Mine are all over the place, in no particular order. Somehow, though, I always manage to find the book I want.

I organize by specialty. All my sf/f/h/spec books in the same shelves. All my writing reference books together, plant books, mushroom, cooking, therapy, tai chi and yoga, and so on.

Beyond that it's book that goes with fellow books on those shelves. They have their own affinities and likes and dislikes as to who wants to be by each. I just place where each wants to go... No I'm not crazy. LOL.

And I have no problem with big and little books on one shelf. The little guys just get stacked up as high as they can go sideways.

In truth I don't keep my books organized that well. I always start with them being organized by author but I read so much they end up everywhere.

I have to admit to being a little OCD. My books I have read are all arranged alphabetically except for the hardback ones which are a bit bigger so dont fit on the other shelves that are set to maximise space! Though that only accounts for 700 of my books . .the other 100 that i'm waiting to read are in boxes under my bed!

As of right now they are arranged by size on my two normal bookshelves. On my reference I have them neatly stacked and lined due to many of the books being large.
The main two's organization will change from time to time.

I reread my books. I always get more from them the more i reread them.

Dave wrote: "Actually, I keep few books these days. I have no space for them, and unless they're manuals or signed first editions, I see no reason to hoard them when others could be enjoying them."

Have you tried www.bookcrossing.com ? It's a great way to let others enjoy the books you're done with. :o)

Actually, I keep few books these days. I have no space for them, and unless they're manuals or signed first editions, I see no reason to hoard them when others could be enjoying them. I usually donate the ones I've read to the local library, or put them in the Friends of the Library book sale. I rarely reread a fiction book, anyway.

books are important and deserve the time for us to organize them

*huge sigh* I wish I had bookshelves. I have several promises from my husband for some--floor to ceiling, two walls--but he just started a new job so it will have to wait a bit. But after that, I will go NUTS organizing them! Most likely they will end up in sections of importance, ie, most used: research books by time period, books on writing, general nonfiction, classics, and then fiction, probably by genre. For now, my poor books reside in various bins and boxes. (We just moved.) Crap, then there's all the kids' books. Between all of us, we have about 3000 books.

that is NOT funny!

LOL!

? what???

Organize? Who's organized? Organization is a sign of a weak mind...or that you don't have anything better to do with your time, maybe both.

I also have my shelf organized like Mont'ster's

hmmm...by height,size,...

Well I have my bookshelves loosely organized by genre (SF, fiction, religious, reference, political, classics), then alphabetical by author, hardbacks on one shelf, paperbacks on another. But I have one shelf that is "vanity" (famous works that I'm proud I own - mixed genres and kind of geeky) and one shelf is my "to read" shelf (again a mix of genres).

In the last couple months I have really earnestly been trying to use goodreads to help me organize my books. So now the genres are split into "catalogued on goodreads" and "not yet catalogued on goodreads".

Another stack "duplicate books to be sold or donated" has evolved while cataloguing on goodreads. I now search goodreads by ISBN first for just this reason.

And of course there is the "currently reading" stack by my bed.

My books are generally grouped in ways probably only making sense to me. ;) I have all my romances by my favourite (very prolific) authors on shelves in my bedroom - a full bookshelf mostly filled with books from about 10 authors - in paperback, with three rows plus stacking to each of the five shelves!

Most of my non-fiction (except Harry Potter) are in the large bookcase in the living room: self-help, some reference books, historical, humour, etc. I also have two shelves of Joss Whedon-related books and comics.

Science-fiction/fantasy books are in the hall bookcase, again three deep on the top shelf, followed by two shelves of reference and writing books, then a shelf of my English Lit books.

My cookbooks are on four shelves: three in my 'pantry' area and one in the living room. (I have cut down from close to 300 cookbooks to just over 100.)

Mystery, childhood books and miscellaneous are in another bookcase in the bedroom.

