Våra böcker orsakar oss vissa förvaringsproblem: bokhyllorna börjar bli fulla, staplarna växer och vi vet inte riktigt var vi ska sätta upp nya hyllor. Men i Boston räds man inte de radikala lösningarna: för att rymma en antikhandlares privata samling med över 14 000 volymer byggdes ett femvåningshus med en bokhylla som stomme. New York Times rapporterar:

“What holds the house together is a vertical staircase that wraps itself around a tower of books that goes up three floors,” Mr. Tehrani said. (The family lives on the top three floors, while Ms. Bina’s mother, Aghdas Zoka-Bina, and a tenant occupy apartments on the first and ground-floor levels.) The stairway ends just below a skylight. “The tower of books appears to pierce the skylight, though it doesn’t in reality,” Mr. Tehrani said.

“The staircase is the ‘it’ factor,” he added. The books are easily accessible from the staircase, just four inches away. Some shelves are designed to hold books upright, while others are wide and shallow, so that manuscripts or magazines can be left there, in an offhand way — and they are. Many of the shelves are backed in translucent glass to let natural light shine through, and recessed lighting in the ceiling makes it possible to grab a book, settle onto any step and read in perfect light. Squinting is not required.