I have a set of these shelves in my living room. They are surprisingly spacious. We are able to store almost all our "core" book collection on them. I like that compared to a lot of the other "leaning" bookshelves that looks like these, the Altra bookshelves are self-standing and not leaning against the wall. They are pretty sturdy, and because they can be split up, offers a lot of options for arranging them around the room.