Books by the Foot, a service run by Wonder Book, Frederick, Md., "has become a go-to curator of Washington bookshelves, offering precisely what its name sounds like it does," Politico reported. "And this year, the company has seen a twist: When the coronavirus pandemic arrived, Books by the Foot had to adapt to a downturn in office- and hotel-decor business--and an uptick in home-office Zoom backdrops for the talking-head class.... When workplaces went remote and suddenly Zoom allowed co-workers new glimpses into one another's homes, what New York Times writer Amanda Hess dubbed the 'credibility bookcase' became the hot-ticket item."
Wonder Book president Chuck Roberts said: "We can sort of, you know, guess, or read between the lines, and we've had an uptick in smaller quantities. If your typical bookcase is three feet wide, and you just want to have the background from your shoulders up, then you might order nine feet of history, or nine feet of literature. That way, you put them on your home set... [and] nobody can zoom in on these books and say, Oh my God, he's reading... you know, something offensive, or tacky. Nothing embarrassing."