The answer to the question in the title is, of course, that I am Loki and I do what I want. (And if you don't think Loki collects books [perhaps not novels, though?], I don't know what to say to you.) But it's all very well for an Asgardian prince... I'm sure he has lots of shelf space.
Or, y'know, some kind of pocket dimension library.
Me? Not so much.
It isn't like I bought very many... this time. Six or seven, and only two of those were large books.
But you know that tumblr post on Pinterest about Quicksilver and Thor's hammer? no? ...hang on...
*literally two hours later* HERE IT IS
That's me. Except it's more like:
"oh, what a great idea, let's get more books"
*teetering towers of books collapse and crush me*
"I HAVE MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE"
*teetering towers of books collapse and crush me*
"I HAVE MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE"
No, seriously, I'm slightly panicked here. This is one shelf in my built-in wardrobe, and it's stuffed. According to my sisters (who counted), I have over 250 books. (Which isn't a lot, but... one shelf.) I can't access the books in the back row. Books get damaged when [other] people pull them out or stuff them back in. I'm concerned about the shelf's carrying capacity.
Me trying to find room on my bookshelf.
But there's nothing I like better than an excuse to pull everything out of a cupboard and sort through it! So. The shelf above has been cleared for the non-fiction to go across the front:
Which created a bit of room? But then I could see how dusty the shelf was... and I needed to resort the novels anyway... so off they all came.
Side note: The Hiding Place was a gift from my sister (Sister 1, of course, for those of you who were wondering). It's one of those cardboard boxes that come in different shapes - in this case, a book; she decorated it herself. She thinks she's hilarious and she and other siblings have developed a habit of taking small objects from my room and hiding them in there.
Anyway. I've gotten so far...
...but that's only two-thirds of my novels. The rest are still scattered across my bedroom floor and I'm not sure how I'm going to fit them in??
Also, I'm not happy with how I have them sorted.
So. Time for your most excellent and admirable advice, blogging-people!
- How do you sort your books? Author, height, genre, date bought, date last read, colour?
- Do you have any advice for avoiding death-by-book-towers? So many people have whispered (or screamed) about their imminent and crushing death by TBR... while none of my books are on my TBR, perhaps you could transfer this knowledge to simply book-towers, instead of TBR-book-towers?? Or if you have any other advice as to how to fit them all in, I'd love to hear it.
- And did you squint at my pictures for books you've read? because it would be nice to know that I'm not the one who does that. ;P
........
This is different to my usual posts, but I thought 1) someone might have a good idea! preferably leading to me being able to walk across my room without tripping over my books! and 2) you might like to see my books?? idk. but I'm always up for pictures of other people's shelves. I get right up close to my screen and squint and go "hey, they've read that book too?? AWESOME"
Which of my books are also on your shelves? Are there any on my shelf that you're thinking of reading? How many books do you own? How many bookshelves do you own? Would you push your clothes into one corner of your cupboard if it meant you had more room for books, because my mum thinks this is unreasonable (??).
Ooh, yes, I enjoyed this post, and I totally did check out your titles, haha. :) You have 'A Thousand Perfect Notes'! How was it?
ReplyDeleteI think it's perfectly reasonable for books to take precedence over clothes in the wardrobe. I had books in my wardrobe, and crowding shoes off the shoe rack too, until I got a huge bookshelf which I share with my sister. And which is now also full. But I firmly believe one can never have too many books!
I'm terrible at actually organising books though, so I can't help there. :( I kind of just put them on the shelf in the order I get them and in order of height. I roughly have my nonfiction/spiritual books on one shelf and stories/novels on another, but then there's a few favourites in one corner, and some old-fashioned hardbacks in another, so it's chaos really, haha. Maybe you should do another post on organising bookshelves once you master it! And all the best with regaining your bedroom floor space!! XD
'A Thousand Perfect Notes' didn't make me cry, but I'm pretty hard to get crying! The ending was definitely bittersweet, but I think anything else would have felt off. And the siblings were perfect! (There may have been some mild swearing in German, but I don't speak German?)
DeleteHaha! Your books took over your wardrobe too, Jessica? Well, I'm sure the huge bookshelf helped - although of course it's now full too. ;) One can definitely never have too many books... only too few shelves.
