books and ladders*

Embarassing fact: I love Belle from Disney's Beauty and the Beast.  Always have, probably always will.  The reason for my infatuation is pretty simple: she was as obsessed with books as I was.  So she's clearly the best!  [Though Jasmine briefly contested that title since she had a pet tiger...but her apparent lack of interest in the written word keeps her firmly in second place.]

Anyway, anyone who has seen Beauty and the Beast will remember - ought to remember - the little bookstore in the beginning with the sliding ladder.  This is later echoed in the holy-goodness-wonderfully-enormous library that is presented nonchalantly to Belle, complete with dozens of ladders to reach the books that happen to be 100 feet in the air.

Long story short, I love the idea of a sliding ladder in a library.  I love the idea of a library that is big enough to actually require one.  But I also love the idea of not having to move and pack and unpack all of those books again and again...which is why all of this is on hold.  For now, our books live on a single 5-shelf bookshelf, under the entertainment center, and in various other corners of the apartment.  We're going to get them a bit more breathing room, but it will be awhile until we have this, I think:

See?  Ladders!  Enough to make one break into "Tale As Old As Time" renditions in the street...

[*though the title evokes the game, I actually loathe Chutes and Ladders.  Just a clarification.]