Comments on Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity: Sunday Salon 55: The Great Bookshelf Overhaul

Organize books? I do that all day at work. Why wou...

2012-01-17T20:08:29.698-06:00

Organize books? I do that all day at work. Why would I want to do that at home? ;) J/K. I really do have a fairly good system. Books read go in two bookcases in the dining room (love Pottery Barn!) and one in the living room. When they get full, I purge. TBR books? On shelves in the guest room & my office (oh, and 6 stacks next to the bookcase), my side of the bedroom (built-in shelves), the nightstands in our bedroom & guest room, a bookcase in the living room, and a few table tops. My husband gets the basement. And, honestly, for the most part, they're in alphabetical order (by author). The ARCs are in the 6 stacks on the floor. In order by year. Yes. I have 6 year's worth of ARCs. Unread. One of the hazards of working in a bookstore (and blogging).

I admit, I have a bit of a problem. But I'll never run out of reading material. Ever. :)

Not at all! The classes are medical coding classe...

2012-01-16T10:48:08.993-06:00

Not at all! The classes are medical coding classes. One mainly for diagnosis coding and the other is for physician office coding. It's two different coding systems, but both are used for hospital and physician office billing but with slightly different rules.
Coding is basically taking medical information and translating into numbers for statistical purposes, research, reimbursement, etc. It requires lots of reading which is one of the reasons I like it so much :)

As for books you don't want, you could always try Paperback swap, but if you're keen on removing the books form your house, library donations would be best.

Andi - LOL--come on over... Jenny Gir...

2012-01-14T09:29:22.038-06:00
*Andi - LOL--come on over...

*Jenny Girl - Yes, I've already started pulling my non-fiction because I have less of those and then I'll probably pull classics and then go from there. And I MUST send some of them to the library as donations!! So curious about the classes you're teaching, if you don't mind.

*Marie - I have a solution to your problem--give me your gift cards. ;) I haven't heard of hanging bookshelves but I'm really curiuos now! I do dream of having a beautiful library with beautiful books, but I don't see it happening. ;)

oh and forgot to mention the reading room.. which ...

2012-01-11T13:49:47.820-06:00
oh and forgot to mention the reading room.. which has an awesome wall that is begging for an awesome bookshelf that hangs.. but I fear it will pull the wall down.. but I dream of the day there can be books hanging in there, the pretty hardcover, vintage-bound style books.
Need that hanging bookshelf, though. That won't pull the wall down when I put those pretty + heavy hardcovers there..
(*it's a disease, this book hoarding thing)

I have a library. A whole library room. And I'...

2012-01-11T13:44:40.641-06:00
I have a library. A whole library room. And I'm running out of room.
And I have book-giftcards to burn.

*help*

There are bookcases in the bedroom too. Now I am wondering if I should use the closet too, since it's huge and all.

Really sad.

Running over to Melody's site that you linked...

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2012-01-11T08:23:43.667-06:00
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Oh my piles are so not organized. I'm afraid ...

2012-01-11T08:23:25.464-06:00
Oh my piles are so not organized. I'm afraid to organize it, to be honest. But I can help you! I think the subject format is a good starting pint and then you can always sub-organize from there, depsnding on what you have.

As for me, I am teaching a class starting next week, and another class starting at the end of February. I didn't think the Feb. class would run, so I accepted this earlier one. I have lots to prepare for :) I obviously secretly love it!

Can I roll in the stacks before you organize '...

2012-01-10T11:16:46.696-06:00
Can I roll in the stacks before you organize 'em? Is that weird? :)

*Kristi - I know it's a long ways away,...

2012-01-09T21:27:22.552-06:00
*Kristi - I know it's a long ways away, but your kids might treasure those books!

*Molly - I've started to keep a blog calendar--it doesn't help with the ideas but it does help when I can see what I've posted and what I want to post and try to organize that way.

*Deb - Wow--I can't imagine going from 9 bookshelves to 3. You need to pay me a visit and help me cull! ;)

*Care - So sad I missed you!! Chickpea and I would have loved to meet you. Next time you're in Dallas you let me know Missy!

*Melody - Ha! We can always use more shelves, huh? ;) I'm trying to talk Scott into giving up his shelf of textbooks so I can overtake it!

