I’ve always been a voracious reader. I’ve always been interested in stories and words, especially in the genres of historical fiction and fantasy. I’ve always liked the idea of the world being different than it is right now, whether that means looking at how it was historically or how it could be if it included myth and magic.

When I was in elementary school, my mother had to put the books I was reading up high so I’d actually get ready to go to school. My best friend and I spent nearly every recess in the library, and I tore through books extremely quickly. I regularly used both the school and public libraries, and I didn’t spend much time paying attention to the books I owned. 

Occasionally, I’d go through and find something to read, but for the most part, I relied on the library, reading what I wanted from the vast number of choices available to me instead of what I felt obligated to from the collection I owned. In fact, the books I owned were shelved without any semblance of order. They weren’t organized by author, subject, or even color; simply put, my own bookshelf was a bit of a mess.

Of course, like all bookworms, I kept adding to my bookshelf/to-be-read (TBR) pile. Whenever the Scholastic catalog arrived, I pored over it with a red pen, reading and rereading synopses to see what sounded like it was worth buying, even though I knew I wouldn’t get to the books for a while. The same thing happened when I was given books as gifts: I’d find a place for them on my shelf and then pick up a library book. I would say I acquired and collected books, but didn’t actually read them. However, when I entered high school, I decided I had to change my reading habits.

Over the previous summer, I’d gotten into the book organization website Goodreads. I also started following BookTube, the section of YouTube taken over by bookworms who make videos about their to-be-read piles, reading goals, and challenges, to name a few common topics. Additionally, I immersed myself in the plethora of blogs dedicated to reading and books. I was looking for ideas on how others handled their TBR shelf problems and was introduced to other things that interested me. As it turns out, I discovered a lot, and I also figured out some things for myself.

How to Organize a Bookshelf: By Author, Genre, or Color

Once I decided to switch things up a bit, I realized that I needed to organize my ever-growing collection of books. I took everything off my bookshelf and organized it by author. Of course, I knew what I’d read and what I hadn’t, but I still didn’t really know very much about the books I owned, so I figured that organizing by author would be the easiest solution.

The reason I started by organizing my books by author is that I wasn’t sure of genre, intended audience, or whether the books in question would appeal to me personally. In this case, it turned out that this was a great starting point, as I discovered that organizing by author was the best system for the books I knew little about. It allowed me to organize the way most libraries and stores do, which made it easy to find what I was looking for.

Once I’d gotten more of a handle on what I owned, I decided to implement one of the ideas I’d found from book bloggers, and I decided to try organizing by color. This turned out to be an extremely fun, satisfying activity to spend an afternoon doing. When I was done, however, it was a little harder to find what I was looking for, but my bookshelf was certainly pretty to look at.

Eventually, when I decided to try a new method, I attempted to organize by genre. For me, that didn’t work very well. My collection was (and still is) mostly fiction, which doesn’t divide as easily into subjects as nonfiction does. Mostly what I remember from that experiment was collecting all of my classic literature onto one shelf. Granted, I only have one regular-sized freestanding bookshelf, so some organizational methods would either require more room or wouldn’t look right with what I have.

For example, spreading books out to place knicknacks in between them never looks quite right, and it also doesn’t give me enough space. Therefore, I stuck to color, genre, and author. Currently, I switch back and forth between color and author. Sorting by author works for when I actually want to read recently collected books, and I don’t want to hunt for them too much, and organizing by color is for times when my shelf becomes ornamental rather than functional.

Ultimately, I would suggest others decide what their goal is for their books, and act accordingly. Want to organize a large stack of nonfiction? Organize by genre. Want to organize unread fiction? Sort by author. Want to decoratively display fiction you’ve read? Organize by the pretty colors.

Another system I have heard of but never used is the idea of displaying your books with the spines facing inward to the back of the shelf. Personally, I don’t understand the idea of hiding the pretty spines of books, especially if you haven’t read them yet. I would say that if your goal is to be purely decorative, and this idea appeals to you, then use this method.

Actually Reading the Endless Bookshelf

When I first organized my books by author, I devised a system of my own to get myself to actually read them. I chose two letters of the alphabet from a bag that corresponded to the last names of authors whose books I hadn’t read. For example, when I chose the letter R, I read four Ann Rinaldi historical fiction novels I’d literally owned for years.

My single bookshelf isn’t very large, so I own around 150 books at a time. Therefore, each author took anywhere from days to weeks, but not much longer than that, to read through. I wouldn’t say it was a particularly fast system, but it allowed me to strike a balance between reading what I wanted to and what I owned. In between reading two authors at a time, I read library books, choosing from the neverending to-be-read list I’d made through recommendations from friends, BookTube, bloggers, and Goodreads. And so, in this way I slowly made my way through my books; of course, I acquired more as I read, because why not?

TBR Jars and Lists

Through BookTube and book bloggers, I became aware of several other ways readers use to keep track of what they’re reading and what they want to read. I’d already been keeping to-be-read (TBR) lists, and still have several going, because I tend to fill paper pads with book titles fairly quickly. However, I wasn’t aware of the concept of a TBR jar, and I decided to make one a few days after I discovered it. A TBR jar works by taking a container, usually a glass jar, and filling it with titles or authors of books you want to read written on colored slips of paper.

For example, one of the slips from my jar reads “The Earthsea series by Ursula K. Le Guin” because I’ve been wanting to read that series for several years. I’ve also seen readers who use TBR jars to help them complete reading challenges, such as reading “a novel set in a country that is not your own” or “a novel that was nominated for a Hugo Award.” I think this idea—using written slips to help complete reading challenges—is certainly interesting, and it definitely helps get you out of your comfort zone, but I haven’t tried it yet.

Reading Challenges

In regards to reading challenges, I’ve set a Goodreads challenge of reading 100 books every year since 2013, and the only year I actually managed to complete it was 2014. This is definitely an area I’d like to work on, as I really like the idea of challenges, but I haven’t managed to follow through with any yet.

For example, the Tome Topple Readathon is a challenge hosted on BookTube where the main idea is to read several tomes, or books that are over 500 pages long. I do have plenty of those to get to! So, this is something to try for the future.

Culling the Stack

After I had read a significant portion of the novels I owned, I started going through them every six months or so, culling the ones I didn’t want to keep anymore. Essentially, I got rid of books I didn’t like and didn’t think I’d ever read. This turned out to be surprisingly effective, and as of last January, my selves shrunk, from being overly packed to merely being full. I only kept my favorites and the few books I hadn’t read yet.

My reading habits are still a work in progress; however, I definitely think I’ve learned from these experiences. By trying out new ways to organize my book collection, it’s easier to keep track of what I own and what I’m reading. I’ve also been able to prioritize based on when I want to read certain books: immediately or eventually. Trying out new ways to read through my collection helps to keep me interested and engaged. Ultimately, I’ll continue working on my endless bookshelf—for me, there’s no end in sight.