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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Daisy Talks About Book Shelf Organisation


I wish my bookshelves looked like this. Because it is truly gorgeous. But alas, I think it would drive me insane every time I bought a new book and it had to be put in there somewhere and the whole color scheme would be off because of it and UGH! I get stressed just thinking about it.

I'm in the middle of moving into a new home and one of the spare bedrooms is being turned into a room for my books. Which obviously is a dream come true. And this afternoon while I was putting some of my books on the shelves, I was wondering about systems for organising books.

I used to have a system that wasn't logical for anyone but me probably. All the books would get shelved according to the date I purchased them. Which results in books that have come out around the same time to have a spot near each other and I could navigate this perfectly, but nobody else could. Which isn't really that much of a problem, but still.
This time I decided to shelve them by author, and I really like it so far. I thought about doing alphabetical, but then I thought that might take forever and would frustrate me.

So we'll see if this lasts. I'm already thinking of how annoying it'll be to have to move books around because of a new release coming out by an author who lives on a shelf that is full already.

So what I'm asking: how do you organise your bookshelf? Do you have a system? TBR versus read? Alphabetical? By author like me? Or no system at all? Let me know!

45 comments:

  1. I try and sort by genre, I guess? All books by the same author are kept together (in series order if applicable), but YA books and Fantasy books, and Historical Fiction books, etc. are all in different places. That said, my favorites are all on the top shelf. Always.

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  2. I shelve according to subject- All my philosophy books are together, all my bedtime stories are together, there is a section for YA series, a section for vampires, a section for general literature. Then within sections, I put them in order of height (unless it seems like two books need to be together for whatever reason- or they are a series- which go in order of the story or publication). I hate it when the there is a little book wedged between two tall books, so I try to angle them into the center of the shelf, with the littlest in the middle so I can put objects on top of them.

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  3. I organize by genre first -- sub genre second if I have enough books to put together for it --as well as alphabetical by title. So if wanted to read The Onion Girl, I'd go to my fantasy section, magical realism, slide down to O...The real pain comes, when I add a new book to a shelf and every book has to be slid down the line one spot! @Get Lost in Lit

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  4. Alphabetical by author. The weird combinations this generates amuse me, like putting Nabokov's "Pale Fire" next to Michael Morpurgo's "Kensuke's Kingdom".

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  5. I organise chronologically mostly, then by theme. However, there is one bookcase I have that is just new books precisely because of the admin involved in shuffling everything down one!

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  6. I organize based on what I would remember about a book. I might not remember the author, when it was published, or when it was bought. I'll remember the title. So my shelves are organized in ABC order by title, separated only by whether its nonfiction or fiction. It's a system I've used for so long that I think if I was to reorganize I'd likely lose books or my mind. :)

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  7. I separate into Read and TBR (mainly because I'm running out of room and double stacking Read books makes it easier to see the TBR books!), and then by author surname. I remember author names better than titles so it works for me.

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  8. I have my fiction books arranged by author surname, but my TBR is chronological in order of purchase so I can see which books I've had the longest and therefore which I really should get round to reading!

    I'd love to organise them by colour, like in the photo, but you know it would never work out that perfectly!

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  9. I have 6 bookshelves, so first I try to organize the books by genre. Then I try to organize by size, author and cover (hardcover or paperback). The system is not without it's faults, but I make it so that my shelves are pleasing to my eyes. :)

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  10. A whole room for your books - that is such a dream! :-)
    Right now I share my bookshelves with the family - it's sort of a communal space, with the books of three different people (my dad would be the fourth, but he doesn't really own any books...). A lot of them are textbooks because my sister and I have been homeschooled our whole life. The fiction is rather random. I hope this summer to actually tackle them and make it all nice and organized! ....probably organized by author, though maybe genre as well...

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  11. For authors that I have multiple books of (Jane Austen, Nicholas Sparks, Jane Green, JK Rowling, Philippa Gregory, etc) I have those grouped together. Then I have my "chick lit" together, my "self-help" books together, and my TBR books together. Books that don't fit in those categories kind of just go on a shelf together. *erica*

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  12. I have them organised alphabetically and while I initially disliked the "disorganised" look (hubby insisted when we moved in together), I now can't imagine my books being arranged in any other way.

    We have close to 1500 books and it just makes everything so much easier!

    And I actually love spending an afternoon once in awhile to add all the new books properly into the system - moving shelf by shelf and remembering old reads and remembering that I should soon read THAT book as well :)

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  13. I'm doing the same thing - just moved into a new place and need to re-org my library. But I don't know how I will be doing this. I was thinking by genre then by author. Kind of like a bookstore. Maybe. We'll see when I finally get around to getting new bookshelves that *gasp* match!

