How do you arrange your bookshelf?

bleachededen · Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:16 am

I'm curious to see how other book lovers arrange their books. Do you go alphabetically across the board, mixing all genres together? Or do you separate by genre and then alphabetize? Or do you not alphabetize at all and go by favorite authors or themes?

Right now, I have mine separated by genre but not alphabetized in any way. Instead, they are arranged according to height and width and how they appeal visually to the eye. Heavier books like my thesaurus and rhyming dictionary (yes, I own a rhyming dictionary, my poetry major is showing yet again :-P

) are on the bottom with Harry Potter and some psychology books, the next shelf up is for poetry anthologies and then smaller collections of poetry from single authors, then a stuffed hedgehog and the LSAT study guides (I thought, for a short while, of applying to law school), and the third shelf is for fiction from older eras that I've already read for class or for pleasure with a stuffed monkey on top, the next level up is for my favorite sci-fi books and books I have yet to read. The top shelf, at the moment, has a box full of my late great-grandmother's recipes, a prayer book that I saved from being discarded from my synagogue, a picture of my great-grandmother, grandmother, mother and me (4 generations of women, I call it), and Russian nesting dolls with a Little Red Riding Hood theme.

All around these books are little green army men, a set of Winnie the Pooh toys my boyfriend bought me, and pictures of me and my boyfriend and me and my best friend. With my new book acquisitions, however, I'm going to have to move some things around and possibly sacrifice some cute weirdness for more space for books.

Another question I could then pose to you, in addition to how you arrange your own bookshelves, how do you think I should rearrange mine? Any suggestions? :mrgreen:

caseyjo · Mon Mar 01, 2010 1:21 am

Mine are organized thematically, mostly clustered based on things I have a lot of. I've got a section of cognitive science books, then specific sciences that aren't cognitive, then general science and history/biography/philosophy. Then I've got my non-fiction books that don't fit into those categories. The fiction books are grouped mostly chronologically, within important themes (early modern drama, metaphysical poetry, romantic poetry, russian lit, etc). The modern stuff is by genre (Sci-Fi, historical fiction, thriller/mystery, romance). I try to rid myself of the complete fluff. Right now, the books are totally all over the place, but I should be getting a new bookcase to hold them all in the near future.

I think you should organize them so that they make sense to you. Oh yeah, and getting rid of the books you don't like/need (like the LSAT books) will make your shelf much more appealing to you.

bleachededen · Mon Mar 01, 2010 1:31 am

Actually, I don't mind having the LSAT books in there, even if they are an eyesore and take up space. I like looking at it and remembering, occasionally, that I am smart and capable enough to have taken that test and possibly done really well. It sort of reminds me that I can still do something with my future, even if it's not law school, but the law books do serve as a good reminder. If that makes sense.

There are some psychology workbooks and such that I wouldn't mind finding a new space for, though.

caseyjo · Mon Mar 01, 2010 9:40 am


	bleachededen wrote: Actually, I don't mind having the LSAT books in there, even if they are an eyesore and take up space. I like looking at it and remembering, occasionally, that I am smart and capable enough to have taken that test and possibly done really well. It sort of reminds me that I can still do something with my future, even if it's not law school, but the law books do serve as a good reminder.

Ah, that does make perfect sense. I guess I'm just remembering my old GRE books, which I got rid of right after I took the test. As soon as I was done, I never wanted to think about learning arcane vocabulary words ever again

I don't know if you've seen this before, but apparently some people like to organize their books by color. Sure looks pretty, but then again I don't think I'd be able to find anything.

bleachededen · Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:58 pm

Wow, that does look nice. None of my books are really that uniform in color, though, so I don't think it would work.

I like arcane vocabulary words, lol. I love pretty much anything to do with language (vocabulary, spelling, and grammar included). It's math I can't stand. :-P

missyannlala · Mon Mar 01, 2010 1:36 pm

I just put books wherever there's an open space.

bleachededen · Mon Mar 01, 2010 1:43 pm


	missyannlala wrote: I just put books wherever there's an open space.

Excellent plan! Simple, yet effective!

I think you've got us all beat. :lol:

missyannlala · Mon Mar 01, 2010 2:03 pm

Well, I like the feel of just glancing anywhere on my shelf and being surprised about what my glances land on. It's just a pleasant surprise throughout my day.

caseyjo · Mon Mar 01, 2010 2:25 pm


	bleachededen wrote: Wow, that does look nice. None of my books are really that uniform in color, though, so I don't think it would work. I like arcane vocabulary words, lol. I love pretty much anything to do with language (vocabulary, spelling, and grammar included). It's math I can't stand.

It wouldn't work for me either, I feel like all my spines are black. Funny, I hate the vocab words, but love the math!


	missyannlala wrote: Well, I like the feel of just glancing anywhere on my shelf and being surprised about what my glances land on. It's just a pleasant surprise throughout my day.

I never thought about it that way, but that makes sense.

FuzzBunny · Mon Mar 01, 2010 4:14 pm

I try to keep books of the same genre together and then books in the same series together, but after that it is random. At times areas get stuffed full and I will put a book wherever there is a spot until I have time to re-organize.

wilde · Mon Mar 01, 2010 10:37 pm

Well, when I first got it, it was organized alphabetically by author, and all the series were in order. Now though, there's small stacks on the shelves in front of the rows of books. Also, it's got action figures and cat hair.

The bottom shelf, however, is for library books only. Yep, I need an entire shelf. :blush:

bleachededen · Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:05 pm

That's the other thing I'm interested in...what's on your bookshelves that aren't books? Those things also tell interesting things about people.

I like the cat hair, that was funny. Does the cat like to read? Which books does the cat gravitate toward? That would be cute -- a cat who liked to read. Maybe I should write a children's story about it. :lol:

missyannlala · Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:17 pm

I've got anything from perfume, figurines, loose paper, odds and ins that i've collected over the years..jewelry..etc. anything that I just toss up there.

wilde · Tue Mar 02, 2010 10:37 am

Haha a couple of my cats just like to curl up next to the shelves and sleep. And one of them likes to interrupt me when I'm reading. I'll sit and enjoy my book, and next thing I know, there's a cat in my face. xP

tomwhite56 · Tue Mar 02, 2010 11:45 am

When my shelves aren't a complete and total mess...I group by genre, but then I seperate by author, and then arrange the author's books in chronological order. So, for instance, Deighton and Le Carre are together, and Dickens is on the classics case with Austen and Bronte, American authors like Keillor and Salinger and Dillard and Smiley find themselves sharing space, and there's a whole shelf devoted to World War II books...among many other groupings.

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