Bookshelf Organization For the Win!

I've been thinking a great deal about what kind of reader I am and how to manage my desire to procure as many books possible and READ THEM ALL!  Earlier in the year I developed my own collection development policy; this has helped with helping me decide what to purchase, check-out from the library, and even what reading challenges to complete.  I consult it before every book buying  or library adventure.

But how to organize my growing collection to something manageable?  I think I hit on the perfect solution for me, but first let me explain my previous shelf-organizing schemes.

• In college (1999-2004):  I separated fiction and non-fiction and within those sections I separated alphabetically by author paperback and hardcover.  A smaller shelf in my bedroom housed textbooks, tons of library books, and my semester's assigned novels and collections, and my TBR.  PROS -- everything fit in my teeny apartment and I was able to successfully keep up with course reads and gobs of library materials.  CONS -- I hated dividing paperback and hardback.  I don't know why I did it.  I think it had to do with balancing my shelves; but I really hated splitting authors.
•  Post-college (2005-2007):  I organized by Library of Congress.  This was painstaking.  Let me preface this by saying I ADORE LC and think it superior to Dewey in organization, scope, and room for growth.  However, looking up each call number, making a teeny label, and then shelving was ridiculous.  In my defense, I had just started my library job as a copy cataloger and I had a hard-on for WorldCat.  Library books and my TBR pile were in separate stacks on the floor by my bed.  PROS -- it was so effing organized.  CONS -- it took FOREVER to begin and even longer to maintain.
• Recent (2008 - 2012):  Fiction is alphabetical by author.  Then non-fiction is loosely organized in LC order.  I pulled out my Viragos, NYRBS, and Persephones and they are organized separately.  Library books and current reads were piled wherever.  PROS -- Organized and easy to shelve.  CONS -- Not quite organized and, frankly, boring.

What I really wanted was a combination between the post-college and most recent modes of organization.  I remember thinking that a book organization analysis was needed when I was trying to pull books by Victorians.  I wanted some subject/period/author organization offered by LC, but I needed it to simple.  I didn't want to organize by genres because I knew I would need to divide authors.... after all, A Tale of Two Cities is historical fiction, but I didn't want my Dickens separated.  And what about someone like Mary Stewart?  Some of her books are historical and some are straight-up Gothy romantic thrillers.

I finally hit on an idea:  I divided most of my fiction in 50-year chunks and organized by author birthdays.  Within the categories I alphabetized by author.  Here were my categories:

• Pre-1800
• 1800- 1850
• 1851-1900
• 1901-1950
• 1951-present
• Anthologies, short fiction and poetry
• NYRBS, Persephones, and Viragos
• Non-Fiction
• Library books
• To Be Read pile

Now, an in progress picture:

As Sam said "that is a shit ton of books!"

I don't think I need to tell you that this took me all morning.  But, hey, the shelves had a through dusting!

Okay, here is the pre-1800to 1950 shelf.  Click to embiggen.

Here we have NYRBs, Persephones, and Virago books. Then anthologies, fiction 1951 to present, non-fiction, and a few random reference type books.  Click to embiggen.

 The bookshelf in my bed room contains two shelves with library books, current reads, challenge selections, and my TBR for the year.  After I read one of these non-library book titles I will have to put the book through my collection development ringer.  I either keep it for a good reason or take it to the charity bookshop.  The bottom shelf is empty and that will hold my new purchases.  All of purchases must sit on that shelf until they are read and analyzed for keepablity.  This should cut down on my crazy charity shop buying sprees.

 So what do you think?  I think it will work for me and it seems to make logical sense.  Let me know if you all have any suggestions for improvements!

Snot Induced Idleness Leads to Super Creativity Powers (sorta)

I've been home ill with a sinus infection since Wednesday.  I finally went to the doctor on Thursday and I didn't go into work Friday and I'm out today.  You should know that I am the worst sick patient ever.  I love being busy; I hate seeing the house a mess and lying in a heap of blankets for days and staring at the ceiling or television is a literal hell.  During my snot-induced loafing I thought about why I hate being leisurely while ill.  It comes down to two things:  

