Saturday, February 12, 2011

Saturday Discussions (1)

I realized a few weeks ago that I post up a lot of reviews and memes but I don't generally post up discussion topic blog posts. For me, this kind of defeats the purpose of having a blog if you don't know me. So I'm going to try and post up a Saturday Discussions post every week and talk about important things to me.

This week, I decided to try and dive into one of the real reasons I love reading.

I've seen a lot of bloggers posting that if blogging ever becomes work, they'll stop doing it. I'd like to say the same but I don't think that's the case. As of about three days in to making my blog, I've become addicted to blogging. I love having a world where I can share my thoughts about the books I've read and read other people's opinions too!

Then I began thinking about why I read besides blogging and discussing what I've read... There's the usual answer-- because I love books-- and I do. I love meeting new characters and falling into new worlds.

But if I'm being completely honest, one of the things I get the most enjoyment out of with books is finishing them. And not just finishing them, but putting them away alphabetically on my bookshelf. This is an obsession of mine. I worked at a bookstore and loved shelfing the books so much that was my main job. I am meticulous. Nothing feels better to me than slipping that book into its place and standing back to look at how it fits in with all the others.

I think that's why sites like Goodreads and Shelfari really appeal to me. I get to organize my bookshelves into categories and see them all together. It catalogs what I already have.

I'm also very particular about how I shelf them. They each must be in alphabetical order by the author's last name and in order by series. After that, it's usually year they came out.  I love the look of organizing them through colors or even randomly throwing books on a shelf but it will never be more. For while all of those things look cool, they aren't useful for finding things quickly and I would receive the satisfaction of putting them up properly.

So what about you? Are you a freak like me who loves order or can you haphazardly throw things up on a shelf?

*As an aside, a few of you have been asking for a tour of my bookshelf. I bought a webcam and will be doing that in the next few days!*

6 comments:

  1. Lol. could you have picked a more perfect topic for myself.

    I don't care what type of house i have, but it is having a great big glorious old fashioned library if it kills me. I am calling it 'The library'.

    we are still in rentals while at uni at the moment and my bookshelves do not allow the fun i would like.

    First i organise into genre (History, education, medical are on separate shelves)
    then i have my Agatha Christie books together.

    then they are ordered into series and author groups. as i like the book shelf to 'look good' they are then organised into genres and what looks right. (colour size and so on.) where possible i keep the alphabetical.

    however this being said. i move them about if an author annoys me or another one take my fancy.

    When younger i wrote a number in pencil inside the cover. That way i could put them back in order easily (buggered the whole system when i got new books though.)

    anyway i love organizing books.

    Constance

    http://precociousscribe.blogspot.com/

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  2. I love how you organize your books. I really need to do that myself. Maybe this summer. :)

    Mary
    The Book Swarm

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  3. I am organized too but not quite as organized as you are. I do have my books in alphabetical order by author but I don't organize within each author. Even my many TBR stacks are in alphabetical order. The only exception is my review books which are stacked by date the review is due. With shelves and books all over my house, order is essential and really satisfying too. When I house hunted, I looked for a house that had a lot of great walls for bookshelves!

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  4. Do you want to come over to my house and organise mine? I keep thinking I should, but then I don't. Mine are 'ahem' just put in any spare space on the shelf. No order at all lol.

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  5. I am like you, I love having my books in order and neatly arranged. Workin in a library also helps as we each have areas to tidy, i tend to do my areas and others as i can't stand them being messy. They have to be in order, standing neatly lined up with the edge of the shelf. I'm really picky about it, and it's the same at home :D

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  6. Ooo I love bookshelf tours! You've made me very happy with the news that you'll be doing one soon. I love shelving books too but alas, I have no time and sometimes, I must confess, no energy to do. I have a LOT of books and not much space but my bookshelves might be the neatest thing in all my room. And I would love to work in a bookstore. That would be a dream job.

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