To think that such a dreary subject as shelves could prompt a fabulous article in The Times Weekend magazine this time round, as only Lucia van der Post could muster in her widely-read column, Scenes of Domestic Life.

So gorgeous a vision did this paragraph provoke within the mind's eye, that I had to look up the link for you.

"While the library is probably a far-off fantasy unlikely to be realised this side of the pearly gates, I recommend a solution that the French are partial to: combining a library with a dining room. Books all around the walls are a soothing background to dining, and the table itself can be used for writing." - Lucia van der Post, The Times

You can read the rest of the article here.