*Diane - I know...it's just taking that first step!!

*Lisa - Yes, deal--one shelf at a time. We can do it!! And we can keep each other honest. ;)

*Chris - I know--to think that this summer I'll have been blogging for five years. Unbelieveable!! And I'm glad we've been friends for that long, too.

*Melody - NO!! Not a book buying spree!!! And thanks for the inspiration--your post really made something click for me. Of course books should be organized intuitively!! Looking forward to the FMQ. Love the look of it but am too afraid to teach myself! :)

Reading this post actually makes me want to go on ...

2012-01-09T17:47:05.881-06:00
Reading this post actually makes me want to go on a book buying spree! AND come help organize your bookshelves since that's one of my favoritest things ever. :) (thanks for the shout out, btw)

Also, I'm excited for you with your free-motion quilting class! The best advice I got in that department was to "make sure you are breathing" :D

Can't wait to see the shelves once they're...

2012-01-08T23:27:27.266-06:00
Can't wait to see the shelves once they're organized :D And I can't BELIEVE it's been two and a half years already since y'all moved in!! I remember y'all moving in :) It kinda makes me super happy we've been friends at least that long :)

My bookshelves have absolutely no organization wha...

2012-01-08T20:21:09.513-06:00
My bookshelves have absolutely no organization whatsoever which is so unlike me in every other way! But if you promise to work on yours this month, I'll make that one of my goals this month, too! If we commit to 15 minutes a day, surely by the end of the month we'll have accomplished something, right?

Just donate all the ones you've read or most l...

2012-01-08T18:59:06.471-06:00
Just donate all the ones you've read or most like will never read. It's painless and so liberating as well. You'll be glad u did. God luck Trish.

Wow, that's a lot of books! Organizing them ca...

2012-01-08T18:18:56.871-06:00
Wow, that's a lot of books! Organizing them can be fun, but yeah it can be taxing too, lol. As of now, I need more shelves!! :P

Have fun? I just got back from Texas, btw. :)

2012-01-08T17:57:34.431-06:00
Have fun?
I just got back from Texas, btw. :)

I started with nine bookshelves of books (over 4,0...

2012-01-08T16:58:01.108-06:00
I started with nine bookshelves of books (over 4,000 books!) and now I'm down to three shelves of keepers. I still have two more shelves of books that I'm slowly working on culling, but someday these will be gone, too.

Then again, I'm at that age when you start wanting to have less of Things (including, sadly, Books).

Good luck!

Here is my Sunday Salon. I hope you will stop by!

I'm beginning to feel like a book hoarder myse...

2012-01-08T16:29:40.394-06:00
I'm beginning to feel like a book hoarder myself! I do have my books somewhat organized - but blog posts?! I am all over the place. I hope to develope some kind of routine in 2012 to help me stay focused.

That's a good idea. I was thinking about donat...

2012-01-08T16:28:11.188-06:00
That's a good idea. I was thinking about donating them, but I think my kids would appreciate having them when they're older.

*Irisonbooks - I've really worked hard ...

2012-01-08T16:24:54.831-06:00
*Irisonbooks - I've really worked hard the past year or so to make book blogging guilt-free. Not sure why we impose guilt upon something we all love so much! And January might be overshooting it. ;) I'll just take it one shelf at a time. Ha!

*Picky - I used to have a TBR shelf based on my challenge reads. Now that I'm not doing challenges I think I'll organize a lot like you but without the actual TBR. LOL--everything I own is TBR! ;)

*Jeremy - First, congrats on your baby on the way! Ours is eight months and such a joy! ;) Second, the books are all unpacked so no keeping them that way. Ha!! Funny that your wife is trying to get you to go through your books, though--it's the opposite here. Thanks for visiting!

*Terri B - Ha! Your comment absolutely made me smile. Even if you're calling me predictable. :P Kidding. But I'm SO glad I'm not alone in my publishing paranoia! I don't think it's that far off to be honest...at least to some degree. ;)

*Softdrink - Well....if I were actually reading things then I would need a shelf of doom. Right now I'm just trying not to develop a TBL stack. Those audible credits are too tempting!