And I also have three or four boxes with books that I don't read or reread often but just can't bear to give up. I do try to give away books that I haven't read or thought of for a long time, but unlike Dave above, in spite of my good memory, I do like to reread my books and have since I was a child. I have books I've read a dozen times or more. If it weren't for that and using the library, I would have to rent a warehouse to put all the books in!! ;)

After all that typing, you deserve a comment - sounds pretty organized to me! Similar to my organizations, a little here a little there, but generally in order (or what constitutes as order to me!) and I'll bet you know just where to find a book if you're looking for it !

I'm bad at organizing, really. My literary fiction are mostly in my room in the largest shelf. The small paperbacks are on the stop shelf, arranged so that the tallest are on both ends with the shortest in the middle. Then it moves onto the softcover books with the slim hardcovers int he middle shelf and the larger hardcovers on the bottom shelf. The memoirs & biographies are shelved on a dresser along with writers' journals and diaries. My local and Chicano lit are on a shelf mounted on the wall above my television while my sex books are on a similar, adjacent shelf. In my study I have my short story collections, poetry, philosophy, anthologies and religious books. Opposite of that room are my writing guides, my books about writing, books about the trade and writer's essays on the subject. Crammed in with these books is the horror/sci fi section. In the living room is the YA books, market guides and nonfiction science, history, travel, field guide and cookbooks. Shelved on various areas.

After typing all this, I find it hard to hit post.

My partner has all of his cookbook together. My fiction books are pretty much kept all together by author, but in various bookscases. My non-fiction is all in one bookcase, as well as all of my animal related books. It may not look orderly to anyone coming into my home, but I know every book I have and where it is kept.

Kataklicik wrote: "I salute you, Dave, and I hope to have the same courage in the near future - my books are breeding uncontrollably and yet I can't bear to part with them!
"

I love that! Breeding uncontrollably. So are mine! Must have them neutered.

I don't really have a bookshelf, but I have a single shelf, where my books are placed after what kind of book it is , like fantasy, real-fiction...- and within each chategory; how much I like it and by it's height.

i put my books in my drawers so...instead of having clothes on my drawer/closet..i have book. I arrange them by size and sometimes by publication or by color.

When I had several book shelves, I ordered my books by genre then alphabetically (by author).

Now I'm down to very little space for my books so I just order them according to height.

My brain is way to chaotic to organize books. At one time, I did organize into fiction shelves and nonfiction shelves. This did not outlast starting a family. My little ones run around with the books and stack them and scramble them up, so I have them mostly shoved in boxes right now or jumbled on a shelf. I really am a book lover though! Honest, but I obviously don't provide a stable home....

At goodreads, I organize by how I liked a book. I have a liked it category, a dud category, an interesting category and so forth.

As I said, organizing books is not my strong suite. I can find something if I need it.

OH, and cookbooks go in the kitchen.

I have about 2,000 books with one bookcase in the dining room (cookbooks) and 5 more in the main room. I organize them mainly by subject. I also keep the books I'm currently reading by my bedside with the "5 books I'd take with me in the case of a fire."

I downloaded an application called Books (http://books.aetherial.net/wordpress/) - it's for Mac OSX. If you don't have a Mac, perhaps you could do a search for a book application for Windows.

I alphabetize my books and it is becoming very cumbersome!! I try to keep a log of all my books, but inevitably I buy books and forget to log them in my computer. Does anyone have suggestions on how to keep track?

Believe it or not, I organize mostly by size and type of book. All the large, nonfiction picture books go on one shelf, the hardcover fiction books on another and the paperback fiction on another, for example. I DO, however, keep all my books that are signed by the author on a separate shelf because I never intend to get rid of those!

I have a shelf with just Pratchett and Gaiman. The other shelves are mostly by size, but also by use. If I don't read it a lot it goes on a harder to reach/get to shelf than the ones that often get re-read. Series I keep in order even if it isn't always by size (like the random paperback Harry Potter in with the rest, or the hardcover Amber Spyglass with the others in paperback).