I tend to sort my books by height as well? with non-fiction separate. Oh, when I master the bookshelves, I will definitely write a post explaining my newfound skills. ;P (Thanks - hopefully I'll have it cleaned up soon! ;)
I can definitely relate to book-storing-and-sorting problems. Hope you can get it figured out soon, but honestly? My best advice is to invest in a good bookshelf (or convince your parents to invest in one for you). I have three, one of which my parents just bought me last year for my birthday. (It's so pretty! And smooth! And made of real wood! With huge shelves! I love it!) If you feel like taking a risk, you can scout out partially-empty shelves in other people's rooms and take over those . . . but then you might not get the books back. It's up to you.
ReplyDeleteAs far as sorting: I sort my books by genre (all classics and nonfiction are on one bookshelf; miscellaneous fantasy in on most of another shelf, with the bottom shelf taken up by historical fiction and dystopian, and favorite/epic fantasy is on my new shelf). Then I sort by author within that.
And yes, I did squint at your book pictures to see if I'd read any of them. :)
Anyway. I organize my
I would shift some of my younger self's books to siblings' bookshelves... but no one else has any room either. xD Maybe getting a new bookshelf is the way to go! (...just have to fit it into my room.)
DeleteGenre is a sorting style that makes sense to me! I had mine sorted kind of by genre and by height within that; I'm going by author now, but I still think height might have been the most efficient use of space?
And had you read any of them? ;) (Tell me you'd at least read The False Prince?)
wait- SARAH. COME BACK. BLOGGER CUT YOU OFF.
Haha, yes, I’m going through my bookshelf currently to see what I need to give away, since I bought, like, FIFTEEN books over the summer. *facepalm* And then I bought two more literally YESTERDAY. What am I thinking???? (But if you find that pocket-sized library, call me up!)
ReplyDeleteI’m very boring with my bookshelf: I have two shelves dedicated to favorites, and the rest of my shelves are organized alphabetically by title. I admire the people who sort by color, but think I would die if I had to do that. XD
wait what you organize them alphabetically by title? WOW that's awesome. My family organizes our books by "oh here are Lilian's books" and "oh here are Mom's books" and "oh here are the general homeschool textbooks". XD
DeleteOh, when I find Loki and persuade him to teach me how to create pocket dimensions I can use as libraries, I will definitely tell all of you people first. And then I will sell the info to the world for lots of money and a Hawkeye tv show. You're welcome. xP
DeleteAlphabetically by title is cool, Nicole! (And so is sorting by colour, but I would die too. xD)
I had this exact same problem, small bookshelf, too many books. But my best friend came over and saw my dilemma and she bought me a new bookshelf. That's what I would recommend, buy a new one!!! It is really fun to rearrange your books on it :)
ReplyDeleteLilah
lilahsmusicals.blogspot.com
That's a true friend, Lilah! xD And yes, rearranging books is fun... when you have enough room. ;)
DeleteI just found out about your blog today and I love it. It's gorgeous and beautiful. <3 Great post though! Oh, the struggles of a bookworm... *sigh*
ReplyDeleteLilian | co-founder of Stellae Books (stellaebooks.wordpress.com)
main blog | greenteawithbooks.wordpress.com
Aw, thanks, Lilian!! Welcome to my blog! *offers you a lamington*
DeleteAre those....*deep breath*...PHANTOM STALLION books??? Those were my favorite EVER when I was...well, let's not go how old I was, because it's embarrassing how long I continued to read them, until my poor mom was like "Look, you gotta stop reading these, you're an adult."
ReplyDeleteSam, of COURSE I'm going to squint until I've read every single cover you have. Because BOOKS.
I personally kinda have half-organization skills...my favorite books are on the top shelf. But because I have too many, that kind of spills over onto the second shelf. Now my second shelf is double-stacked. Third shelf is hardbacks, and fourth shelf is hardbacks and overflow, and is also double-stacked. Fifth is last bit of overflow, and kind of double-stacked (it has some of the weirder-shaped books, so I basically had to jig-saw puzzle that baby).
