Saturday 30 June 2012

Organising Books and Magazines

(Sorry this is late again - troubles getting the kiddie to sleep - hubby has gone out for the evening and left me to fend for myself!)

I've shown glimpses of my bookshelves before, and people have commented how they like them. So I thought this weekend I'd give a closer look at how they're organised. Some shelves are sorted by theme, others are by the size of the books!

Bookshelf 1, top two tiers:


Which house my Harry Potter books in pride of place at the top, along with my Brambly Hedge books, though there's one missing (I'm sure it will turn up one day), and some Christopher Paolini books. And, on the second shelf, are my 'grown up' fiction books - the classics and Terry Pratchett. The contrast of which says a lot about me I'm sure!

Bookshelf 1, next shelf down:


This one has mainly reference books - dictionaries, travel guides, etc - all the smaller refernce books, as the bigger ones come below...

Bookshelf 1, bottom two shelves:


The top one of these holds medium-sized reference books, and then some medium sized picture books which are too special to go in the kids book box (which gets quite a battering!). The base layer holds large reference books, from walking, to growing vegetables, then crafting, and general reference.

Bookshelf 2, top shelf:


This hold all my other favourites - Roald Dahl, Artemis Fowl, Inkheart etc. At the back, where you can't see, there's a fairly sizeable collection of 'The Babysitter's Club' books, which I read as an older-child, and I still re-visit them now and then. I know my daughter will be reading them in a few years time!

Bookshelf 2, middle two shelves:


Which hold the rest of my fiction books, which are mostly children's or young adult's - these are my favourite age ranges to read - I don't like adult fiction much! The top one of these holds mainly fantasy, and the next one mainly real life, though there's some cross-overs!

Bookshelf 2, bottom 2 tiers:


The top one has my large collection of old girls annuals, which every now and then I go through a phase of reading again! The bottom shelf has my other reference books, mainly about fantasy and adventures , and some large picture books.

In my study I have a shelf above my desk which holds vintage books and my favourite craft reference books at one end: 


And at the other end some more of my favourite fiction books, including the Narnia Chronicles, which were given to me as a seven year old, and they are still my favourites. Every time I pick them up I remember reading them with a torch under the bedcovers as a child. See how one is different? I leant it to my sister a couple of years ago, and she lost it - I was so mad, as the replacement I bought (that you see is different here) didn't match the collection. But my sister just phoned me yesterday to say she's found the original copy - hooray! This end also holds my thesaurus and dictionary:


And, finally, I have some magazines under my desk - I just usually keep the latest ones here, and the rest get stored away in boxes or recycled. At the moment it's full of Mollie Makes because I keep opening them for inspiration, but it also currently holds an issue each of Popular Crafts, Simply Cards and Papercraft, Papercraft Inspirations, and Scrap 365:


So there we go, a tour around my books and magazines. Spot anything you know and love? 

The thing I most love about the organisation of this at the moment, is having my favourite craft reference books above my desk. I only moved them there at the end of last year, and I use them so much more now than when they were on the bottom shelf of bookshelf 1!

Remember that a comment on this post, or on any of my posts from this weekend, will count as an entry into the Grand Giveaway {NOW CLOSED}- but only if you've registered your interest in winning that here!

See you again shortly for the last post of today! x

24 comments:

Emily Mae said...

Your bookshelves look awesome! Right now I am on a "book-freeze", meaning I'm not buying any new books until I sort through and donate/sell my old, unwanted ones! None of my newest books fit on my shelves because I have so many already there!

Julie Baswell said...

I love books too, tho you wouldn't know it by looking at my home. My problem is that I get so much paperwork that I don't have the room nor time for them. Maybe I should seek therapy for that.

Annie Claxton said...

It's always fun to have a nose at someone else's bookshelves! Mine need culling at the moment, but it's so hard to part with them ... although I have started recycling an old atlas and a dictionary which we have duplicates of - they have been reincarnated into gorgeous embellishments in my scrapbooks :)

Carin McDonough said...

I am a total bookworm and it looks like I like a lot of the same books as you. I am currently (for the last 3 years!) going through a young adult phase, preferably fantasy :) I am totally in awe of how many posts you have managed this weekend must have involved so much work and planning! I struggle with once a week lol.