1. I am going to die:  As in, Life is only here for a bit and we are quickly hurdling towards demise.  Therefore I should spend my time doing worthwhile things in order to eek the most I can out of my wee slice of time on Earth.  Of course, "doing worthwhile things" translates into making lists, buying books, and knitting most of the time.  I'm an Existentialist with embroidery patterns and cookie recipes. 
2. I have Mom Guilt:  When Sam -- who is hardly ever ill -- is sick or the kiddos aren't feeling well I send them all to bed, make pots of tea and stockpots of homemade soup, and dispense as many cuddles as tolerated.  When I am sick, I feel like I'm slacking on my "mom-duties".  I don't want to clean, or go to the grocery store, or -- the most guilt-inducing of all -- play with the kids.  Then when Sam is at work and the kiddos are at school (like right now) I feel like I should "do" something.  Laundry? Re-organizing the freezer?  Dusting?  On Friday, I decided to heave myself out of bed and tidy the house.  I spent 20 minutes loading the dishwasher, folding clothes, and making beds.  Then I had a huge coughing fit, felt utterly drained, and slept for another hour.  In other words, it is okay for Sam and this kiddos to be ill and rest, but I feel like the ultimate slacker-mom when I am ill and rest.  

My Not-So-Inner Feminist and my Inner-Reasonable-Person (she is buried deep) surfaced on Friday after I overdid it and decided to Take It Easy.  I finished the last 400 pages of Our Mutual Friend.  I did a little bit of embroidery.  I watched Downton Abbey.  I napped extensively.  I let Sam handle dinner, and Atticus's bath, and playing with the kids.  In fact, Sam took Atticus to the doctor (he has a little ear infection, but we caught it early on) morning and I stayed home and played Bejeweled on my phone.  

By Saturday night I was going insane.  I had to do something.  So I knifed and buried my Inner-Reasonable-Person and decided to organize my Craft Lair.  You can see the awfulness of my Craft Lair here.  Atticus helped.  He had great fun putting skeins of yarn in a laundry basket and then dragging them out again.  I diagnosed the problem with my craft lair.  I didn't have places to put things.  Well, I have places, but none of them good when there is a curious toddler afoot.  I let Atticus get into things as long as they aren't dangerous or impossibly messy to clean.  Therefore yarn and embroidery hoops are forever scattered around the house.  I needed a place out of the grasp of Atticus the Future Fiber Artist.... hummmmm......

Bingo....

Diaper boxes on top of the Craft Lair dresser!

Well, that worked, but was completely unattractive.  Then Creativity slapped me silly and I had an idea.

1 Diaper box + rolls of faux wood-paneling (rescued from the library trash) + thrifted pillowcases =  ATTRACTIVE YARN STORAGE.

I whipped these up in the space of 10 minutes and had all my yarn tidied away neatly.  I spent the rest of the evening working for 10 minutes and then resting for 50 minutes.  I got it done and when Sam came home from the tattoo shop sometime after-midnight the Craft Lair was a-sparkling.

Ohhhh.... ahhhhh....

They aren't perfect, but they look a heck of a lot better than undecorated diaper boxes.

Organization for the win!

A place for everything!

Accomplishing this really raised my spirits and it really didn't take too long or too much effort once I had a place for all my supplies.  Huzzah!

My Collection Development Policy

I work in a library as a library assistant and am quite familiar with the useful purposes of a collection development policy.  Essentially a collection development policy guides a library's purchasing choices and also assists with weeding.  Collection Development policies ensure that a collection meets the needs and desires of users.  I can't believe I didn't think to write a policy for my own book-buying until a few months ago.  And it has taken me until last week to go about actually writing it down.

This is how I knew it was time:

Summertime.  The night of the Harry Potter 7.2  midnight movie.  In Barnes and Noble.  $25 in my pocket.  Absolutely panicked.  Finally I have a chance to buy books.... but what?  I can only buy one or two items and there's so much!  Fiction? Classics? Non-Fiction?  Ack!!!!!!!  I finally chose a novel, but the process was disconcerting.  I was overwhelmed with choices, limited with funds, and had no idea what I even wanted.  I had a title or two in my head, but when I couldn't find those on the shelves I felt severe anxiety.  Booknerd Anxiety.

A few weeks later, a repeat.  Same summer, but this time a used bookstore.  $20 in my books and too many choices.  Same issue.

Then this fall a completely different problem.  I blew $20 at the charity library sale and came home with close to 40 books.  I just grabbed what looked interesting and now I don't know where to put them all. 

Okay.  Seriously.  I need a collection development policy. 

