We looked into the home libraries of book lovers and found out how and why they collect paper editions in the age of numbers

A home library is not just a shelf with books or part of an interior. This is a special space that reflects the worldview and tastes of the owner, his hobbies and life priorities. We looked into the personal libraries of book lovers and learned how they arrange the ideal place for reading, where they find time for their favorite activity and how they decide which literature to keep and which to get rid of. Pushkin is not boring Tenth-grader of Minsk secondary school No. 3 named after Hero of the Soviet Union K. A. Shaban Marianna Trakhimovich belongs to the category of people about whom they say: the best gift for the holiday for them is a book. Marianna became addicted to reading in the 5th grade, when the subjects “Russian Literature” and “Belarusian Literature” appeared in the curriculum:

- I read mostly what is taught in school. Large works, which usually take a lot of time, I try to master during the summer holidays. On a favorite book I can stick for 3-4 hours. Time flies by. Someone will say, “Why try so hard if you have a summary?” The thing is, I really like the classics. From the recently read a deep trace in the soul left “Hero of our time” and “Woe from the wit”. It often happens that if you liked the work, you want to read something else by this author, for example, after Eugene Onegin took in the library “The Tale of Belkin” and “The Queen of Spades”.

- But at the same time, every classic work has an interesting storyline and characters that you want to empathize with. I noticed that thanks to reading, my vocabulary has become richer, it is easier for me to express my thoughts and write essays, there are almost no parasitic words in speech. All in all, it's a plus.

To make reading more productive, Marianne uses stickers ("Markers do not use, so as not to spoil pages"), writes in a notebook favorite quotes, makes short descriptions of the characters, and also looks at thematic YouTube channels parsings of works. I want to start a reading diary.

Marianne's personal library has about 100 volumes, half of which are in line for reading. In high school, studying takes a lot of time, so it is difficult to find a free hour or two to read something for the soul, admits the schoolgirl:

- Next week, the holidays will begin, and I look forward to the moment when I get unlimited time to read. A student of Minsk secondary school No. 9 named after V. I. Shcherbatsevich Daria Poleshchuk has not parted with the book since childhood:

My mother told me that when I was very young and just learning to read, I literally chased adults with a request to spend time in a book. Before retiring, my grandmother worked as a teacher of Russian language and literature – she kept many books at home. Coming to her village on vacation, I loved to flip through these volumes.

- There is something special about the yellowed pages and the typeface they are printed with. In search of such books, she once went to a bookstore and bought two collections of poetry.

Dasha's home library is dominated by historical literature, as it is one of her favorite school subjects. For example, few people can boast that they have read from cover to cover the book “Memory” of the Glussky district, and Dasha can. She also mastered The First Scientific History of the War of 1812, read the memoirs of Catherine II and lectures by Sigmund Freud.

But the problem of delayed reading did not bypass Dasha. She has about ten volumes on her shelves that she wants to read, but so far, as they say, her hands have not reached:

- I often buy a few books at once, and then they stand and wait. To eradicate this habit, I try to first read the volumes I bought, and then go for new ones. Book blogger from Minsk Elizaveta Davidovich (@elizavetareads) has been collecting a personal library for the past two years. Now her collection includes about 150 books. At first I bought one novel a month, now I set a limit of six, Lisa smiles

- In fact, I would buy the whole bookstore. But it would be a very financially illiterate decision. My favorite genre is fantasy. Fae, dragons, a strong main character and a man who is ready to destroy the whole world for her - paths that I can not resist. On my shelves you can find thrillers, detectives, modern love novels. Recently discovered books in the Asian setting (the environment in which the action unfolds: time, place and conditions of existence of the characters). - Approx. I read a cycle about survival games and several romcoms in the style of my favorite dramas.

Changing the tablet with the number on the tracker has already become a separate ritual for me. I also bought acrylic stands in two of my favorite book universes. So now my personal library is being looked after by Xeiden and Violet from the book The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Jarros and the goddess Morana from the cycle Mara and Morok by Leah Arden. By autumn, she decorated the shelves with yellow maple leaves.

How many books are “unread”? The blogger admits that she has almost none:

- Everything I buy is included in my reading plan for the next month. Unread copies psychologically pressure me. By the way, sometimes the appearance of a new book in the personal library is influenced by the release of the film adaptation or the fact that the author holds a meeting with readers and an autograph session. In this case, I will definitely purchase a copy. On the days of sales, I try not to open websites of marketplaces and second-hand stores, so as not to order my entire book list. Now it is planned to add to the collection the entire cycle “Kingdom of Spikes and Roses” by Sarah Janet Maas.

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Photo from the personal archive of heroes