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Well, I'm certainly confused about why some designers on HGTV shows put books in shelves with the spine facing the back of the shelf so the book's title & author cannot be read. This approach seems to have started with Genevieve Gorda, then it was picked up by Sabrina Soto -- and maybe others. I generally love their work, but this thing they do is totally ridiculous and looks absolutely terrible. Can they possibly think this is cute? I have not been able to find a link directly to these designers so I can ask them about this, so can you please ask them to explain why they do it.

I have not seen this but it falls into the same catagory as designers who cover all the books the same... once again the name/author is hidden.

Guess it works for those that do not read but only have books for show

I've seen this done also and think it's nuts. As a design professional I've never done this and can't imagine an instance where I would. Books in a room give warmth and coziness - they're like old friends. Why would you turn all your friends with their backs to you?

Amen to the above! The other crazy idea being picked up by several designers, including the Novogratz's last week, is arranging books by color.

OK,OK--it may look nice for a day, but some of us actually read! Can you imagine saying to yourself, "Now what color was 'Wuthering Heights'?" every time you wanted to browse???

Thank you doodles64. Yours is the best description of book placement I've seen or heard. I just hope Genevieve and Sabrina -- and the people at HGTV -- take note.