Gaming Bookshelves

[Psion]

egads... apologies if that post looks like crap for IE users. It was working fine last night when I was using mozilla variants.

 

[Tetsubo]

Between my wife and I we have 21 bookshelves in a two bedroom apartment. I just did a quick check and about 50' of those shelves are used for gaming books and boxed games. I've been collecting for awhile...

 

[Nebulous]

Between my wife and I we have 21 bookshelves in a two bedroom apartment. I just did a quick check and about 50' of those shelves are used for gaming books and boxed games. I've been collecting for awhile...

That's a lot of books. I have a good bit stacked on shelves in the closet, more on the floor. I used to have more years ago from 1st/2nd edition but my mom threw them away when i was in college. They were evil of course.

I do love good quality rpg stuff, but it's overwhelming the amount of stuff out there. I almost wish we had LESS choices sometimes...

egads... apologies if that post looks like crap for IE users. It was working fine last night when I was using mozilla variants.

Hee hee, looked a little funky to me!

 

[Tetsubo]

That's a lot of books. I have a good bit stacked on shelves in the closet, more on the floor. I used to have more years ago from 1st/2nd edition but my mom threw them away when i was in college. They were evil of course.

I do love good quality rpg stuff, but it's overwhelming the amount of stuff out there. I almost wish we had LESS choices sometimes...



Hee hee, looked a little funky to me!

My Mother tried to "sieze" my gaming books back in 1980. She failed. She didn't think the books (or the game) was evil. She just didn't like that I spent so much time gaming. She would have prefered that I spent the time on school work. Thing is, gaming was interesting...

If she had actually tossed my books... we would have had words...

I still own all of my 1st and 2nd edition books. I gave my 3.0 books away when I upgraded to 3.5. Other than that I've only ever gotten rid of one gaming book, Werewolf.

Though I will be needing a new bookshelf for gaming books soon... I think we have room for ONE more...

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

So, how long have you had that Ikea shelf? I just went and read the product description, and it sounds suspect, as far as long-term durability is concerned (particle board and fiber board have a tendency to disintegrate and/or shatter under stress). Can it be disassembled and re-assembled, or does it pretty much need to stay together once put together?

I can't speak to the exact unit Psion has, but it looks almost exactly like the one I've got, which is 5 ft by 5 ft (and wood-grained) instead of 6 x 6. Mine is extremely durable, and I've had it for a couple of years. It's heavy, and you're not going to want to take it apart afterwards. There is no bowing whatsoever, and it's pretty full of CD's books, DVD's, and miscellania. I could probably stand on the top and jump up and down, and it would hold up. It's also pretty stylish.

Another trick with cheap bookshelves - often the shelves are held in place with plastic inserts, which aren't up to the stress of many gaming books (personal experience here). I went to Home Depot and found metal inserts for a couple of bucks to use instead, and now the cheap $5 thrift store bookshelf can hold a full shelf's worth of D&D books.

 

[Psion]

Yeah, I haven't had the Ikea shelf long, but I am not forseeing any problem. The outer planks are about 3" thick. The inner shelves are about as slender as the one I have in my closet that I am complaining about... but it doesn't take an engineer (which I am) to understand that if you provide vertical support every foot or so that you aren't like to see as much bowing.

 

[Arnwyn]

So I thought I'd open this thread to contrast my existing bookshelves, and as long as we are here, feel free to share your own experiences.

I have custom-designed and built shelves for my basement rec-room to hold my gaming material (as well as novels, CDs, DVDs, and games).

Works really well. One is a half-size shelf near the gaming table (holding the stuff that's used most during a game), and the other is a full-size (6.5' x 4') set of shelves a short distance away to hold the non-critical books. Both have a respectable amount of empty space for the library's (slow) expansion.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

Most of the bookshelves that I end up buying have about two foot long shelves between vertical supports. Some are of decent quality, some are not. Many are second (or third) hand. The cheap ones tend to bow.

Obviously, these cheap bookshelves sell, or they wouldn't be manufactured. My question is this: What do people put on their bookshelves? The cheap ones are too ugly to use for display and too flimsy to support books.

 

[thompgc]

I have the several Billy bookcases from Ikea
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stor...10104*10173*10514&chapterId=10517&cattype=sub
Seem fairly sturdy
Plus can get doors and they sell extra shelves (wood or glass)
Would only recommend the glass for light items (perhaps paperback novels or miniatures)
Come in several colors.
If you plan on getting the doors some colors come with frosted glass and others w/clear glass.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Obviously, these cheap bookshelves sell, or they wouldn't be manufactured. My question is this: What do people put on their bookshelves? The cheap ones are too ugly to use for display and too flimsy to support books.

Many people buy bookshelves for utility, not for aesthetics.