I organize from tallest to shortest also. Hardbacks are first, then the paperbacks. I'm happy with that. Plus, I usually don't reread fiction books, so my library isn't that full.

Since all my books are mysteries, the only way I shelve them is by grouping by author, not alphabetically or anything. But with over 1000 books it can make finding a particular book a bit challenging. So far I have been pretty lucky in finding what I want. For the life of me though, I cannot find my copy of "Death by Dajeerling" by Laura Childs. I have her other books together, just cannot find the first one.

I try to keep books oranized within genre (literary fiction, mysteries, biographies, various forms of non-fction, etc..) and then within each genre, I organize alphabetically according to author.
Of course, I keep my to be read books separate.

I have books piled on my bookshelf, but what I love are the cascades of books that end up at the floor next to my bed. I love to have all the books I am reading piled high along with notebooks and pens to jot stuff down. I love books propped up by window sills warding off the uncreative spirits of the ordinary.

Recently read and favorites are on the bookshelves in the living room. On my other bookshelves I sort them by genre; classics, fiction, biography, Christian, travel, etc. And then I have my to-read shelf. If I have multiple books by one author, I will place them together. It is pretty easy this way for me to locate a book I want to find.

I don't really have a system, except to organize the books from larges to smallest in each "compartment" of my bookshelf. I also keep all of my books separate from my fiance's because we read completely different things.

I do it by size- all the large hardbacks next to each other, then the smaller hardbacks, larger paperbacks, smaller paperbacks, and so on. That may be because I have terrible OCD I'm not sure! :) It works for me though. Sometimes I'll slide some out halfway if I'm thinking I may choose one of them next (so I don't forget I suppose).

I salute you, Dave, and I hope to have the same courage in the near future - my books are breeding uncontrollably and yet I can't bear to part with them!

Easy I keep only the books that are useful, like computer manuals. The other books, except for my one prized autographed first edition by one of my favorite authors, are the ones I haven't read yet. They're organized by type, Military fiction, Murder mysteries, humor..ect. When I'm done with a book, I donate it to a library, or send it to a friend. I see no reason to keep the fiction books I know I'll never read again. Using the library rather than buying books all the time keeps costs in line, with my three or four book a week habit, and my wife's four to six book a week habit, buying that many is just not in our budget, I wouldn't even if it was, that doesn't make good sense. I like buy used books when possible, for little money. I still pass them on. Why? At one time I had over 5000 books, when I had to move on, they had to go...so I learned not to become too attached to them. Books that sit on a shelf are wasted, when somebody else could be enjoying them. With the memory I have, I see no reason to ever reread fiction books. When I know who dun it and why, what's the point. Ok, I do keep the one book I have published proudly displayed on my wall. Someday, if I get them all published, my walls will be covered with them.

I am sure many of you have seen the rainbow bookshelf but it got me thinking: what are some of the ways to organize a bookshelf?

Most of the people I know either have no organization or go the alphabetical route. With a very large collection, alphabetical seems like the most logical and useful way to go about thinks. Personally, my library is still a reasonable size (200-300 books not including graphic novels, though I am quite sure it won't stay reasonable for much longer). I have shelves set up by how much I like the books. One shelf has the top row full of books I just love and the second row is full of the sci fi books that I like quite a bit. I have another, separate section for all of the Stephen King I own because it is easy to keep them together. Even so, I have my favorites on one side and the other has the books I am still considering selling to some used books store. The middling books are off on another shelf in no particular order. My graphic novels still fit on one shelf so they are only really organized by series with no particular order to where the series goes on the shelf.

Because of goodreads, I can keep track of my favorite books more easily. This will come in handy when my library becomes unmanageable but I still think I may keep an entire bookcase dedicated to my favorites instead of going completely alphabetical.

How do you organize your shelves?