Cute or clutter?

It’s Infrastructure Week.

Scottoline-style.

As in, it’s time for Spring Cleaning 2021.

By the way, I skipped Spring Cleaning 2020.

I don’t know what happened.

I spent years saying to myself, if I had the time, I would clean my closets. And then, when all I had was time, I did nothing.

This can’t be my fault.

I blame the pandemic.

You can, too.

Have you noticed everybody’s blaming the pandemic for everything?

It’s the best excuse ever.

I mean, who’s going to defend a pandemic?

To return to point, it’s a sunny day in April, but I’m inside cleaning bookshelves.

I could be vacuuming, but I like playing with books better, and I have so many more than I did at the beginning of the pandemic. Books are stacked everywhere, overflowing bookshelves, stacked on chairs, then overflowing onto the floor.

I don’t know where all these books came from.

I think they’re breeding.

And you know what?

I’m fine with that.

I like seeing books around.

So I dust the dust covers.

It took longer because I started looking in the books, and reading them, and comparing one with the other, and then I had to decide whether I should rearrange them by color, which is the new thing I saw in a magazine. People put the red books together, then the orange books, and so on like a rainbow.

Or a rainbook.

While I think that would look pretty, I’m too much of a book nerd. I keep my books alphabetized by the author’s last name, so I can find them again, even though I rarely need to find them again. There’s signed fiction in the family room, unsigned fiction in the dining room, and nonfiction in the spare room used only by the cat.

The cat prefers nonfiction.

Of course.

Last year I realized I had too many books and no more room on the bookshelves, so I did something crazy.

I ordered a book cart.

If you don’t know what a book cart is, let me explain. I love libraries and speak at a lot of them, and I noticed that they have metal book carts that come in fun colors, even on wheels. One of the librarians told me they’re from Demco, so I went online and got busy.

And since then I’ve acquired three rolling book carts.

I’m a pretend librarian.

I have a pink book cart in my pink office, a teal one in my garden room, and a royal blue in the sunroom. I’m in love with them because they help me organize research books for whatever novel I’m working on, so that’s my excuse.

Otherwise I look at these book carts, and I have a question:

Cute or clutter?

Like, is it crazy to order library furniture for a house?

Or are the colors just so pretty?

And aren’t they so shiny and nice?

And also practical and easy to use?

And boy, what a great purchase!

It’s not clutter, it’s cute.

Or maybe it’s cute clutter.

I wonder if we all have stuff sitting around and can’t decide if it’s cute or clutter.

Maybe if you leave clutter around long enough, it turns cute.

So you’re either adorable, or a slob.

I’m fine with an adorable slob.

Anyway, what’s happening now is that I have historical-fiction fever after my new novel Eternal, which you should start reading immediately. I’m very proud of it, and I have an idea for another one. I’ve already begun collecting research books and I know just what I need:

A new book cart.

On wheels, in case I decide to go for a drive.

Look for Lisa’s best-selling historical novel, “Eternal,” in stores now. Also look for Francesca’s critically acclaimed debut novel, “Ghosts of Harvard,” on sale now.