Posted on Monday, November 30th, 2009 by Annat Katz
5ft Shelf – What’s the deal with measuring one’s book collection by its width? To understand the ingenuity of 5ft Shelf, here’s what they say in their About page: “In 1909 Dr Eliot, then President of Harvard University, claimed a liberal education could be achieved by reading a collection of books that would total no more than 5ft in width. A local publisher challenged him to name them and he responded with what became known as the Harvard Classics.” Thanks to 5ft Shelf, users all over- whether hardcore bibliophiles or best seller-only readers- can create their very own 5ft shelf of their most cherished reads, movie classics and music albums.
Here’s the breakdown; you get 2 1/2ft for books, 1 1/2ft for films and 1ft for your favorite music albums. In numbers, those give you about 30 top picks of each, give or take. 5ft Shelf nicely stacks all your choices on your virtual shelf, and you can choose between various display options (spine, cover, list, etc.). As with many other book collection sites on the Web, this one also offers the friendly interaction with other users.
All in all, 5ft shelf is an engaging, beautifully designed platform for showing off the creations that helped to shape the person you are today. After you sign up (it’s free and the process takes about a minute), start browsing for your favorites, see 5ft Shelf’s recommendations and invite friends to join. All books, DVDs and music albums can be purchased on Amazon. Check out my private stash of entertainment delight, and if you were wondering what the Ultimate Shelf according to the website is, click here.
