How do you place your books on your shelf?

readsalot · Post by **readsalot** » 03 Feb 2015, 17:39

I do both. It depends on the bookshelf height. Some are horizontal so more fit and some are vertical b/c it looks pretty.

Duende Knocking · Post by **Duende Knocking** » 03 Feb 2015, 20:58

I tend to categorize my books by "mood" or "character type" (I had to break my "grouchy snarky anti-hero" books down though because there were just too many to fit on those shelves

), which can be a little hectic for other people going through my bookcases.

Some of my non-fiction books also end up being categorized as such, if they are about subjects I feel that characters of that type might enjoy. Otherwise, those are more orderly and simply go by subject.

H0LD0Nthere · Post by **H0LD0Nthere** » 03 Feb 2015, 21:02

Huh. My impression has always been that vertical is the "normal" way. If by vertical you mean standing on their ends, not lying flat on their sides. Of course, I am so sloppy and such a book-lover, that it is not unheard-of for me to have a shelf full of vertical books, with a few lying on their sides on top of those.

Also, several different flat surfaces in my house are covered with stacks of books that I am either currently reading, or mean to be.

Lilapo9 · Post by **Lilapo9** » 03 Feb 2015, 21:30

When I have nice roomy shelves I like to place them vertically by author and title. When I don't have extra room like at the moment, I have the books I consult on a regular basis vertical according to subject and the less frequently used ones are stacked horizontally to take up less space.

Duende Knocking · Post by **Duende Knocking** » 03 Feb 2015, 21:49

Oh geez I totally answered a different question here and this forum doesn't allow editing of posts after a certain amount of time. Oops.

I stack my books horizontally, usually 2 deep, to maximize the amount that I can fit into a bookcase.

sschro12 · Post by **sschro12** » 04 Feb 2015, 21:40

I like mine vertically and in alphabetical order by the author's last name.

CasandraSlayton · Post by **CasandraSlayton** » 07 Feb 2015, 17:06

I place mine vertically and then organize by subject/genre and then I alphabetize them.

wendymm · Post by **wendymm** » 07 Feb 2015, 18:55

Vertically by size

hnm216 · Post by **hnm216** » 07 Feb 2015, 19:46

Vertically, with some horizontal in place of bookends. Or sometimes I just do them all vertically. I reorganize A LOT.

icerose92 · Post by **icerose92** » 08 Feb 2015, 20:57

I prefer mine to be vertical, but because I'm running out of room, they're all over the place currently. I usually keep them vertical and grouped by series and/or size (how tall the book is). Also, generally, the heavier hardbacks (such as Harry Potter) are placed on the middle shelf, because that one tends to be the sturdiest shelf.

angelbeats1 · Post by **angelbeats1** » 10 Feb 2015, 11:07

Vertically and color coded

lucy_borland · Post by **lucy_borland** » 11 Feb 2015, 23:07

I do mine vertically and horizontally. I think it adds a little more fun to the look and also saves space by putting a couple of horizontal books down before the vertical ones.

darkhuntress · Post by **darkhuntress** » 12 Feb 2015, 14:39

Most of the time my books are placed at random on my shelf but if they are by the same author or go together in the same series they get an elastic around them so I know they are supposed to be grouped together.

clmartin · Post by **clmartin** » 12 Feb 2015, 20:10

I place mine all vertical. I separate them all out by genera and than place them alphabetically by author. I also like to keep my read books separate from my books that I have purchased but have yet to read. I read so many romance novels that I find sometimes if I don't separate them than I loose track of what I have read and what I have not until I get half way through the first chapter.