It's not solid oak, but that wouldn't work for the spot I wanted.

I would have liked a light oak color, and these are medium oak, but otherwise perfect.

Nice oak color, mission style.

and I thought the bookshelves we're solid oak

It's not solid oak, but that wouldn't work for the spot I wanted.

I love the bookcase itself, however, I ordered the medium oak and received the dark walnut color whichis not at all the color I wanted

The third problem is the wood is a nominal tropical climate wood which is not as strong as poplar or oak, so with standard book loads, the shelves bow more than the oak bookshelves here