4 Tips For Better Organising That Book Collection

You don’t have to have time to be a voracious reader to love books, sometimes it’s those who can only read a chapter a day or every other day that have the most rewarding and incredible experiences with the books they choose to indulge in.

However, anyone who appreciates reading will understand that simply having books around, collecting works by a favourite author or treating themselves to a new release every month can quickly get out of control. You don’t have to be a hoarder to be covered in a pile of books as soon as you wake up, seemingly accosted by your collection without you realising it.

This is especially true when we begin to renovate or move house, as moving all of this printed paper can be a tough ask. On top of that, sometimes it may be that our collection is vastly overdue for a good sort-through, not only to help you decide what to read next but also what books to donate to the charity shop, which to give to relatives, and what publications you’d rather keep close to your chest.

Never fear! With the following 4 tips for better organising that book collection, you’re sure to move forward with confidence.

Fix Your Shelving Units!

Having a worthwhile set of shelving units available for your books can be nothing if not worthwhile. This way, you can stop storing them on disparate shelves around the house, in drawers, or stacks in a Leaning Tower of Pisa-like fashion. 

You get to decide what this shelving unit collection looks like. For some, a live edge shelf made from robust and properly coloured timber can be a fantastic means of adding some rustic beauty to the home. For others, a flat-packed furniture shelving container running alongside a wall is good enough. Remember, the great thing about books, or rather one great thing about them, is how they can also serve as nice, but never bulky ornaments for interior design.

As such, filling out some cubbyholes with books, and some with decorations like potted plants, can add a comforting sense of balance. Just make sure you can reach the books you’re most likely to pull from the shelf on top.

Use A Goodreads Account

Sometimes, having a digital ledger of every book you own is a great means of moving forward and reading, or planning what you’ll read and when. Goodreads is a useful (and free!) service that allows you to scan, log and review any book you’re reading. 

There’s a pretty healthy social aspect to the website also, as people will comment on one another’s posts. You can disable all of that in your privacy settings if you’d rather not engage, however, and it will probably take an annoying one-star review of your favourite book to do that. However, as a tracking tool, there’s no better tool for knowing what items are actually in your collection without having to dig through every single box you have access to.

Group By Author Surname

For some, how you lay out your books can be a hotly debated topic. Do you lay them out by series? What about genre? Or, perhaps for a nice visual formatted style, you could group the spine colours of each book so there’s a nice gradient along your shelving unit?

Well, we’d put it forward that placing together your bookshelves neatly and grouping each title by author's surname can be the best idea. This way, you can keep long-form series placed together while also having easy access to know exactly where each author may be along your shelf. On top of that, if you use any e-book devices like an Amazon Kindle or Kobo, these tend to sort books by author surname too, and so having that uniform approach mirrored from place to place is coherent and nice to take part in.

Make A ‘Currently Reading’ Area

Sure, a perfectly-laden bookshelf is nice, but you shouldn’t have to fight with it daily to find the book you’re reading or manage other resources you’re using. That’s why it can be good to have one shelf or cubby-hole in your shelving area for a ‘currently reading’ section. This way, you can grab the book you want to read easily without having to track every author's surname or run your finger over every book's spine to find it. The more time you can spend reading, rather than looking for something to read, the better.

Bonus Tip - By A Comfortable Chair!

Preferably with a lumbar cushion and a place to easily hold your hot tea. This is self-evident, but a nice reminder is always worthwhile.

With this advice, you’re certain to organise that book collection in the best possible sense.