In the years I have spent in the book community, I have seen my fair share of bookshelves. I've also spent countless hours organizing, and re-organizing my own shelves. Depending on the amount of books you have, bookshelf organization can be a tiresome and time consuming task. Yet, once you're finished, staring at the beautiful and aesthetically pleasing masterpiece you have created, it's hard not to feel super accomplished.
The hardest part is deciding which route you want to take. You can organize by genre or author, color or chronological order. The possibilities are endless, and I have tried almost all of them. Some worked, and some really didn't, but I have compiled seven of my favorite ways to organize my bookshelves.
1. Organize by series
I read a lot of trilogies, so the easiest book organization is to group books by series and author. Since the books in a series should match, it won't matter what order the series are in, as long as the books are grouped together. You can also go further and group the series by height or by paperback and hardcover to give it more of a unified look
2. Showcase your favorites
My go-to shelf organization is to start with my two favorite series (Harry Potter and the Shadowhunter world novels) and put them front and center, and then build around those. Since they are my favorite series, I have different editions of the same book, so starting with them assures that I have enough shelf space to keep all the books together.
3. Stack books vertically
This works well when you have limited shelf space. Stacking books vertically allows you to put more books on a single shelf. Since this can get really heavy and possibly break the shelf, it's best to put the stacks on opposite ends of a shelf and then place the books vertically across the middle.
5. Create a rainbow
Rainbow shelves are so beautiful to look at, but the execution is very time consuming. I've only ever done it once, and it was when I had far fewer books. Still, they are gorgeous to look at and take pictures of, so I think everyone should try it at least once. That is, if you can get past the fact that your series will most likely be mixed up.
If you do want to attempt a rainbow shelf without too much hassle in finding your books, you can also create a small shelf made out of stand alone novels.
6. Alphabetical
This is the current state of my shelves. Alphabetizing by author is time consuming, but when it comes to needing to find a book it's the easiest set up. You also never have to worry about having to add books into your shelves, just put them where they go alphabetically and you're good to go!
7. Organized chaos
I'm assuming this is the state of most bookshelves, and tends to be how mine end up over time. Who says you need any special organization anyway? Sometimes shelves are just there to hold books. Whichever way you chose to oraganize them (or not organize them) is as unique as the reader.