Amanda's Collection Development Policy

General Scope:  Mostly British / Classics / Women Writers / Historical Fiction

Collected Presses:  Virago / Persephone / NYRB

Areas of Collection Growth:

Poets:  Sylvia Plath / Anne Sexton / Edna St. Vincent Millay / T.S. Eliot / W.B. Yeats

Story Collections:  From collected authors (see Authors list) / Mystery / Gothic and Ghostly / Historical / Fables and Fairy Tales

Historical Periods and Interests (for topical fiction and non-fiction collection):  Victorian / History of the Book / Memoirs and Biographies by and/or about writers / British History 1400-1600 / Bohemian Leftbank / WWI, WW2, and in between / Classic Art / Fables and Fairy Tales

Authors:  Sharon Kay Penman / The Brontes / Elizabeth Gaskell / Charles Dickens / Wilkie Collins / Evelyn Waugh / Angela Carter / Elizabeth Bowen / Shirley Jackson / Margaret George / Simone de Beauvoir / Virginia Woolf / George Eliot / E M Forster / John Galsworthy / Sylvia Townsend Warner / Rebecca West / Emile Zola / Iris Murdoch / Barbara Pym / Patricia Highsmith / A S Byatt / H P Lovecraft / M R James / Margaret Atwood

Those are the basic parameters. 

Here are essential questions to ask before buying a book:

• Is this item in good shape?
• Is it from a press I collect or an area of collection growth?

Questions to Ask After Reading (must answer "yes" to at least four of the following questions to keep the book:

• Will I read this again?
• Will I wish to consult this item again?
• Do I wish to lend this title to friends/family or save it for my children?
• Is this a press I collect?
• Does this fall within the areas of collection growth?
• Is this a quality item (in good shape, excellent translation, etc....)?

Now I have a plan when I shop.  First check for the presses I collect, second check my author list, third check for poetry and short stories, and fourth check for non-fiction titles.

This really really really makes me want to buy more books just to check out the policy.  My next book-nerd clean up task is to do a massive book reorganizing, create a plan of attack for reading my books that I'm not sure I'll keep, and then updating my LibraryThing (which is vastly incorrect and hasn't been updated in two years). 

Cheers for my nerdy OCD! 

Give me some feedback?  What do you think of my policy? Do you have a policy?

Bookish OCD Strikes Again and some Charles Dickens Love!

It is November.  This means that my readerly OCD is in full-bloom.  Around this time of year I begin to think about next year's reading.  I'm changing the way I approach challenges and my reading.  Normally I try to read a few library books (1-2) and then read something from my shelves.  I tend to just grab what catches my eye and I don't really have a method to my madness.  Except then I throw in challenges.  I always, always, always sign up for WAY too many challenges and spread myself too thin.  Then I don't complete anything.  So far, I've made a solid dent in many of my reading challenges but I've only finished ONE CHALLENGE. I do the same thing with Readathons; I have my hands (eyeballs?) in too many books and find at the end that I've finished too few titles.  After the last Readathon I got to thinking about creating a theme for my readathon TBR pile.  Perhaps centered around a theme?  Hummmm.... I can readathon and reading challenge at the same time.  Brilliant!

Now my bookish OCD has reared its head and I've decided to use a theme or challenge to help structure my monthly reading.  I'm not saying I won't read something different, but if my goal is to finish a challenge in month or so then focusing that reading may help my book anxiety.  What is book anxiety?  Well, I find myself overwhelmed by my bookshelves, the library stacks, interlibrary loan treasures, book challenges, and readalongs.  TOO MANY BOOKS FREAK OUT GASP GASP GASP!!!!!

Ahem.

May I present to you my theme for January:

I love Charles Dickens and his 200th birthday is in February so naturally I'd love to spend some time reading Dickens.  I will not only spend time reading Charles Dickens's fiction, but I'll also be reading non-fiction about Dickens and Victorian England and fiction based on Dickens's characters or even Dickens himself.  Of course I've already assembled a book pool (duh, book OCD):

My definitely reading list:

• Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
• A House to Let by Charles Dickens (with Wilkie Collins and Elizabeth Gaskell)
• Charles Dickens by Michael Slater
• Victorian London by Liza Picard
• The Mammoth Book of Dickensian Whodunnits edited by Mike Ashley

Other books I may work in:

• We Two:  Victoria and Albert by Gillian Gill
• Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
• The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl

In addition I'll be reviewing a few film versions of Dickensian works and -- the best part -- I've obtained permission to get into my library's rare book collection to lovingly caress (with a gloved hand, of course) some Dickens rarities.  I hope you'll stop by to wallow in Victorian novel goodness. 

Now it is time to spend the remainder of my Sunday "mom time" reading Wolf Hall.