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  14. I also have a spare room for just my books. I organize by age/reading level, then fiction/non-fiction, then by author for fiction and subject for non-fiction. My children's books all have their own book case, my middle grades and young adult share 3 more, and my adult novels and non-fiction take up 4 others. I like to keep picture frames and knick-knacks in random spaces on the shelves. That way, when I have to add books in, I only have to move or remove the smaller items to fit the books in. Plus I sometimes lay books flat and stack several of them, especially books of the same series. I like for them to be noticeable and when a new book comes out in that series, I don't have to make space for it - just add it to the top of the stack.

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  15. As of now, how I shelve my books is by category or status of the book. I have different shelves for my read books and my TBR books. Then, within the read shelves I have my favorite series shelf. Series meaning I have more then one book in the series, if I read a book and love it, but I don't have anymore books in it's series I will then put it on my favorite book/stand-alone self. Then I just have my average shelf which is were I put books that I liked but didn't love.
    It is kind of complicated, but I like it. I allows me to see what books I own that I haven't read. It also makes it easy to find my favorite books and series.

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  16. Mine is alphabetical by author...kind of. It was but then as I read things I just put them where they fit, and I always had a separate TBR shelf/shelves which are in no particular order.

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  17. I organize mine by authors' last names. The only downfall for me is when I book I really loved is next to one I disliked... It just doesn't feel right that they're together XD

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  18. I have to say, mine is organised in specific places. It's all organised at the moment, by genre and then by author, but I do think I might be changing that soon and doing it by author, but I need to take the time to actually reorganise :)

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  19. I don't currently have a system because I live in university residence and space is limited. So I have books, teddies, coffee mugs and medical paraphernalia all sharing shelves. Back home I had various systems that changed as often as I changed the layout of my room (OFTEN). Alphabetically, by date, by genre, and by size.
    I love the colour system too and have been thinking of doing that. It's gorgeous. So maybe I will!

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  20. I've gone with genre then alphabetical by author. It is the only way that keeps me from wasting time looking for specific books throughout all the bookcases (My husband & I share them so it gets even more unwieldy). That drove me mad & I discovered when we went through all our books before our last move that we actually had two copies of some books because no one could find the original copy in the mass of books.

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  21. I have my TBR separate from my already read books on their own little book shelf then I organize the TBR by what I want to read the most and my regular shelves alphabetical by author and it is really frustrating to have to move everything around just to add one new book! =)

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  22. I have a bookshelf and I have that organized by author, but I have so many books and such a small bookshelf. Because of this, I have so many books that aren't organized or on any shelf. It's also annoying because my bookshelf is so small that typically hardbacks only fit on the middle shelf of three, and I can't even fit books vertically on the top shelf. I would like to get a new bookshelf for all the unsorted books, and eventually replace the bookshelf I have now with one that is better suited for all book types. The books I have sorted are ones I had gotten earlier in my book career, and once I had no more room I started piling them up everywhere. When I was still able to add new books to my shelf, I always loved it, even though I had to move a bunch of them for the new space. I love organization, even though I'm not always organized with everything, and books tend to be something that gets me really excited to organize!

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  23. My bookshelf is small, and the shelves are weirdly spaced apart, so the only thing really in one area are my classics. Series are together, and books by the same author are together, but besides that there really is no organization. If it fits on the shelf, it says there! My other normal sized bookshelf is done by author, and than classics.

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  24. I have books under my TV Stand. And a Small 2 shelf bookcase. Nothing is really organized because I don't have a big bookshelf and I can find a book really quick. On my bookcase is mostly my TBR shelf for 2014 and the new books I bought/won. I also cleared a drawer from my dresser because I didn't have any space. here is my bookshelf pics http://ashlyhbooks.blogspot.com/2014/03/bookish-pics-my-bookshelf.html

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  25. Jealous! I tend to group books based on author and/or size (biggest to smallest, it just looks nice to the eye), but also how they fit on the shelf. Sometimes if I have a big series (say, Harry Potter), I'll stack them horizontally versus having them take up half a bookshelf vertically. Adds some visual interest I think, and breaks up the blur of book after book.

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  26. I also have my TBR books separate from my already read books, just so I know when the pile is getting out of control :)

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  27. I organize alphabetically by author. Then for authors whom I have multiple books/series, they are sorted chronologically by either date published if they are standalones, or by series order.

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  28. I do have a system! I organize by YA vs Adult vs Romance, etc. Then if they are in a series, they are put on two shelves so they can all be kept together even if they're not finished. The one offs are on a separate shelf away from the series. Also, they're organized alphabetically by last name of author. It's not complicated, bookstore-ish, and it's nice to see all the series lined up one right after the other. I entertain the idea of changing it and doing it all by size and color, but I am too crazy and would probably like it for fifteen minutes and then have to change it back!

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  29. My books used to be organized by whether I've read them or not, then by genre, then alphabetically by author. It was quite a system and I loved it.
    I've moved since then, though, and now have much less shelving. (TWO bookshelves. Ugh. Now I have them completely organized alphabetically by author. If books by one author are shorter if laid on their sides and stacked, then I put them like that. (ie. my Percy Jackson series is on its side, as is my Harry Potter series.) Also, I have had to stack a few horizontally atop vertical books whose authors start with the same letter. This works alright for now, though I still have books stacked all along the wall.We'll see if it continues to work in the future.

