One of the stupidest things I've ever seen.

I was just browsing through the new Pottery Barn catalog and came across this image. It’s nice enough, aesthetically, of course. The furniture is nice, the colors are soft and beautiful. But take a closer look at the books on the shelves behind the bed. At first I thought they were all covered in paper book covers, but then realized that they’re all turned around with the spines facing inward. Talk about a self-imposed usability nightmare! How stupid is that??!!! Like anybody is really going to do that with hundreds of books just to make sure their room looks coordinated. Jesus. It’s all Will and I can do to make the damn bed every morning.

Not to mention the lack of character that having rows of book titles brings to a room, or the visual interest that the letterforms add to a space. The volumes a collection of book titles can tell you about the owner of the library; the topics they choose to read about, their choices of contemporary and/or historical authors; whether or not the books are written in English or other languages. All of these things can tell you so much about a person.

For better or for worse, I make certain assumptions about people by their book collections. To me, a love of books and lots of reading materials strewn around a house are signs of an inquisitive, intellectual mind. It’s almost sacreligious to turn the spines inward like this! Here, all of that personality and insight into the inhabitant of this room is lost (hmmm, a remnant of Modernism, perhaps?). Not to mention that you would have to turn each book over to find the one you want to cuddle in bed with during a rainy Saturday afternoon.

I just cannot believe how ridiculous is this manipulation of props. Utterly absurd!