Maria Ontiveros said...

This is another area where I deal with organization by purging things I don't need or can't live without. It's so much easier to organize a small group of books than a library.
rinda

dogmatix said...

BUNTY *huge grin*. My nan used to get me that comic every week and I am now hoping my mum still has an annual or two at home (a huge hope since they lost a lot of stuff when they moved!). You have just kickstarted a few stories I want to remember...thanks :)

You have great reading material here by the way :)

Cherie said...

For me, it would be, step one: buy a bookshelf! But when I do have one, I do it by size! :)

furrypig said...

my books are all in alphabetical order by author except for non fiction. I also have a collection of vintage books together too

Counterfeit Kit Challenge said...

I think we may need to build a house just to store our bookcases in. :) We have, um, alot. Let's see...at last count it was 11. Ugh! And most of them are the 6 ft. ones. :)

Bethany

Patricia said...

So many books! What few I keep are on my nightstand. As far as crafting magazines- I have a huge basket that is their home!

Diane Standish(crazeedi) said...

your bookshelves are great! I too have a ton of books-my craft books and mags are in my craft room and I have a wall filled with books in my living room!

Julie H said...

I had to laugh because as I was reading this post my daughter looked over my shoulder and asked "is that a photo of our bookshelf?" She and I are currently 3/4 of the way through the Prisoner of Azkhaban

scrappyjacky said...

My books are sorted by type as well. I don't tend to keep magazines....I take out the articles I want....and file them by type in folders.

Kirsty.A said...

I love looking at people's bookshelves!

Those books lying across the top woudl give me a coronary! I have a real 'thing' about book standing up!

Lea Lacoste said...

we pretty much have the exact same books, fantasy is by far my favorite style. i've got so many i'm gonna need a room just for them one day!

Sally said...

I would love a floor to ceiling bookshelf but I would fill it with non fiction. I love reference books and magazines and never throw/recycle them...at the moment I have a wardrobe full of them....I would use them more if they were out I think.

Margie said...

I love to read-so this post makes my heart happy!

Clair said...

Not sure I'd be able to fit all of my books into one blog-post - and to be fair, I wouldn't want to share at the moment. They're all in such a disarray!

I'm learning, through each of your posts here this weekend, that my craft area seems to be the only organised part of my house.

Melissa said...

I spotted lots of favorites - my Harry Potter books are on the top of my children's/youth bookshelf in the guest room, displayed with some Hogwarts House tea cups DH ordered from London. I'm currently reading Brisingr & the Narnia series is a favorite here, too.

We have books in almost every room of the house, and I agree that having them where they are used is best. I keep my scrapbooking inspiration books in my craft room, cookbooks in the breakfast nook, children's books in the guest room (because most of our guests are my nieces & nephews), and our collection of fiction & non-fictions books on four sets of shelves in the front room.

Unknown said...

I have been very strict with myself about books...I borrow from the library and no longer buy new ones because I live in a very small space. Several years ago, I forced myself to give away many books and I gave my old magazine series to my local library. This actually was a great idea as I can get them out and read them whenever I want and lots of others can enjoy them too! Now, the books that I have kept are what I refer to as reference books (non-fiction). I can find virtually anything at my library so let them do the storage for me!

Caroline Hackney said...

The nosy side of me loves to see what people have on their bookshelves, and how they organise them. So thanks for enabling me to take a peek! :)

We have several bookshelves in the living room (broadly organised by theme) then more books either side of the bed, and yet more in boxes. My craft magazines are separate, and I'm trying to purge the older ones which no longer have anything of interest. Amazing how quickly some of the trends look dated!

Jimjams said...

I always find it strange to go into someone's house and find no books - we have a whole wall's worth of bookshelves plus floor to ceiling bookshelves in every bedroom! I've tried to stop buying books now and generally go to the library. Haven't trained the kids yet though - they like to own their books!

Lisa-Jane said...

There is something so wonderful about shelves of books - I hope we don't miss that too much with the progression of E-books. I'm such a mag-addict and I keep mine in the same boxes as yours. Need a bit of a cull really....

Sian said...

I'm blown away by everything I've seen and read so far, but of course I had to stop and say hurray! at the book organisation post. wonderful stuff

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