Who lives in a house like this? On a couple of my bookshelves

Forgot to add the pic!

Some of my books (fiction) are tidily in alphabetical order but the rest is a right hodge-podge. Garden books have a shelf to themselves, as does sewing but the rest is pick and mix.

I'd love to have my own library room - I can see it now - dedicated entirely to books with a wing back chair. My little fantasy.

Ours are mixed. We have a lot of cookery books, a fair few by Bill Bryson, books on Venice and Ireland, football books, biographies and autobiographies. All sorts really. All squeezed in together.

I have too many books. The bookcase in the living room is kept tidy but elsewhere not as much.

My fiction books are grouped by author, and in the order they were written (OCD - moi?). Classics together (alphabetical by author), reference and history books on one shelf, health and travel guides on another.

I would say it is the shelf of an interesting person that has better things to do in life than put their books in alphabetical order.

The cookery books are not by Bill Bryson obviously!

I try not to keep too many books. Once I've read them, if members of my immediate family and close friends don't want them, I donate them to our local charity bookshop. I usually come home with a couple I haven't read.
My kindle library is quite extensive.

I have a few Ikea Billy bookcases.

The bigger gardening and cookery books go on the bottom shelf.

I rarely buy hardback books so most of my books are paperback which come in one or two standard sizes.

I have my paperback books two deep on the other shelves but all vertical. I tend to have them in order of author.

I also have a bedding box full of books TBR as I have run of of bookcases and I can't bear to get rid of books.

Strangely, I rarely read a book more than once so I need to give my head a wobble and work out why I need to keep them all. It's hard to let go

I have recently found a free App called my reading list. You can scan all of your books in and note when you have finished a book or your progress if you are reading it.

I have scanned all my TBR books into it. I just add in any new books as I go along. It is much easier scrolling down the list on the App that going through the box full of books.

Mine are by fiction/non-fiction, then by genre. Non-fiction, the genre is alphabetical, and then the subject is ditto, and if necessary, then date of publication.

Fiction is by genre, then alphabetical by author, then in order of publication.

It makes shelving new books a painful process, but I think it’s worth it.

Elizabeth27

I would say it is the shelf of an interesting person that has better things to do in life than put their books in alphabetical order.

Aw Thank you Elizabeth. ?

In the kitchen we have recipe books and other practical subjects.
In the sitting room there are three small oak bookcases with mainly non- fiction, though a set of Dickens. Although some are grouped, mostly it is a question of size and fitting them on the shelves.
In another room I have a wall cupboard of choir music, and a whole bookcase of paperbacks, mainly Penguins.
In my little study I have a few other other non- fiction books.
DH has his own study full of specialist books. He got rid of about 1500 before we moved here, but has still got about 1000.
He has also got two canterburies of books relating to one of his hobbies.
I still have three boxes of books in the loft from my university / teaching days.
Surrounded by books, but I rarely read any! I spend too much time online.

Ooh no; my books are sorted according to type generally, depending on the size of the shelves.

Largest bookcase has poetry followed by history and art; second largest a mixture of fiction, favourites and the classics, some children's books and general larger illustrated books. The narrow bookcase has plays, dictionaries and grammar books; maps and travel books, and six bibles (?); the alcove shelves have study texts and textbooks plus 'how to paint...' guides and the shelves in my bedroom have a collection of comfort reads and books to be finished , mainly novels. The spare room has more classics, novels, local history and reference, and the cookery books are in the kitchen. Would love a library room, (and more shelves).

My particular dislike is colour co-ordinated books, as seen recently seen in charity shops to celebrate Gay Pride.

Kind of sorted by genre. This house is full of books.

I didn’t mention my long shelf in the kitchen with the cookery books. A shelf in my ‘art studio/shed’ for art books, 5 bookcases upstairs, one of which has my collection of children’s books, 3 Billy bookcases in my OH’s office and several boxes in the loft. I have given away a couple of hundred books this year to family, friends and local charity shops. I must get rid of some more!

I have about 2000 books and they are all neatly arranged into sections. But then I used to work as a librarian and later as an academic.

We have parted with maybe 1500 books and now, having moved and packed up a study, only have about 20 removal "book" type boxes in my mother-in-law's garage left to go through...

All the books that made it into our actual house are on bookshelves but they're muddled up except for cookery which has its own "area" and childrens books which are on one set of bookshelves roughly 3m² in a bedroom. These ones are organised by size.

The idea of alphabetical shelving gives me a headache - but my husband had his alphabetically organised in his study at work (except for the oversized ones).

I don't think we have any in layers like you do Grandmasue.

‘I don't think we have any in layers like you do Grandmasue.‘
I have most of my collection of childrens’ books in a bedroom bookcase in layers. It’s hidden behind a sliding wardrobe door. It’s the only way I could fit them all in. I gave up counting them when I reached 650!

We’ve recently disposed of probably half of our books, ready to move. My criteria was whether they’d ever be read or whether they had any particular significance to us. Some had print so tiny neither of us could read them.

I tend to keep books in very broad genres eg fiction, hobbies, my DC’s theses (unread ) and so on. Within that, I arrange them by height because it pleases my eye.

We have heaps of books. Four ‘billy’ bookcases in the living room. Cookery books in a kitchen cupboard, and each bedroom and the landing has a book case. All full, all arranged by subject and all vertical.

I still have a bookcase which was given to me for my tenth birthday and it now holds my collection of Bill Bryson books, poetry books and reference books. I never buy novels but use the library often.

I had a huge clear out of books and got rid of some Billy bookcases when my sitting room became more minimalist. All the books that I said that I would read but know that I never will, the books that I said that I would read again and again I know I never will. They all went to charity shops.
Now I use the library or read books on my kindle. My sitting room looks tidier, I’m spending less money on books and there is less stuff for my daughter to clear out when the time comes.
Having just had to clear out my dads house im wouldn’t wish that nightmare on anyone.

Books everywhere here and I never see them as clutter as I love them so much.
I have a massive dark wood carved Victorian bookcase from my FIL with bound, valuable books in the dining room and the living room has a whole wall of shelves for books.
My daughter decided to ‘help’ me and sorted my books into serried lines according to size.
Unfortunately I’m now confused as although it was untidy, I had a to read section etc. and keep coming across surprises..

Books enhance a home imo.