Center placed equipment stands

In my small (1500 sq ft) house, there is a large bedroom closet directly behind the living room wall where my system is parked. Two easily repairable holes and I could move everything (not the speakers) behind the wall. Oops! I forgot; all the equipment boxes are in that closet. Nevermind... 

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/7605

I am planning on adding some bigger speakers to the room shown in the above URL. I have a 1 foot deep and 72" long oak bookshelf, which is visible in one of the photos of the interior of my closet.

I was wondering if the bookshelf were moved to in-between the speakers would I get some sonic benefit, such as less reflection of sound waves from the absorption of the books? If I do that I can then put a low audio rack in the closet.

I know I can try this myself by moving the furniture but it would take me a long time to take down my desk and then move everything around. So I guess I am asking for a theoretical opinion on such an arrangement.

I have a 9 foot high chimney breast between my speakers. And one speaker is closer to it than the other. Real world room problems. 

In addition to no rack or a low rack between speakers, don't stare at anything. Close your eyes and LISTEN. Music always sounds better with eyes closed.

My speakers are 6' from the front wall which is populated by tall equipment racks and CD storage. If you've got the space to move your speakers out into the room the racks will act as live end diffusers. As I experimented with speaker placement I found that it got better and better the further I moved the speakers into the room. Fortunately I've got a big room (35' x 22') so this is possible.