A bookshelf is something unique and special to a bookworm and it's so fitting that the way the bookshelf is presented and organized be both of those things as well.
I want to go over the most popular ways I've seen readers showcase their books. All of these are great options for bookshelves of any size and can work for any reader.
Color
This is by far the most popular organization I've seen, especially on booktube! Organizing from color can be just grouping all books of the same color together randomly, creating a rainbow gradient or having patterns of each color having a particular diagonal column pattern. There's plenty of ways to take this organization and making it even more unique to you.
I have to agree that it is definitely the most aesthetically pleasing way of organizing. It's picture-esque and perfect for posting on instagram to show off all of your books. However, I can definitely see a possible difficulty in finding particular books and even having to split up multiple books of one author and splitting up series.
Genre
I've seen this form of organization a bit less than by color but it is a valid and popular tactic many use. This is just basically separating your books into sub-genres, for example: 'contemporary' or 'historical fiction'. However, I think it can also be twisted into books that all follow a certain trope, popular plot lines, etc.
Now, while this may not be the prettiest form of organizing your bookshelf since it can involve just putting same genre books together randomly, not caring of how they look as a group, it'll definitely be one of the most efficient.
Height
This is how I organize my bookshelf and I love it! It looks so aesthetically pleasing to have your books being all the same height when next to each other or even when the heights slowly diminish. It looks organized and just so satisfying to look at. What's even greater is that, most of the time, you can keep all your authors and series together because they're usually the same height or close enough.
However, this does mean that sometimes you might have to separate series and authors due to any height difference (however, you can always make exceptions, which is what I do).
However, this does mean that sometimes you might have to separate series and authors due to any height difference (however, you can always make exceptions, which is what I do).
Alphabetical Order
The ultimate organization method! This is a foolproof way of organizing your bookshelf in a way that you will definitely know where all your series and all your books of one author are. The first form I think of when I think of this method is organizing your books based on the last name of the author (so Ahdieh, then Bardugo then Clare, etc.) - first or last. But it can also be based off of the first letter of the title!
The only downside I can think of would be that this could case really short books to be right beside taller books, which can destroy any sort of aesthetic you could be wanting.
The only downside I can think of would be that this could case really short books to be right beside taller books, which can destroy any sort of aesthetic you could be wanting.
Backward
However I can't ignore the obvious: unless you have great memory, it'll be impossible to know where your books are first go! You'll have to actively take multiple books out and look at the covers to know which books are where and to find any book you're looking for.
Now just picking one method isn't the end all, be all. You can mix and match, do a combo or make a new method! There's so many things you can do within each method to make your bookshelf even more exciting and unique. Having some stacks of books within your bookshelf is a popular idea. Choosing one or two books every row of your bookshelf to choose to display fully, bookstore-esque, is also a popular design.
These are absolutely not the only way to organize them so I would love to hear how you organize your bookshelves! What ways to organize did I miss? What are your favorite methods?
I organize them by sub-genres and then by authors (alphabetical), but sometimes it does not look good so I make exceptions. I want to have it organize it by color, but, however, I have books at three different places in my room, so i can't do it. My Mum has got it organize like that and it looks sooo good.
ReplyDeleteThat actually sounds like a such an efficient way of organizing! And I'm right there with you, I have made countless exceptions in my bookshelf in order to keep authors or book series together. That's also why I can't organize my books by color even though I reaalllyy want to, it really does just look so good!
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