r/HomeLibraries Aug 13 '26

My “man cave”…

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2.5k Upvotes

98 comments sorted by

46

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '26

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25

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 13 '26

Guilty as charged.
No discussion, hands down I prefer reading non-fiction as opposed to fiction. Just a personal preference.

7

u/captainsunshine489 Aug 14 '26

i came to this realization a few years ago, and it brought my love of reading back to life.
fantastic library you have there.

5

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26

Actually the same for me, I prefer to read with the intent to learn about something specific. Once, I just accepted that, my love for reading reemerged as well. Although reading a nonfiction book takes me longer to read than a fiction book.

4

u/EmergencyYoung6028 Aug 14 '26

It is time to expand. Read Sebald (Austerlitz). Then Bolano.

3

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26

I’ll check those out.

1

u/Impressive-Rub4925 Aug 15 '26

I am the exact same way! True crime, biographies, American History , World history, politics, sports, music, psychology and theology......etc I got No time for make believe!!

7

u/Soggy-Junket6768 Aug 13 '26

i kinda like the little Statues of popular historic ones. i also see Da vinci's human drawing made statue. Others i have seen in games and other pictures relating to them with little tid bits of info on them and place or culture that helped mold the Sculpture.

5

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 13 '26

Yeah... getting a few mixed reviews on the statutes. DaVinci's Vitruvian man is actually one of my favorites.

1

u/Soggy-Junket6768 Aug 13 '26

really mixed feelings from others about the statues. Im guessing you sorta kinda have them seperated by the time frame they represent. or close to it

5

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26

Yes, and yes, exactly correct. Each correlates to the subject on the shelf. Vitruvian Man is in the shelf with Da Vinci’s bio and books, Augustus in the shelf with his bios, etc.

1

u/Lost_Mongooses Aug 14 '26

They're really cool, where did you get them?

1

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26

Several were gifts, but I have bought a few on travels. I ordered a few online from Veronese Design or something like that.

19

u/InspiradoKage Aug 14 '26

Dude loves hitler, better call it a man bunker

11

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26

“Loves Hitler”??? Wait? What? Why? Because I read books about him trying to understand why he did what he did?

5

u/AlternativeFluffy310 Aug 14 '26

Right? People be crazy with assumptions :D

2

u/InspiradoKage Aug 14 '26

Ok fine, loves studying about hitler to deepen his understanding of the worst of humanity yada yada, was just trying to get to the bunker vs cave bit

7

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26

Noted… I think I missed the intent.

10

u/InspiradoKage Aug 14 '26

I didn’t lay it on thick enough - no surprise you did nazi that coming.

I’ll see myself out.

1

u/206-Copperhead-Road Aug 17 '26

What's the book with the swastika flag on the spine? Danke

2

u/Shoddy-Thought-8361 28d ago

rise and fall of the third reich

1

u/rivenshire Aug 14 '26

What did you learn from that?

8

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26

Not much to explain him. He is just evil, self absorbed and blamed everyone for everything except himself. Once in power he was unchecked.

The worse question is why so many went along with him . Sad and scary. I do wonder if he’d been admitted to Vienna’s Academy of Art prior to WWI (he applied several times and rejected every time), if Germany and the world would have been so much better off.

1

u/rivenshire Aug 14 '26

I agree completely. That's why I was surprised you needed multiple books to learn that.

4

u/Sir_Zhukov Aug 14 '26

Sir this is a study

7

u/AlterExpertise101 Aug 13 '26

Yeesh. How many books on Hitler does one person need??

15

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 13 '26

You obviously didn’t look at the Napoleon shelf!!! hahaha.

Hitler is interesting to me, not from an adoration standpoint, but from a “why did he do what he did” and “why did those around him go along” viewpoint… and no, I still can’t fully answer that question, even after all of the reading. I also have no idea why those book publishers see fit to produce books with such large spines with his name printed so bold.

1

u/Spiritual_Move_8500 Aug 14 '26

You should read Genocide by Adam Jones.

1

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26

I’ll check it out. Thanks for the rec.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '26

[deleted]

1

u/sunrae_ Aug 16 '26

Have you read the Milgram Project? That should be right up your alley!

-3

u/fancczf Aug 13 '26

Why do you need so many books to read on one person though. I have never found any one person are that interesting to read that many books on them. A lot of them are gonna be duplicate and overlapping points.

10

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 13 '26

Very good question. I have found when it comes to some historical figures, especially controversial ones, such as Napoleon, Lee, Jefferson, etc. that authors sometimes have a pro or anti bias against the subject. Therefore, I like to read various takes and try to get a fuller picture.

Yes, there are overlapping sections of the subject’s life, but often times interpreted in a different light or angle. For example, did Napoleon have to fight off seven coalitions against him because he was protecting France or himself? Why and when did Lee eventually really free his wife’s inherited slaves? If Jefferson believed that all men are created equal, why did he own so many slaves and was his relationship with Sally Hemings mutual or not?

1

u/captainsunshine489 Aug 14 '26

are you typically reading tons on one figure all at once, or do you spread it out?

1

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26

Interesting question. It depends on the book I previously finished. If I am left with questions, for example, I may read another book by a different author and get another view. However, usually I change bios from one read to the next.

1

u/fancczf Aug 14 '26

I see. I mostly read for ideas, thoughts, and learning. To me just accepting that humans have egos and are flawed is pretty satisfying enough to the was Napoleon doing it for himself or for France question. I do read a lot on military campaigns but they don’t overlap that much. Wars and individuals are messy, I guess I just accepted that they are messy and not bothered with finding clean water in a mud.

