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So I move.

A lot.

Average of every 2 years for the last 12 years, almost all to different countries.

And alas I also accumulate books (and minis, but that's another story).

So I'm looking for a good solution that lets me both transport and display my books.

Has anyone tried using wooden crates that can be then assembled into shelves? A used book store I used to go to (since closed, along with the game shop in the same shopping center, now I'm sad ) had a system like that.

Google gets me some pictures but has anyone here tried something like that? I worry it would become too top heavy and fall over.



Did I mention the toddlers? I should probably mention the two year old twins who regard everything, including Daddy as a tree to climb.

I wonder if I could get crates made wiht lego-like pegs to attach them? Lashing them together with twine might also work.

Maybe this sort of thing...?



There are also wood versions called campaign cabinets or Wellington cabinets, that are more like portable shelving that stands on the floor. It's not really made any more but you see them in antiques shops.

Maybe you could commission a local joiner to make you something. Quality woodwork must be relatively cheap in India.

Maybe you could commission a local joiner to make you something. Quality woodwork must be relatively cheap in India.

That's my thought. What I like about the crates is they instantly become boxes an ordinary man can carry.

Don't get me wrong those are gorgeous but would have to be emptied and restocked with each move.

While with crates my books would remain in order.

a good campaign chest is just a very superior kind of crate.

The crates would work; you'd probably want to bolt them together, and fix the whole structure to the wall, too. The gaps in the sides means you could just use bolts and big disc washers, should be OK.

Zip Ties

Wood is a heavy material. 2 years is not a too short period of time, you can find a normal cheap shelves and then sell it or just leave em.

Roll books! roll! Books roll onwards to new house!


The crates are going to be a good solution for transporting the books without taking them out of the bookcase. The other solution is to have multiple smaller bookcases that you can easily transport. But this is going to take a lot of space, unless you stack them, which again gives you the same problem as with the crates...
If you are not trying to impress anyone with your book collection in the living room, you might also consider getting a bed with large drawers, which can be used to store your books (make sure the drawers have bottoms). That way you can transport your bed and books in one, without having to remove your books.


Note to self: saying "drawers" is fun.

Have you tried just buying a tablet? I too prefer the feel of real books and used to move alot like you every two years (no longer the case for me) and I just kept the two boxes of my current "favorites", namely the armies that I was playing and the most pertinent RPG books for characters I was currently using. I learned my lesson when I first moved during grad school and absolutely the heaviest "portable" things were my books (both school and gaming). I hurt my back more with those than with my furniture. At the time, tablets and smart phones weren't a thing yet so my only option was ebooks and pdfs on my gaming laptop. It may not be the answer you want to hear but it's probably the best especially given your moves seem to be international which is a much bigger PITA than my relatively local/regional moves.

Tablets is agood idea, Leave your real books somewhere like parent house.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

I wonder if I could get crates made wiht lego-like pegs to attach them?

Good file storage crates are usually designed to work that way. Not a pretty solution, but quite functional.

I dunno. I have a kindle and I really dislike it. It's just so much easier to use a book to get where I want and to go back & forth for reference.

You could always use drilled holes and bolts to secure the crates together and then wall brackets to secure them. An easy unscrew, and portable boxes if you want to take it apart to move it or clean it.

I've probably moved home about as often as you have (albeit it was spaced out very oddly, with 3-4 months in between at the shortest point, and 5 years the longest, and books are an utter pain. I never found a simpler method than boxes. But there's something very soothing about getting them set up again in a new place.

 Breotan wrote:
I dunno. I have a kindle and I really dislike it. It's just so much easier to use a book to get where I want and to go back & forth for reference.

I've got a Kindle, which is great for carrying around and reading novels, especially the large amount of free or very cheap books now available. As soon as you want to flip to a map or something, it's useless, so I still have lots of books for reference and so on. My largest book is about two feet square and contains prints of age of sail naval scenes. You couldn't display something like that on any handheld device.

The other things about a library are showing off your erudition to guests and providing them the chance to borrow a book.

I like the crate idea, but yeah, with toddlers definitely clamping them together somehow and potentially bolting to the wall is the way to go.

 Breotan wrote:
I dunno. I have a kindle and I really dislike it. It's just so much easier to use a book to get where I want and to go back & forth for reference.

We have a Kobo, which my wife carries around in her bag as it's easier than toting a book along with a bagful of toddler paraphenalia. I prefer my phone for reading in bed, as it removes the need to have a lamp on... But other than that, yeah, give me a real book any day.

The big thing for me (and I have the same issue with movies and music) is being able to browse along the shelf when I'm looking for something to read. Scrolling through a file list just isn't the same...

I have about 300 books on my Kindle and Cloud, and it's remarkably difficult to look through the collection to choose something.

Yeah I have a kindle and a table and my ebook collection takes up a great many gigs so I am making the transition. I've sold or given away enough books in the last few years to start a decent library. And I'm about to do it again.

But even my 'essential' collection would probably take up 3 or 4 large book cases so I'm still looking for a solution. I think wood crates wtih holes for metal bolts and a way to anchor them might be best.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
A bit OT but one thing I find with tablets is besides the difficulty in flipping through them, they kind of lend themselves to ADD.

With 100+ books on one, plus the whole of the internet I just don't get that focused 'sit down and read' effect I get with a paper book where changing what I read means getting up and walking across the room.

It's the difference between going to the movies and watching TV.

There's no commitment with a tablet.

What if you had a bookcase built that brokwe doqwn into multiple shelves with studs that lock into holes.?

Gravity holds it together.
When you move, remove books and the case can be moved in 5-6 different chunks?
Each shelf is like a interlinking box?

Sturdy as all weight does down the side long axis in theory. Each shelf can mantain owns weight and above yet can be easily taken apart as needed. 5-6 solid separate units.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
You said custom work was not too expensive in India?

Itas a solid wood bookshelf but can be broken down to be more portable

Or look at the oldf European campaign furniture?