I have a little reading nook in an awkward room off of my kitchen. There’s not much space for anything but a chair, love seat, a green lamp, and a built-in bookcase, the latter of which has been overflowing for years. (My other bookshelves are in the basement, and those are filled with kids’ books and a dozen copies of a chemistry textbook my dad wrote 40 years ago.)

So today I splurged and bought a library trolley! I’ve had my eyes on it (found at a children’s furniture store) for some time. But after perusing stores from Cost Plus World Market to Crate & Barrel for a proper book case, I gave up and went for the trolley.

Jake, my teenage son, helped put the finishing touches on the DIY assembly. I’ve loaded the trolley with research books for a new writing project and expect to fill the top shelf this week, as soon as my out-of-print eBay and Amazon orders come through.

My first real jobs were both in libraries (during high school and my first out of college). So it only feels natural to have this trolley join my otherwise cluttered house.