3 bookcases, a dresser, and a couch. But, as with anything, IKEA is not without its critics.

 Thanks for ruining it for us Tyler Durden

Needless to say, I was thrilled when I heard there would be a store opening in Colorado. Especially because I have been in need of a new bookcase. I purchased 2 back in 2007 when we first moved to Chicago. I got it as a corner unit, with the intention to eventually buy a third to complete the set.

Circa August 2007

Noah and I ventured to the new store 2 days after it opened. I figured Friday night would be slightly better than Saturday. It was the most organized chaos I have ever witnessed; there were cops and volunteers directing traffic and everyone in the store meandered politely through what turned out to be one heck of a maze. Similar to when we bought our couch, the bookshelf we wanted was in the first showroom at the top of the escalator, right when you first enter. This just meant that we spent the rest of the time eyeballing all the other things we'll be saving for in the future: a new bed (they make their own memory foam mattress), pillows and bed linens, dishes, desks, and so on. The only downside: I think they have discontinued our sofa set. And I was really looking forward to adding to our current sofa when we move to a bigger place. Sadness.  Anyway, the bookcase was assembled by Saturday morning and, thanks to the magic of my book catalog spreadsheet, my books went from being strewn about to being neatly organized (first by genre, then by author, then by publication date). Nerd.

Circa August 2011

This picture, snapped on my iPhone, doesn't really do it justice. Now, when you sit at my desk in the office, you feel almost like you are being hugged by books.  Noah might want to replace "hugged" with "suffocated," but we probably won't have to share an office forever (I hope.). Thanks mostly to an awesome haul from my grandmother-in-law's book collection, I have about 50 new additions to the shelf. When you add together everything I have accumulated in the last 4 years it comes to about 150 books.  This begs the question, when will it stop? Shouldn't I be supporting my local library? When will paper books no longer be published, forcing me into a tablet device? In my lifetime? I hope not.