Comments on: instant gratification

By: Bettsi

Bettsi — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 22:18:29 +0000

Hi, I just joined the Toys Without Irony web ring and found you on the list. Your work is so cute! Look for me to come back to get some of your beautiful jewelry. Your bags, cats and owls are darling too!
As far as my books, I edit out a lot, because I am a library junkie. (I’ll bet you like hearing that!) The ones I have kept go into A)my beloved sentimentals B)craft books C)reference books D)my husband’s stuff.

By: jax

jax — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 14:45:55 +0000

I group them by category and then within the category by author and within the author, alphabetically by title.
although… i have to say, when they aren’t all the right size, i sit in my chair and rock at the inconsistency!
yes. i AM an anal retentive.

By: Steph

Steph — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 16:32:01 +0000

My books are mostly organized by country of origin as well as topic, mood and period. So everything Russian is together, but next to them are the English, starting with Virginia Woolf, because I read those when feeling somber, Milan Kundera is next to Paulo Coelho because with every re-read I get something new out of them, German authors stand next to Japanese with some philosophy thrown in between, because I must have been Japanese in a previous life. Then there’s a section for ‘unread’, art, craft, cooking. To my silly mind it all somehow makes sense.

By: aer

aer — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 16:07:33 +0000

We used to have our books sorted by genre (drama, fiction, non fiction, text books, travel books, books about wine etc), then my mister decided that books needed to be sorted by size because he couldn’t stand the unruly “look” of the book shelves, so everything but travel, cookbooks and wine books were reshelved depending on size. We are desperately running out of space so new purchases tend to be stacked where ever they’ll fit. I dream of having one large room dedicated to books some day.

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 15:56:22 +0000

Alphabetically. But the travel books are all grouped together before the alphabet starts. Same with the knitting books and the antique books. Cookbooks are kept in the kitchen and some of the really pretty art books are on a special shelf in the living room.

By: Shhh

Shhh — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 14:58:54 +0000

Ordered by size simply because the height of the different shelves. I purged many of the books we had the last time we moved and kept only the ones I felt had a major impact on me or the family.
IN my son’s room, on the other hand, the books are organized by whatever pile he has dumped unto the floor while selecting just the right bedtime story.

By: Aven

Aven — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 14:22:14 +0000

“Work” books are organised by category, subject, etc. (texts/editions together, translations together, secondary literature together) and alphabetised, roughly, by author — with seperate shelves for my books and my husbands. “Fun” books are organised by type (sf, mystery, dr. who (yes, that gets its own category) and grouped by author/series. “Serious” fiction is alphebetical by author, on seperate shelves downstairs. My husband keeps talking longingly about organising everything by Library of Congress number… but I don’t think it’ll happen anytime soon!

By: ru

ru — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 14:04:10 +0000

roughly by category. or medium. supposedly comics have their own shelf, but really they are all on a pile on the floor in front of the shelf. everything is stacked on horizontal surfaces around the house – tables, nightstands, closets, toilet tanks, that sort of thing!

By: Andrea Holmes

Andrea Holmes — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 12:58:35 +0000

Like a few of the previous commenters I don’t really organize my books at all! I think I had some sort of subject organization in mind when I moved to my present apartment but I haven’t been paying attention to it in the last few years. Now, every new book I get I just put wherever I can find some space!

Let us know what you decide. I’m already feeling inspired to reorg my book mess!

By: andrea

andrea — Sun, 10 Jul 2005 16:48:27 +0000

have you read book on the bookshelf by henry petroski? i didn’t finish it – school, grrr, never enough time – but he devotes lots of time on how books can be organized. a fun read!

as for myself, i like eclectic – like moni, my knitting books are all together , and so are my cook books in the kitchen – but all the rest are jumbled together. so if i’m feeling bored with one genre, and i put a book back, right next to it will be an entirely different book. also, that way, when people come over, they can be awed by my diverse wide-ranging mind

i just get such a kick out of putting a super-nerdy XML book right next to one on women’s fertility next to a children’s book next to a geology book.