Art vs. Books

In our society today, we're beginning to lean away from the traditional paper book.  Whether hard or soft back, a physical book may be a vintage item in our near future thanks to electronic book systems such as Kindle.  Now I myself am not sold on the whole idea, and it brought to mind a design style that is highly debated.


  Some say it's a new trend, others say its been used for years, but is hanging art on a bookcase a good design?  Yes, it's going to potentially cover some books and make it more difficult to access them, but to me it brings to life the systematic geometry of a traditional built-in.  Shelf shelf shelf..... shelf shelf shelf, and the only thing to break that up are the books you put in it, or the various knick knacks you choose.  What better way to break up the monatoany of a bookcase than to add a dimensional piece hung from the front?


  So what do you think.... is it a silly, impractical application or a unique twist on the typical built in??