"I keep meaning to show you this particular room." Rowena stopped in front of a
double pocket door, swept it open.
And ushered Dana into a book lover's version of heaven.
It was a two-level library, with a lovely ornate rail encircling the second level. A
fire was snapping away in a hearth of rosy granite, its light, and the light from a
dozen lamps, glittering on the polished wood of the floor.
High above, a mural was painted on the domed ceiling. She saw dozens of figures
from the most romantic of faerie tales. Rapunzel, spilling her golden hair out of a
tower, Sleeping Beauty just wakened by a kiss, Cinderella slipping her foot into a
delicate glass slipper.
"It's incredible," Dana whispered. "Beyond incredible."
Wide, deep chairs, long, deep sofas were done in leather the color of good port.
There were other small treasures in tables, in rugs, in art, but Dana was dazzled by
the books. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of books.
double pocket door, swept it open.
And ushered Dana into a book lover's version of heaven.
It was a two-level library, with a lovely ornate rail encircling the second level. A
fire was snapping away in a hearth of rosy granite, its light, and the light from a
dozen lamps, glittering on the polished wood of the floor.
High above, a mural was painted on the domed ceiling. She saw dozens of figures
from the most romantic of faerie tales. Rapunzel, spilling her golden hair out of a
tower, Sleeping Beauty just wakened by a kiss, Cinderella slipping her foot into a
delicate glass slipper.
"It's incredible," Dana whispered. "Beyond incredible."
Wide, deep chairs, long, deep sofas were done in leather the color of good port.
There were other small treasures in tables, in rugs, in art, but Dana was dazzled by
the books. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of books.
Key of Knowledge
_________________
The idea of curling up with a good book has increasingly come to mean flipping on an e-reader, not flipping through the pages of a leather-bound novel in a book-lined room.
Yet the home library is on the rise, having become something of a cerebral status symbol. Affluent homeowners are buying quality books in quantity to amass collections for private personal libraries.
These rooms are as much aesthetic set pieces and public displays of intelligence as they are quiet spaces to reflect and retreat.
_________________
Her gaze glanced off him and focused on a wall of books. "That's quite a library."
"Oh, that's just some of them."
He stayed where he was when she crossed over.
"Oh, that's just some of them."
He stayed where he was when she crossed over.
Joyce, Yeats, Shaw. Those were to be
expected. O'Neill, Swift, and Grayson Thane, of course. But there was a treasure trove of others.
Poe, Steinbeck, Dickens, Byron. The poetry of Keats and Dickinson and Browning.
expected. O'Neill, Swift, and Grayson Thane, of course. But there was a treasure trove of others.
Poe, Steinbeck, Dickens, Byron. The poetry of Keats and Dickinson and Browning.
Battered volumes of Shakespeare and equally well-thumbed tales by King and MacAffrey and McMurtrey.
"An eclectic collection," she mused.
"An eclectic collection," she mused.
Born in Shame