I would LOVE to organize by color, because it's pretty, but because I have waaaaay more books than shelf space, I needed a better way to fit them all in. Hence the double-stacking. Like, you can't even see half the books I own, because they're hidden behind others. Evan was like, "Hey, I'm looking for this book, do you have it?" I was like "Behind the Dragons in Our Midst series, take a left, and it should be behind The Order of The Seven..."
YES. The library got rid of theirs (??) so I've been looking for a copies of my own for ages. They were my favourite too (I may or may not have had a crush on Jake?? so much that in my first 'novel' I made a best friend called Jake who was slightly older, enjoyed annoying her, and was not the love interest [I have just realised] because he was mine.) And, uh, I'm twenty (which my mother informs me is an adult) and when I saw these ones on the shelf at Vinnies I did not hesitate to scoop them up, looking around furtively in case anyone else was after them. xD
DeleteDouble-stacked and jigsaw-puzzle shelves... the talents of a bookworm. It doesn't matter if no one else knows how to navigate your shelves, Julian - as long as you do! (It actually kind of impresses people, I think? xD)
I know! Colour would be so nice... but not only do I not have enough room, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to stand the variations in height, or splitting series? (I want to know how many people reading this post thought of Paper Fury when they thought of sorting by colour, though - I know there'd be at least a few!)
...so, what other books do we have in common??
JAKE YAYYYSSSS he was the only reason I kept reading them, lol. Did you read the Wild Horse Island ones??? I personally liked those better even though I only read the first two. Cade was the best part of those...and the MC was a little better. I found Darby and her "I know what's best so I'm not going to listen" attitude got on my nerves sometimes. I got most of my copies from the used book store...was going birthday shopping with my grandma and was like "IM BUYING ALL OF THEM."
DeleteI think I spotted some hardback Books of Bayern?? I'll have to look on my phone so I can see better.
I did read the Wild Horse Island ones, but I preferred the originals? Cade was Jake's brother, right? (he was definitely the best part)
DeleteYes, I have the first three Books of Bayern! (If you know any other Goose Girl retellings, I'd love recommendations. ;)
I see Alex Rider!! And I have that exact version of Emma by Jane Austen. ;D
ReplyDeleteAlex Rider and Emma - we share a nice cross-section of genres, Lila! ;D
DeleteBut why is this considered a problem? ;P
ReplyDeleteAlso, yes, I do squint at pictures of books. I see you have The Goose Girl, and I approve of that. XD
It isn't exactly a problem, Gray... but if I leave my books in piles all over my floor, eventually Mum or Dad is going to start muttering about how I have too many. To which my response is always "no, I don't have enough shelves." xD
DeleteThe Goose Girl is an awesome book - although having the same name as the original fairy tale can be confusing in discussions!
Wow! You have a lot of books! :)
ReplyDelete-Brooklyne
My siblings have their own shelves, too... and there's the family bookshelf... I have no idea how many books our family has altogether, Brooklyne, but we certainly have a few! :)
Deletehaha, I relate . . . on a larger scale. You see, I own closer to 2000 books, I'd guess. And all of my books are organized alphabetically by author . . . in boxes, because my room is too small for Beauty And The Beast bookshelves.
ReplyDeleteI used to visit thrift stores way too much. Even so, I only bought books I loved by authors I knew or such. I've read a huge majority of the books I own. And still making my way through the rest. I try to hardly visit thrift stores now, though ;p But that only means I buy more newer books . . . Lots of reading always!
I recently went through my books and got rid of a ton I decided I didn't like/ would never read. That was nearly four boxes I'd say. If not more.
And this includes both fiction and nonfiction. Probably 20% of my books are nonfiction.
keturahskorner.blogspot.com
WHOAAA No wonder your bookshelves aren't adequate. Two thousand!! (sorry, I'm speechless xD)
DeleteI went through mine and picked out some I didn't want, but "children's classics that are adapted and therefore not good like the original" is a fairly specific niche, so it didn't clear up my shelves much... ;P
What kind of nonfiction do you own, Keturah? My nonfiction collection is fairly small, but I've started adding books I might want for writing - forensics, history, etc.
I'm sorry but your dilemma makes me happy because you're giving a home to all these wonderful books ahhhh
ReplyDeleteRight, Rosie - it's practically a civic duty to look after all these books and give them a good home??
Delete