Book Piles: You call it "mess," I call it "design."

Graduate student + tiny rented studio + inability to get rid of books = a lot of books, with not a lot of places to put them. Sure I've got some Ikea bookshelves (who doesn't?), but they are packed to the brim, and I don't want to drill too many holes in my rented walls.  Security deposit, you will be mine again!!!!!

So it happens like this. I put down a book. Then when I have another book, and I want to put it down, I end up putting it on the other book because it's convenient. This happens a few times, and all of a sudden a book pile has grown in the corner of the room like some kind of fungus.

BUT is the book pile really a bad thing?  Apparently piled up books is becoming something of a design trend. Check out the artful book piles at the top of this post.  And for those who have trouble stacking on their own, there are even expensive bookshelves that make it look like your books are stacked even though they are actually shelved.  This is the "Sapien Bookcase," by Bruno Rainaldi.

So I say go for it with the book stacking.  Not only do they make you look like you're exceptionally well-read (or a total show-off), they can even stand in as "functional furniture," like with these nightstands, from apartment therapy.

In fact, who needs furniture, why not build your whole apartment out of stacks of books?

Or not.  Anyhow, I think sometimes it looks nice to have a few well placed stacks of books.  And it certainly is convenient, as it's fast (where DOES the time go in graduate school??) and does not require purchasing bookshelves or drilling of any kind.   For those of us who lust after the ultimate Beauty & The Beast library, maybe it even gives our crowded and computer dominated doctoral existence a little old-fashioned luster.