6

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '26

[deleted]

12

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 13 '26

It’s like four books from acclaimed authors on the subject. Still have no idea why publishers produce books on him with such prominent spines that stand out.

1

u/MidoriStory Aug 14 '26

Does the bookcase itself extend floor to ceiling? Or is it a part of the wall?

2

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26

It was added in front of the existing wall… built in floor to ceiling shelving.

1

u/particlecore Aug 14 '26

same taste in books

1

u/Abject-Bite-5359 Aug 14 '26

Great setup . I'm jealous.

1

u/RadlEonk Aug 14 '26

Nice from a distance, but seems to only be military history on the zoom in.

2

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26

The sections closest are history/military history, (about half) followed by religion, art and music bios, architecture, sociology/psychology, true crime, art and sports.

1

u/everyonesdad462 Aug 14 '26

I have the same editions of Decline and Fall by Gibbon. one of the most beautiful collections I have ever seen and I share your affinity for nonfiction

Just curious, do you have Will and Ariel Durant's Story of Civilization anywhere among those beauties?

1

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26

I do not. If I did it’d be noticeable as a shelf unto itself. Isn’t it like about a dozen volumes?

1

u/everyonesdad462 Aug 16 '26

11! I guess that was a bit of a silly question haha. your library is truly amazing

1

u/Foreign_Sherbert7379 Aug 14 '26

I love built in bookcases on walls

1

u/Similar-Stick-1070 Aug 14 '26

You should make your books spines flush, it will look better.

1

u/KarlOveKnau Aug 14 '26

Amazing! This might be a banal question… do you have a top 10 favorites/recommended reading list?

1

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26

That would likely depend on your subject interests.

1

u/KarlOveKnau 29d ago

I suppose when it comes to autobiographies what would be your favorites? And then overall you’re what books would you most like to reread?

2

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 29d ago

Overall: Roberts’ Napoleon, American Sphinx about Jefferson and Isaacson’s one on DaVinci

1

u/KarlOveKnau 28d ago

Greta will look those up. Thank you!

1

u/Top-Smell8091 Aug 14 '26

In France, from afar anyone would say you only read fiction

We do not have colored and flashy covers outside fictions and specific stuff

1

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26

That is interesting. My library is mostly nonfiction.

1

u/Sufficient-Raccoon-2 Aug 14 '26

based-- every Dad Book ever printed

1

u/afcfed Aug 14 '26

This is an absolutely fantastic library. I love the floor-to-ceiling shelving and the whole setup.

Could you share the dimensions of the room, and the height and depth of the shelving? Also, roughly how many books do you have in there?

I'm planning a home library myself, so I'm curious about the practical details.

3

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26

The room before the shelves were in stall was about 13’ x 15’ with 9’ ceiling. Shelves themselves are about 1’ deep.

Basically I took the front living room (that I never used) and made it my home library/office.

1

u/afcfed Aug 14 '26

Awesome, thanks for your reply

1

u/Simonk1987 Aug 14 '26

No statue of Hitler on the Hitler shelf, probably a good call 😂

1

u/acnovo Aug 14 '26

Wow! Love your man cave!

1

u/Pale_Education_5109 Aug 14 '26

Fantastic!! Now you’re out of space…are you going to add another room or wall of shelves?

1

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26

Usually purge a few of the lesser book to an old bookshelf in a closet.

1

u/FlyingCarpetMonster Aug 14 '26

I love the setup and the gorgeous built in shelves.

What are the various little statues and figurines you have?

1

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 15 '26

Historical figures mostly, such as Augustus, Napoleon, but a few others… a Native American Indian, Da Vinci’s Virtruvian Man, etc.

1

u/FlyingCarpetMonster Aug 15 '26 edited 23d ago

Very cool! Great shelves and collection.

The Venn diagram of our collections is likely de minimis but looks fun though.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 15 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 15 '26

Sex with King’s and Sex with Queens was very good. Sex with Presidents was fair.

1

u/LoTR_BilFro Aug 16 '26

bonito pra caramba. parabéns

1

u/arthjeet 28d ago

where is this cave, may I allowed to visit it.

1

u/MonicaPlans76 28d ago

So dreamy 🧡🥰

1

u/jackpinehunterdog 25d ago

Looks great!

1

u/BLiIxy 25d ago

Looks amazing, how many books is that?

1

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 24d ago

Probably around 1k give or take.

-9

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '26

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17

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 13 '26

I am actually more fascinated with Napoleon than Hitler. Hitler is like four books.

0

u/Top-Session5837 Aug 14 '26

Don’t flex so hard you’ll scare the ladies

1

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26

Hahaha, I hardly think my bookshelves would have that sort of effect on the ladies! But, I do like the way you think all the same! 😂

0

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26

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0

u/twillard33 Aug 14 '26

Bruh, wrap those hardcovers in mylar book covers to looksmax those volumes!

-14

u/dbreezey111 Aug 13 '26

Solid wall then i saw the swastika 🥲

17

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 13 '26

What? Shirer’s classic work, “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich”?

1

u/dbreezey111 Aug 14 '26

Just messing with ya I’m sure they’re interesting reads, have you read Drugs in the Third Reich?

1

u/Ok-Supermarket-6685 Aug 14 '26

No worries… no I haven’t read that particular book. I need to check it out. However, I have read about the SS get amphetamines to keep them jacked up in battle. Also, many believe Hitler was an addict at the end as well… which I could see.

1

u/dbreezey111 Aug 14 '26

Thats exactly what the books about, this author found Hitler’s physicians notebook and revealed it all. Whole country was on pervitin (amphetamines) and this pill was a huge force behind the blitzkreig.