A Bookish Arrangement...

Everyone has their own bookish preferences when it comes to organizing and arranging their books. Some are strict alphabetists--bibliophiles who arrange all their books in alphabetical order by the author's last name, no exceptions, and who wouldn't dream of doing it any other way.

Then there are the Dewey Decimalphiles--library lovers who like to order their own books according to subject matter and the random numberization of the Dewey Decimal system.

Interior decorators like to arrange books by the size and color of their covers, sometimes even turning them around on the shelves so they all look the same. (Which has got to be the dumbest way to organize a shelf full of books! They may look pretty, but how do you find anything?)

Then there are the random stackers and plastic tote packers--those book lovers who keep their books in piles and stacks (and in boxes and totes), in no particular order, all over the house. On nightstands. On stairs. Even under the bed. There's always room for more books with this particular system, but finding what you want to read when you want to read it can be a challenge.

As for me, my system's a bit of an eclectic mix. I like to separate my non-fiction from my fiction and I like to group certain genres together. For example, all my classics reside on their own shelf, as do my children's books. But because of space limitations, a lot of my other books have to mingle together, in mostly alphabetical order, on my remaining shelves. It's not a perfect system, and I'm sure others would find it a bit random and confusing, but as long as I know where all my books live that's all that really matters. Right?

What about you? How do you organize your books?