Book porn

[sholio]

My bookshelves are finally organized! They've been regurgitating books all over the house and it was really getting out of hand. Finally: all the books are sorted by type (art books, writing books, Alaska reference books, paperback series, graphic novels, etc) and stored in the shelves rather than reclining on flat surfaces throughout the house, including the floor. The "books to read" are now stored in a box, to be sorted into their appropriate shelf upon reading (or put into the box to take to the used bookstore for trade-in credit).

This is what my to-read pile looked like before I put it in the box. Plus a shot of the bookshelves themselves, in case anyone else is like me, and the first thing you do when you go over to a person's house is look at their bookshelves:



(The black book at the top of the pile that looks like the Metallica black album is actually Stephen King's "Carrie". Stephen King is one of a handful of absurdly prolific writers, also including Terry Pratchett and Robert Heinlein, whose books I am determined to read down to the very last one. Or at least start all of them, since I think Heinlein and King write approximately one goddawful book for every brilliant one.)

And the (annotated) bookshelves. The books are actually stacked two (for the hardbacks) and three (for the paperbacks) layers deep. I estimated I've got about a thousand books on there ... which is a LOT less than I would have had if I hadn't moved across the country twice in the last eight years. I believe the word you're looking for is "bibliophilia".

Comments

[naye]

Oooooh~! *tries to read titles* I'm in a room crammed full of books right now, which makes me feel right at home - that's how I am. And you've got some interesting titles there! Looking at pictures just isn't the same, though - you can't take them out and open them... Mmm. But it was fun seeing this! ♥

[sholio]

I know! When I walk into a house that's full of books, I just feel at home. And I want to start pulling out books and looking at them.

One of the reasons why I wanted to get my books organized is because I've had books for years that I've never read, just sitting around ... and I kinda wanted to pull out all of those books and sort them by reading priority. I keep ordering more books off Amazon.com while forgetting that there are perfectly interesting books that I haven't read yet!

(Oh, looking at my picture and the titles in it -- have you read "Planetes"? Fantastic SF manga -- it's probably the most realistic science fiction manga that I've ever read, in spite of its "2001"-ish fantasy/dreamscape elements that crop up from time to time. And it's gorgeously drawn.)

[alessandriana.livejournal.com]

Hah, that first picture looks a lot like my room right now... both in terms of (un)organization, and the actual books. You have good taste. ;)

[sholio]

Heh! That's what the whole upstairs looked like before I got the books back into the bookshelf where they belong! (We live in a big cabin with a loft ... the loft is my studio space and my husband's computer workshop space, and my piles of books were all over the place.) The trouble is that I could never FIND anything ... I'd have to look through a dozen piles of books to find something I wanted.

[chaps1870.livejournal.com]

LOL. Oh how I can sympathize. When we moved recently, I packed at least 40 boxes of just books. I couldn't part with them.

[sholio]

I was so ruthless about culling books when I moved! I ended up taking a bunch of boxes of books to the library and feeling all good about myself for about a day before I went into withdrawals about all the books I'd given away. I still miss some of them! *g* I don't know why it's so hard to get rid of them. It's probably some sort of mental illness, but I don't want to be cured. Hee.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Reminds me of our little library out in the front room, except that all the fnatay/sci-fis are in my room and comic books in my sister's room. .

[sholio]

I've got both -- I'm really as much of an artist as a writer, and as much of a comics fan as a reader of novels, so I have tons of comics and graphic novels as well as books.

This bookshelf is just about reaching capacity, though. I think I'll need another one soon. Oh, what a burden. *g*

[flightsilver.livejournal.com]

Nicely organized bookshelf! Go you! I so love books! I had tones of books and a whole bunch that I had purchased but never found the time to read or get through! Then I had to move and was shocked by the load that I had accumulated over the years. I forced myself to donate 3/4 of them to a charity school sale. Like you, I felt good about giving those books away but then got pangs of regret and started to miss them soon after! But I do love being around books! Is this some sort of weird sickness? I'm glad that I work in an office that has wall to wall shelves filled with books. *g*

[sholio]

Yeah, when I moved the first time I had a huge pile of books I'd never even read! It was so sad to give them all away.

It's just a pleasant feeling to be surrounded by books. Kind of like cats are happiest in cardboard boxes and other small enclosed spaces. *g*

[winter-elf.livejournal.com]

heh. looks around. oh yea, I need about.. oh.. 10 more bookshelves. I've got books stacked EVERYWHERE! ::sigh:: Yay on the organization. I suppose I should try to sort my mess...

[sholio]

It's wonderful having them all together like they are now! I probably need more bookshelves too (so I don't have to have them stacked in layers) but I can't imagine where I'd put them.

[flingslass.livejournal.com]

*Oh my*
Your bookcase looks just like mine *g* I'm moving soon so I will have to box them.

