At the moment we’re engaged in renovating our basement, although I hesitate to call it a basement because it’s already finished, and is really more like a second floor. It’s not exactly a “rumpus room” or a den or a separate apartment (for example, it has a bedroom and a bathroom but they’re not connected). It’s a lot of space, and we needed to make that space work better for our family.

One of the things that will make it work better for everyone (but let’s face it, mostly for me) is built-in bookshelves. For years I’ve been cobbling together my office from one IKEA bookcase I bought in Germany and three other IKEA storage/bookshelves that I bought from a fellow grad student a few years later. These pieces are frustratingly indestructible, despite the cheap pressboard and bolts from which they’re fashioned.

So I’m ridiculously excited about finally having real, solid, stable shelves on which to place my books. I met with our designer and contractor the other day about how many there will be, where they will be placed, and what dimensions I need. Adjustable shelves made with sturdy hardware! Shelves to the ceiling! Room to sort each month’s galleys, ARCs, and finished books, as well as plenty of room for catalogs, media kits, and the other materials I need for my particular bookish life.

However, the thought of these permanent shelves has me thinking about those on which I’ll place things permanently. This week BN.com announced the debut of its e-reader, nook; I’ve been thinking for a couple of years, now, about the books I download versus the books I buy to keep on my shelves. It’s a quite deliberate decision, each time – and regrets? I’ve had a few! (One of my better choices this year was to read A.S. Byatt’s “The Children’s Book” in digital format; its 688 pages are not easy to hold, let alone tote while traveling).

How do you decide, if you do have an e-reader, which books to read in which format?