*Kristi - My advice on the kid's books is to keep the ones you love. Maybe just box them up and put them out of sight for a while until your kids are older and start having kids of their own. I know--AGES away, but my mom is having to restock her house because I've taken most of my own baby books! ;)

*Peppermint PhD - Jealous of the ability to let go of books you're not attached to. I try, I really really try (and sometimes succeed) but that first baby step is tough. ;)

I have one set of shelves in one room of my house ...

2012-01-08T14:11:39.887-06:00
I have one set of shelves in one room of my house that is reserved for TBR's. Right now those are organized based on Challenges/Genres...I like it this way bc I don't have to look at those shelves if I don't want to...just shut the door and pretend like they are not in there...and I can easily look from one genre to another depending on my mood when I DO want to read from my TBR. I'm getting better about letting go of the books I'm not attached to.

Oh my, that's a lot of books! I guess I'm ...

2012-01-08T13:43:13.613-06:00
Oh my, that's a lot of books! I guess I'm not the one to ask because I have one bookshelf with books neatly lined up and not double stacked. That's it for me, but I guess my kids book situation is a little more like yours! I'm looking forward to when my youngest starts reading and gets into the chapter books because I can get rid of hundreds of books. :)

Good luck with your project though. I have quite a few organizing projects going for the new year, so I can relate.

You need a Shelf of Doom. I'm telling you, the...

2012-01-08T13:41:23.224-06:00
You need a Shelf of Doom. I'm telling you, there's nothing like an ominous name to motivate you to get reading so you can GET RID of some books. :-D

I pulled up your blog, took a look at the photo, a...

2012-01-08T12:41:10.420-06:00
I pulled up your blog, took a look at the photo, and then started laughing my head off! Not laughing at you, but with you (or maybe even at myself) ... because I pretty much knew what your post would be about before reading any words.

I'm sorry I won't be able to shake any sense into you either since I'm operating under some of the same thoughts (oh no, what if all the publishers quit printing paper books????) and resulting conditions.

Oh Trish, you kindred spirit. You made my day :)

I'm in a similar position. We will have been ...

2012-01-08T12:33:12.934-06:00
I'm in a similar position. We will have been in our house for two years in March, and one of our free rooms has a bookcase full of books. My wife has been working on me for the last three years to go through them, and the ones I won't read again, to donate them to our public library.

In order to further her cause, she got me a Kindle this past summer. She has told me that since I have a Kindle, I need to have more e-books than physical books. I suppose I can understand since we have a baby on the way!

I do agree with others, if the books are in boxes and you don't plan on reading them again, the library may be a good place for them. Great post!

When I had my bookshelves made last April, I thoug...

2012-01-08T12:16:07.760-06:00
When I had my bookshelves made last April, I thought long and hard about how to organize. Finally, I went with groups: commercial fiction, classics, mystery/sci-fi/fantasy, short story and poetry collections, my TBR, and special books (signed books, books I am sentimental about, etc.). It works really well for me. My TBR isn't organized in any sense because I simply grab what I want from it when I want it.

Good luck! I can't wait to see your shelves all finished. You can do it.

Comments on Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity: Sunday Salon 55: The Great Bookshelf Overhaul

Organize books? I do that all day at work. Why wou...

Not at all! The classes are medical coding classe...

*Andi - LOL--come on over... *Jenny Gir...

oh and forgot to mention the reading room.. which ...

I have a library. A whole library room. And I'...

subscribe

Oh my piles are so not organized. I'm afraid ...

Can I roll in the stacks before you organize '...

*Kristi - I know it's a long ways away,...

Reading this post actually makes me want to go on ...

Can't wait to see the shelves once they're...

My bookshelves have absolutely no organization wha...

Just donate all the ones you've read or most l...

Wow, that's a lot of books! Organizing them ca...

Have fun? I just got back from Texas, btw. :)

I started with nine bookshelves of books (over 4,0...

I'm beginning to feel like a book hoarder myse...

That's a good idea. I was thinking about donat...

*Irisonbooks - I've really worked hard ...

I have one set of shelves in one room of my house ...

Oh my, that's a lot of books! I guess I'm ...

You need a Shelf of Doom. I'm telling you, the...

I pulled up your blog, took a look at the photo, a...

I'm in a similar position. We will have been ...

When I had my bookshelves made last April, I thoug...

Andi - LOL--come on over... Jenny Gir...