[sholio]

Ah, moving ... the curse of bibliophiles everywhere. *g*

[bratfarrar]

...you've got books shelved two- and three-deep? I haven't reached that point yet. But it's getting close--my entire house is like this (minus the double- and triple-deep shelving). Every room has at least one bookcase, and every bookcase is overflowing. My parents' room, in addition to a bookcase about the same size as yours, has a stack of books along the wall about 4' long, 2.5' high, and 2' deep. We have a room that is three walls of floor-to-ceiling bookcases, and we still have stacks of books in front of the bookcases because there isn't any more room on the shelves. I swear, the things breed or something.

[sholio]

I need more bookshelves! In fact, what our house needs in general is more storage of all types. There's quite a bit of floor space, but there aren't many places to put things where they're not sharing living space with us.

Now I'm looking speculatively at the downstairs and wondering where I could put bookshelves. Oh dear!

[maxinemayer.livejournal.com]

I congratulate you on organizing your books - even if there are always MORE MORE MORE to read and slot in! When we moved to this apartment SIX YEARS AGO I stuffed all my books into the five new bookcases I bought specifically for the purpose. Two-deep. Every so often I'd glance longingly at the shelves and wish for the time and energy to organize the books. Then, in February of 2006, a few months before I retired at the end of May 2006, I made a list of "topics" (ie, poetry, Shakespeare, classics, romances to keep, Georgette Heyer, philosophy, science, religion, etc.) for organizing the shelves. Thinking, fondly, of my upcoming retirement days when I'd be home alone all day and be able to put the books in piles on the floor according to topic, clean the shelves, and then put my books away in an organized fashion. I still have the post-it dated 2/4/06. Nearly two years later I still have NOT organized my books! Now that I have the time and the space (I can even leave books out for days in piles without anyone objecting), I have even less energy! But your success is inspiring me! [I also have that problem: buying books on amazon dot com which I later find that I ALREADY HAVE, tucked away behind something else on a shelf!]

I've got a long winter ahead. Maybe I'll give it a go, again, with one bookcase, and see how long it takes and how hard it is, see if it can work!

Love, mxm

[sholio]

There are always more books to add! That's where my bookshelf organization fell apart the last time, because I had 'em all pretty well organized, and then I started adding more -- and I wanted all the series together, and the authors together, so I'd pull out a bunch of them and never put them back ... it just got worse and worse.

And my books "cycle" depending on my projects. Right now, most of my anthropology books are tucked away in the back of the shelves, while my fiction-writing books (Bartlett's Quotations, a bunch of how-to books on writing SF, and such) are in the front. Two years ago, I was working on world-building a fantasy world so I needed all the anthro books where I could get to them.

[I also have that problem: buying books on amazon dot com which I later find that I ALREADY HAVE, tucked away behind something else on a shelf!]/i>

I know! That was one reason why I wanted to organize; I kept finding duplicates as I went through my books! Plus, I'd feel like I had nothing to read so I'd go back to Amazon, even though I had a bunch of books I hadn't read that were all mixed in with the ones I had read.

[leesa_perrie]

LOL!! Oh, you're just like my husband and me! Can you imagine two of you in one house? Then that's our house - stuffed full of books!!! And as for my 'to read' pile? Um, somewhere around 100?!!!

I know exactly where you're coming from, though I suspect our taste in books is a little different (don't read horror, couldn't get into Pratchett... do read lots of books about people who've owned animals - mostly cats!!! Some travel books (Bryson and the like) and a few medieval or Roman detective books too!) Though there is the occasional bit of sci-fi there as well! Oh, and The Cat Who books...brilliant in their eccentricity!

At present though I read 'easy-reading' books (animal/travel) due to concentration levels and ME/CFS, or fanfic, lots and lots of fanfic...

Are you writing anymore SGA fanfic, btw?! *grins innocently*

[sholio]

My husband is, luckily or unluckily, a packrat of a whole different type than me. Books are the main thing that I accrete; he collects computers, electronics, metal and stuff like that. I am generally known as the household purveyor of entertainment -- most of the books, DVDs and such are supplied by me.

Are you writing anymore SGA fanfic, btw?! *grins innocently*

I'll have a new story for the Secret Santa exchange at sheppard_hc, which goes live on Dec. 23. Otherwise, it's basically just been short little stories as the mood strikes me, mostly for sga-flashfic. I do have some partially completed WIPs on my hard drive, but some of them have been "jossed" by canon, and others I've sort of stalled on.

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

Yay books! The other month my mom and I were walking around the neighborhood and you know how if it's dark outside and people have lights on you can see into their house? This one house had a living room with two GIANT bookcases and almost no books on them and I poked my mom and said in amazement "they have so few books they can have empty shelves on their bookcases! How weird is that?"

