Looking for an easy way to organize a messy bookshelf? You might consider turning all the spines backward. Yes, the backward bookshelf is one of the easiest ways 鈥� albeit, not too functional 鈥� to clean up a hodgepodge of texts. It鈥檚 also an interior design craze that鈥檚 about as culturally divisive as politics.
Advocates tout the simplistic texture of the pages, while opponents argue that the idea is just plain stupid since you can鈥檛 see which books are which. Generally speaking, you love it or hate it.
The backward bookshelf began to grow in popularity in the 2000s, mostly as an artistic styling tool in photographs on small-scale design blogs or bookshop websites. Now, big-box retailers such as West Elm and The Container Store have incorporated backward bookshelves into their product displays.
A Google search for 鈥渂ackward books鈥� will bring millions of results, from sites including social-media mainstays such as Pinterest and Instagram, women鈥檚 magazines and interior design staples such as Apartment Therapy.
鈥淚 can see the appeal because, a lot of times, if there鈥檚 a lot of books in a room, people find it distracting or overwhelming,鈥� said Sarah Cole, a Boston-based interior designer.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 not super-functional and unless the books are purely decorative, it just seems challenging.鈥�
Backward books, Cole said, align with the neutral, monochromatic look that is now popular in design.
Achieving a simple, stylish look is exactly why Cari Shane turned her books backward. Four years ago, the public relations executive was renovating a 1914 row house in Washington, D.C., when her teenage daughter suggested the idea.
鈥淚 had these beautiful orange chairs for the living room and I needed something to set them off,鈥� Shane said. 鈥淚 needed something that was going to let the chairs be the focal point.鈥�
The books used in the display were ones Shane did not intend to read again.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 tell you what books they are,鈥� she said.
On the other hand, Nathan Shafer, a life-long reader and book collector, has filled his Arvada, Colorado, home with hundreds of books, none of which face backward.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e entities, and when you turn them all backward it renders them one anonymous mass,鈥� Shafer said.
An anonymous mass, Shafer said, defies the purpose of books.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e for the unique words, the unique ideas, the unique characters inside them,鈥� he said.
鈥淧art of the reason for hanging onto books is so you can go back and find something. You can鈥檛 do that if you鈥檙e hiding every identifying mark.鈥�
There are occasions, however, when art is executed just right, at least according to the customers of Newtonville Books, an independent bookseller in Newton, Massachusetts. The store is known around the area for its visually intriguing counter, which is filled with backward books in different sizes and colours.
The shop鈥檚 owner, Mary Cotton, saw the styling tool on the website of an Australian bookstore six years ago.
鈥淲e wanted to do something that was really beautiful and interesting, some sort of book art project,鈥� she said.
An architect helped to design and execute the plan. Customers ask what books were used to make the counter, but Cotton said they never wrote down the titles. And, since the books are glued into place, there鈥檚 no way of moving them.
鈥淲e had a lot of old used books that hadn鈥檛 sold, and others we got from library sales and the covers were damaged,鈥� Cotton said. 鈥淚 like it. It gives them another life. People seem to like it.鈥�
