Comments on: Storing All Those Books

By: Kathy R

Kathy R — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:30:32 +0000

I have a large walk in closet and sort them by author in alphabetical order. I also have a bookshelf in my home office with books that I want to read first. (let’s not talk about the boxes of books in the basement and the shelves of books in my piles of books in my son’s old room) Well I started out with good intentions!!!

By: Nikki H

Nikki H — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:33:12 +0000

Reading all these comments makes me discouraged because i need to reorganize desperately. Maybe I’ll start manana. Sign me, Scarlett.

By: LinnieGayl

LinnieGayl — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:51:18 +0000

Fiction/nonfiction. Within nonfiction, by subject (eg., history, languages, reference, etc.). Within fiction, broadly by genre (mystery, sci fi, romance), and then within genre by author. However, while that’s my intent, I sometimes get lazy and just stick a new book that I want to keep in where it’ll fit on the shelves….hence, my yearly reorganize the books project.

By: Irene

Irene — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:44:48 +0000

I sort by alpha by author, series and then the book titles alphabetically alpha … i have books in my bedroom (the mbr closet has three bookshelves in it – who needs clothes when you have books . I also have about half my collection at my mom’s house (where i haven’t lived in about 25 years …

Oh, and I have a commerically available database that can download to my iPhone so i don’t buy duplicates (I own about 1800 books so that is key;))

By: mingqi

mingqi — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:51:27 +0000

I don’t own many books and borrowed most of the books I read from the library…as for the books I do own…at first glance, it looks like a bit like a mess because the sections run against each other and sometimes i have to double-stack(?), but i do have them separated.

i have one section of paperback romance, organized by author’s last name, then title
one section of nonfiction-i try to organize by subject but mostly i focus on size.
one very small section of hardback romance, organized willy-nilly
one section of general fiction, organized willy-nilly
one section of classic/literary fiction, organized by country (Greek, Roman, chinese, american, etc.)….though I did toss The Tale of Genji into the general fiction section because of space problems.
one section of children’s/YA lit, organized by last name.
one section of Georgette Heyer
one section of Harry Potter.
one section of Jane Austen and related Jane austen fiction
one section of graphic novel series that I am still collecting
one section of graphic novel series that I have quit collecting
one section of miscellaneous funny books

By: Sandy C.

Sandy C. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:03:06 +0000

Non-fiction is separate from fiction. Non-fiction is grouped by subject, and that’s where the organization ends.

Most of my fiction is romance, so any other non-romance books are shoved in with my single title romances, by author last name. My category romances are separate from the single titles, they’re sorted by line, and then book number.

Because books and music are my passion, I have to keep both very organized, or I can’t find anything!

Oh, and I have separate TBR piles:
1. Books a friend loaned me.
2. Books from the library
3. Books I bought six months ago and still haven’t read yet.

Wow, this is more complicated than I thought it was! Hmm. I just moved, and when I did I got rid of LOTS of books, but I now they’re taking over my bedroom again. I think they breed when I’m not looking!

By: RobinB

RobinB — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:42:47 +0000

I’m a former librarian, so one would think that my books would be extremely organized. One would be wrong, especially when it comes to my fiction TBR’s. Most of my nonfiction is in bookcases, hutches, etc. arranged by size. Every few years, I go through books I’ve read, and take a bunch of them to the local library for the used book sale, but then, I buy more books! And, of course, friends and family like to give me books for birthdays, holidays, etc.! Last year, I rented a storage unit, and that has helped with SOME of the storage problem, but like others, I wish for a library like either the one in “Beauty and the Beast” or (better yet) the one at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. If you’re a book lover, and you’ve never seen the Trinity College library, I promise that you’re in for a treat!

By: Jean Wan

Jean Wan — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:30:00 +0000

Oh man. Depends where we can put a bookshelf, really. But generally by fiction/non, then by genre/subject, then by author with some exceptions. We need a library like in Beauty and the Beast.

By: Carol B

Carol B — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:51:47 +0000

I love organizing my romance books. I have under the bed storage tubs that roll. I alphabetize by author then by title with the spines facing up. One of my favorite parts of my day is picking a book out on my way to bed. As for the rest of our books (my husband’s, academic texts, etc) they are on our bookshelves according to height. Funny, I don’t get too excited to search through the bookshelves

By: Jane O

Jane O — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:43:48 +0000

Let’s see now. English Lit, arranged by period and then alphabetically by author in the study, American and non-English lit by period and then author in the dining room, lit crit in the entrance hall, history (by area and period), philosophy (by author), and art history (by artist and period) in the living room, gardening and cookbooks in the breakfast room, romance and mysteries (by author), dictionaries, grammar and usage manuals, and currently needed reference books in my office by author, whatever we are currently reading in piles on bedside tables, and whatever doesn’t fit in boxes in the attic.

We all find it impossible to get rid of books.