Also, your pile? That's so my room right now. All my book cases are full but I keep bringing home interesting looking books from work (I work at a non-protfit that collects old books/textbooks and sorts them to be available for teachers/schools that need books and, well, we have so many books it's totally okay to a take interesting ones you come across, especially grown-up ones teachers won't use. It's deadly!)

also, YAY PRATCHETT!

[sholio]

Ha! I can see how that would be far too much temptation! We have a shelf in the break room at work where people bring used paperbacks and magazines for anyone who wants to take them. This is very bad for my addiction.

(Is there such a thing as Booklovers Anonymous? Except no one wants to be cured ...)

[anniehow.livejournal.com]

That picture of your organised library... it sent my little book-loving heart all-a-flutter. especially because it's layers deep!

it looks so... so... *dreamy sigh*

[sholio]

Heh! Now we'll see how long it stays organized. Probably until the first time I have to pull out something on the 3rd layer back.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

in case anyone else is like me, and the first thing you do when you go over to a person's house is look at their bookshelves

You too, huh? (aren't houses with no books the scariest thing ever? How can you ever get to know the people living there?)

I'd feel right at home in your place. Looks a lot like mine! (well, like mine did; now I just have the one bookcase of manga & novels+, with everything else in boxed storage for when I return stateside. Waah, I miss my collection!) Except I always have stacks of books with no place...the general rule of my family has always been that we own approximately one more bookcase worth of books than we actually have cases; this holds true no matter how many cases we manage to obtain!

[sholio]

aren't houses with no books the scariest thing ever? How can you ever get to know the people living there?

I know! There's actually something a little bit weird about it to me. How can anyone NOT have books? I've also noticed a direct relationship between house messiness and number of books -- that is, people who have lovely showcase houses usually don't have very many books in them. I guess they spend all their time cleaning rather than reading! I'd rather have a messy house with piles of books everywhere!

[margec01.livejournal.com]

My three giant bookshelves are also overflowing, with double rows and books stacked flat on top of the rows. Organizing my bookcases has been next on my home cleanup "to do" list for about three years now. *Looks over at those bookshelves and sighs* Perhaps your "put them in a box" idea would help me organize. Some of these books I haven't read in 20-25 years, but I simply can't part with them!

And, if you count zines as well, my "to be read" stacks and boxes probably equals at least another 120-130 books. I just LOVE books. When will I ever find the time? (SGA fanfic has taken over much of my reading time, but I can't regret all the wonderful fics I've been reading.)

I'm very proud of you for making the commitment and finishing it up. Can I pay you to come to my house now? (g)

[sholio]

Ooh, book icon!

You don't want to invite me to do that; I'd just take the problem off your hand by stealing borrowing all your books. *g*

The "put them in a box" strategy is my latest way to deal with the way that my unread books pile up everywhere and get mixed in with all the other books. The plan is that they'll live in the box until I'm ready to read them, and then get put into the appropriate shelf. Of course, they say that no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy...

[tabby333.livejournal.com]

My problem is that when I try to organize my books, I end up sitting and reading pieces of each for hours. I don't usually make much progress. Then I make it worse by continuing to buy more.

I'm glad to see someone can organize their collection. Looks like you have some interesting books

[sholio]

*heh* This is actually EXACTLY why it took me so long to organize them! There was at least as much reading as organizing going on while the project was underway.

Book organization

[maxinemayer.livejournal.com]

Wow! Big smile here! I'm doing it! I'm organizing my books! More on my LJ page! But wanted to give you a big hug and a thank you for getting me to FINALLY start on this! I feel so good about it! Love, Max

Re: Book organization

[sholio]

Yay, congrats! Go you! :)

[sheron]

I also look for bookshelves, but sadly don't have any myself since I moved. All my books are stored in the closets behind shut doors and out of view. We keep talking about moving so there's no point in reorganizing or getting a shelf-cabinet but one day it's gonna happen.

[sholio]

Moving definitely puts a damper on spreading out one's things to enjoy. After being essentially rootless for 10 years or so after leaving home, I'm really enjoying life now that I'm settled down and not planning on moving anytime in the near future.

[tipper-green.livejournal.com]

Just, um, *cough*, you wouldn't happen to have a couple of hiking books...would you? That I could have back? (If you haven't finished the DVD that's cool...I can wait on that one!)

[sholio]

*cringe* I know! I'm so sorry! I wouldn't blame you if you never loan anything to me ever again. But I have your address now!

[tigriswolf]

Have you read His Majesty's Dragon? I notice you've got Black Powder War in that pile. I'm on Throne of Jade.

[sholio]

Yup! I actually just finished "Black Powder War" a day or two ago, so it gets to move from the unread box to the shelves. *g* I really like the series; I felt that it started out just a trifle overly derivative of Patrick O'Brian (whose books I also love) but gets better and better as it goes on.