Bookshelf wealth is all well and good, but are you checking on your bookshelf’s health?

As is the case with all good things on the internet, bookshelf wealth seems to have been twisted into a game of aesthetics rather than authenticity. Instead of a warm reading nook that beckons to them at the end of a long day, people are more focused on creating Pinterest-worthy personal libraries that scream ‘look at my curated lifestyle’ rather than ‘let’s talk about our favourite authors’. I’m talking mahogany wood, crown mouldings, brushed-brass accents and books that look too spotless to touch. But let me tell you this: if I enter a house and see a floor-to-ceiling shelf with colour-coordinated spines, I am running for my life. If the books are arranged alphabetically—according to author or title—I may not leave immediately, but my face will contort with pain of its own accord. I share the rage that grips a bibliophile when a book they lent isn’t returned to them in the same condition, but there’s a fine line between a book that is loved carefully and a book whose first page is yet to be turned.

The reason I enjoy browsing bookshelves in people’s homes is to spot similarities in tastes or file away conversation starters to fill awkward silences. More often than not, I am disappointed to learn that although their bookshelves creak under the weight of classics such as Crime and Punishment and War and Peace, any illusion of reading Dostoevsky or Tolstoy disappears as soon as they open their mouths. Since nobody likes to come across as a Fakespeare, a word of advice: Instead of increasing your bookshelf wealth, focus on boosting your bookshelf health.

Co-founders Mishika Narula and Srisruthi Ramesh of Brown Girl Bookshelf, a platform dedicated to promoting South Asian writers, have different systems of arranging their titles, but they share a common idea about the mark of a true reader when it comes to organising bookshelves: diversity. Narula organises her bookshelf alphabetically—I’ll reserve judgment—and adds meaningful elements to it, such as framed quotes from her favourite childhood books gifted to her by her sister. “That way, it’s not just about trying to ram as many books in there, it’s also about the story behind my shelf.” Ramesh’s cubicle, on the other hand, is arranged according to what’s inside the books. Over the years, she has been cautious to collect books that are not simply on bestseller lists, but also give voice to “different perspectives”. Still, Narula and Ramesh agree that a variety of genres and writers from different backgrounds is the most important indicator that your bookshelf is in the pink of health.