I just got new bookshelves and now have enough room for all my books (I think).
I'm just curious about how members arrange their books. I arrange my picture books and YA books by author's last name, so I can find them easily when I need them for work. But I really don't do much with my adult books other than separating fiction from non-fiction. I'm thinking I want to arrange the adult books by subject, but I'm not sure.
How do you arrange your books? Any advice for me?
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How do you arrange your books?
- boswellbaxter
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 3066
- Joined: August 2008
- Location: North Carolina
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I try to keep the books I use for research together by subject matter--Wars of the Roses books in one section, Tudor books in another, for instance--for easy reference.
Otherwise, it's pretty haphazard, When I had to empty the bookshelves a few years back to put in new flooring, I arranged my fiction by author, but that's broken down somewhat as I've added new novels. Because I have a small house, I've had to exile many books to the garage--there, I keep mostly books I'm reluctant to give away but aren't my favorites, or books that can easily be replaced if the humidity or critters get to them.
Dorothy Parker, I believe, said that she shelved her books by "Good" and "Crap," but unfortunately I don't keep enough of the latter to make it a workable system.
Otherwise, it's pretty haphazard, When I had to empty the bookshelves a few years back to put in new flooring, I arranged my fiction by author, but that's broken down somewhat as I've added new novels. Because I have a small house, I've had to exile many books to the garage--there, I keep mostly books I'm reluctant to give away but aren't my favorites, or books that can easily be replaced if the humidity or critters get to them.
Dorothy Parker, I believe, said that she shelved her books by "Good" and "Crap," but unfortunately I don't keep enough of the latter to make it a workable system.
Susan Higginbotham
Coming in October: The Woodvilles
http://www.susanhigginbotham.com/
http://www.susanhigginbotham.com/blog/
Coming in October: The Woodvilles
http://www.susanhigginbotham.com/
http://www.susanhigginbotham.com/blog/
I separate mine into fiction and non-fiction and from there they are shelved by size - that way I can lay books on top of a row of books and fit more on the shelves that way!! It does make it a little harder to find books when I'm ready to read them, but then I also get to look through all of my books and remember what I have. All of my read books are in baskets that line the top of my built in desk.
- Vanessa
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 4378
- Joined: August 2008
- Currently reading: The Farm at the Edge of the World by Sarah Vaughan
- Interest in HF: The first historical novel I read was Katherine by Anya Seton and this sparked off my interest in this genre.
- Favourite HF book: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell!
- Preferred HF: Any
- Location: North Yorkshire, UK
Hopefully alphabetically and usually wherever I can fit them!!!!
currently reading: My Books on Goodreads
Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind
Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind
On my "for show" shelves--meaning the book cases in the living room which contain all the pretty hardbacks and favorites I'd never give up--they're in size order for the aesthetic. These are books I've read and are reasonably few, so I can easily find a favorite for a reread. Office books are mostly research, so arranged alphabetically by author within subjects; with those I'm using most, on a current project, on the shelf next to the computer. "Extra books"--those I've read and will be passing along sometime in the future--are in spare bookshelves, organized alphabetically by author, within genre. That way I can grab a book fast, if I know who I want to send it off to.
Finally, my TBR shelf in my bedroom is organized by size. I'm trying something new this year, because I have lots of books that have languished on the shelf for several years. New books seem to be more appealing and the older ones tend to get dustier and dustier. This year, I'm working from both ends to the middle. The big chunky hardbacks are my "home books" and the smaller mass market paperbacks are my "commuting books." Any new purchases get shuffled in by size and can't jump the line. I won't have a choice about which book is next (except for "required reads"--book clubs, etc.)...but, if it doesn't appeal to me after a couple of chapters, it gets moved to the "extra books" shelves and will find a new home. Complicated, I know. I'll see if I have the discipline to keep to it!
Finally, my TBR shelf in my bedroom is organized by size. I'm trying something new this year, because I have lots of books that have languished on the shelf for several years. New books seem to be more appealing and the older ones tend to get dustier and dustier. This year, I'm working from both ends to the middle. The big chunky hardbacks are my "home books" and the smaller mass market paperbacks are my "commuting books." Any new purchases get shuffled in by size and can't jump the line. I won't have a choice about which book is next (except for "required reads"--book clubs, etc.)...but, if it doesn't appeal to me after a couple of chapters, it gets moved to the "extra books" shelves and will find a new home. Complicated, I know. I'll see if I have the discipline to keep to it!
Faith L. Justice, Author Website
I need to try something like that. Although my TBR is much smaller than anyone else's here, still I find that if I don't read a book within a few weeks of acquiring it, it tends to languish and always gets pushed back in favor of something newer. I need to force myself to wait on some of the newer ones and read those I've had for a while. I'm sure they're very good, if I would just ever get to them.
- LoveHistory
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 3751
- Joined: September 2008
- Location: Wisconsin, USA
- Contact:
I separate children's books from non-children's books. From there it's pretty much a free-for-all except that a series will go together, in order of publication. Of course when I get more shelves and unpack the rest of the boxes I may get more advanced. Grouping alphabetically by author is very likely with me.