Book shelves (part one of two)

I have really enjoyed looking at people's book collections recently on their blogs, so I thought I'd do a couple of posts from my bookshelves. Today - my books and Mr D's and tomorrow a brief look at other books around the house!
Looking at the photos, I realised a) my shelves are chaotic and messy b) it's a REALLY eclectic mix of books showing various interests from the last 20 odd years of a life shared and c) there are some slightly uncomfortable choices in there - please don't judge!! X

These are along the window sill - I ran out of space on the shelves, surprise, surprise!

In the kitchen, it's almost entirely cookery books and a few lifestyle. My most recent book is Rhonda Hetzel's book from the Down to Earth blog. I have read this book three times already from cover to cover, it's so interesting.

I have no idea why there is a small furry thingy on this shelf! 

I tried to have a rule of one book in and one out - BIG FAIL! I find it very hard to pass books on.....

In the lounge, we built some shelves into the alcove many years ago, and these house mostly reference books and my husband's sportsman autobiographies. Again, there are some books up there I never look at, but they would have been expensive gifts in their day. Perhaps when we move.....? The bottom shelf has photo albums. Many many years ago, my husband had to have an operation and to keep himself busy whilst he recuperated, he logged our life in these albums, from the time we first met, right through five albums to the point when my youngest was born. They're brilliant to look at, but stupidly we haven't continued them .... I guess we just don't print off photos in the same way these days.

The bookcase, the other side of the fireplace houses mostly fiction and the overspill from the DVD shelf. Too many books on the second shelf, so I've had to go double thickness again! We watch a lot of films in this house and have built up a huge collection of DVDs. Again I have tried to slim these down, but have met with so much resistance from the tribe, I've just given up and stacked them!! The baskets on the bottom shelf contain Wii controllers etc.

At the top of the stairs, there is a small bookcase. Probably the most mixed of the whole house. On here, there are books from my student days (I studied French and German). I can tell you now, I will never pick up Bertolt Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle and read it in German ever again and yet ... there it is on the shelf. I have so many, they are double thickness......I know, I need help here!
I also have some books from various 'dreams' I've had over the years - moving to France, opening a b&b etc...
On the bottom shelf are the children's books, which were mine and have been passed on to my children, but they have so many of their own books, that they've come back out of their rooms again, so I've crammed them in a chaotic fashion on this shelf. Displaying this photo makes me painfully aware of how awkward they look, displayed like this!