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  30. I don't own many physical books. In elementary and middle school, I'd buy tons of books whenever the scholastic book orders or book fairs came around. Now, I mainly buy/borrow e-books or borrow from the local library. I used to volunteer at the library a lot to get service hours, so I became very good at shelving books by genre, then author name, then title. I'm also pretty good with the Dewey decimal system for non-fiction. If I had a library full of books, I'd probably organize it like the local library does. Old habits die hard. Plus, it'd be easy to locate a book if I wanted to re-read it.

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  31. My main shelf is colour coded like above, just I don't have that quantity of books. :) My other shelves hold my review copies and signed copies... and they are not organized.

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  32. I did the rainbow thing once. It looked cool, but I HATED it! I couldn't find anything! I don't remember book spine colors. I remember titles and authors though.

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  33. Rainbow would be super pretty but I wouldn't be able to find anything. I have two different bookshelves. My adult fiction is just kind of grouped on one my author. My YA bookshelf has a different cube for each genre and then books are grouped together by series and author. My TBR 'shelf' is actually a drawer under my bed and it's organised usually in order of how I bought them unless I need to read a time specific book for a challenge. It works for me haha.

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  34. That bookshelf looks gorgeous. I did colour code my newest shelf and it looked quite pretty until I bought new books. And then it became a real pain to move stuff around to keep the colours right and it turns out, I have considerably more black spined books and they just stood out in one huge block. I want to rearrange my bookshelf by genre, but with so many cross-genre books I think it'll take a long time and a lot of list-making. TBR versus read is how I have it now!

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  35. I have my books separated by fiction vs. nonfiction. Within fiction, I keep favorites on a shelf together - I try to get rid of books I've read that I know I won't read again. Anything I haven't read gets sorted first by adult vs. YA/NA, and then shelved alphabetically by title. I try to group series together. My problem is that I have book shelves all over the house, so I may have to look three or four different places before I find a particular book I'm looking for. I do love that rainbow look, but I'd never be able to find anything. I do have books on my living room shelves place by color, but these are either reference books or classics.

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  36. I organize by general subject, since I read so much nonfiction. I do have 'special collections', though, that are put together, like my reference materials.
    http://thisweekatthelibrary.blogspot.com/2014/03/bookshelf-organization.html

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  37. I organize MOST of my books alphabetically by author's last name. If I have any 'big' series or more than six books by any one author, they go on a different shelf reserved specifically for 'big' series or more than six books by one author and those are shelved just however they fit. I have two shelve on one bookcase reserved for unread books, again however they fit. One of the unread shelves is for just book I' haven't read in general, and the other is unread books in series I've started. And I also have one final, small shelf, where all the book I have left from elementary and middle school are shelved however they fit.
    I also have a section on top of one of my bookcases reserved for my FAVORITE books, and those are organized alphabetically by author's last name.

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  38. I typically shelve by author and/or genre. I have an entire wall of bookshelves that are short and cubby-like, so having a bunch of similarly themed books grouped together seems to work well. I still manage to have a couple "random books" shelves, but on the whole I like the way it looks. Still, I do like the occasional reshelving day!

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  39. I have absolutely no organisation at all. The randomness can be fun when you find authors who would never get on in real life having to nestle up close. But it's also frustrating when I am looking for a particular book and can't find it.

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  40. I currently have no bookshelves at all at the moment. You may feel sorry for me now. ;) But I am planning on getting two: one for books I've read and loved and the other for my TBR.

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  41. I used to have my books organised in rainbow colours like the picture, but then it really irritated me that I had to split up books in a series. Now I have my books organised by height, with hardboacks and paperbacks separated so it looks neat. That way I can keep series and books by the same author together.

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  43. Well, at first my shelf was strictly organized by age category and then by author. Then I made it by feel for the adult lit and non-fiction (classics, scary books, "Agatha Christie-esque," etc.) and alphabetical by author for the YA Lit.

    Now I have my YA collection split in two. The books I own but haven't read are on their own shelf, organized by size and how eager I am to read them. (Organizing by size maximizes shelf space.) The books I have read are organized as much by author as possible, though I make allowances for size. I also have a separate shelf just for my Ultimate Favorites.

    Of course, this doesn't account for all the boxes of books under my bed. Ugh.

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  44. This is really interesting! So many systems. I used to organise my books by language, and then genre, and then a weird combination of author/theme/covers/size that never made sense to anybody else but me.

    Now most of my books are ebooks, so I just have them arranged in (genre & language) collections on my Kindle.

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  45. Mine are according to how much I like them, actually. Like my favorite books are on the top shelf (the shelves are only 3 shelves high otherwise I'd have to take it down a shelf cause I'm short). And then most of those books are by the same author so I stack those together, too. And then anything that its a series goes on the next shelf because they are pretty together.

    ...It basically makes no sense, but I love looking at it. Everyone has such logical organizations!

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