Book jackets

Years ago I worked for an interior designer. I learned a lot from her. Some things she specifically taught me and some I picked up without realizing it. She loved black candles in silver candlesticks, and in her beautiful home they looked stunning. She also believed that only hard cover books should live in the public spaces of your home and that all book jackets should be removed. This last item always makes me nervous - yes, book jackets that are stained, torn and faded aren't very attractive.

However, in fits of cleaning and organizing I have gotten rid of several book covers that I now miss dearly. Every so often I come very close to reordering the books just to get the covers, but they're expensive books and I stop myself when I see the invoice total.

I now know that books in a bookcase may look better without jackets, but I think coffee table books still need them. Here's the book with and without its jacket. Clearly, I'd rather have the jacketed book on my table.