If I could only list two things I’m very very proud of, they would be: (1) my ability to forget a character’s name 3 seconds after I read it, and (2) my entire bookshelf.
I love my bookshelf. It is my actual pride and joy, my smol nest, my long-suffering pile of wood, my visual representation of all my hopes and dreams, and also BONUS: it hasn’t fallen over and killed me yet!! I acknowledge its kindness!
So today I want to give you a lovely bookshelf tour! And fun story: while planning this post I thought, “Oh it would be cool to do a Bookshelf Tag or something, right?!” So I googled for questions and HA, CAIT, HAAAAAA…the first two posts to come up on google were mine. Right. OK. So I’ve done a bookshelf tag in 2014 and 2015. But bookshelves, like small children and cakes left out too long, are apt to change! And many of you are NEW so I figure a new tour is still in order.
Plus, let’s be real, my shelf is freaking fantastic and we should all just admire it for a while and then admire me for my fantastic curating abilities.
ME THO
The first order of business is definitely too look waaaaay back to when dragons were still household pets and helped grill our toast — to when I first bought my shelf!
Now fun story: this is the very very first piece of furniture that I owned myself. I’m the 2nd youngest of 6 kids, so basically everything is 3rd or 4th hand by the time it gets to me. BUT NOT THIS, SIR. THIS IS MINE. It’s just an IKEA shelf and I coveted it for many many years.
Also I’d like you to note that in 2014 that was ALL the books I owned. Someone has developed hoarding tendencies. But we won’t name names.
2014
2015
2016
2017
HOW MANY BOOKS DO YOU OWN:
After I moved in June this year, I counted 600 that I packed. I’ve maybe added 40 since then?? Look I could count again but I can’t squeeze that into my busy day of existential crises and writing books where everyone you love dies. Excuse me.
WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR BOOKS FROM:
I’m going to calculate my book-acquiring-ship in my stats this year for a definite number! But I estimate that about 60% are sent from publishers. I’m extremely lucky I KNOW. And extremely grateful because I can’t afford to buy many books. I’d say 20% are from library sales and thrift stores, so we’re talking $2 for a book or less. Then the other 20% are books I buy myself! Most of those too actually payment for a freelance blogging job I have for an Aussie bookstore.
WAIT, SO CAIT, YOU ARE NOT AN EXTREMELY RICH PERSON?
I do get a few snide comments on bookstagram about my collection and how “rich” I must be. But eh. People can say and judge how they like. I am lucky and blessed and I appreciate how lovely publishers have been! But last year, no joke, 65% of my books came from libraries too. VIVA LA LIBRARY.
BUT YOUR SHELVES ARE COLOUR-CODED…HOW DO YOU FIND ANYTHING????
Look I remember the colour before the title anyway. I can tell you where EVERY book is immediately. It’s my only talent in life besides being super good at eating brownies.
DO YOU SPLIT UP SERIES?
Sometimes! Other times I use my two other very very smol shelves or the other side of this shelf but shhhhh. I’ll show you soon.
While we’re here, I might as well walk you around my evil lair too.
I did this earlier this year but I MOVED HOUSE UGH. (Forever displeased.) Now my room is half the size of my old one, much like a cosy shoebox. And I just killed a spider with my bare hand. Either I’m the Chosen One or the next Spiderman or about to be dead. We don’t know. Exciting.
So first you walk into my room and are greeted with:
Now in an ideal world my shelf is supposed to be screwed to the wall. I’m letting it live its life in freedom now, because (A) I want it to experience life to the fullest and not be held back by hardware, and (B) I can now use both sides. #GENIUS My room is smol so I do what I must.
AND NO IT WON’T FALL OVER ON ME. I CLIMBED IT AND IT DIDN’T EVEN WOBBLE.
Also my bed is on the floor??? Because the frame didn’t fit with my shelf. Obviously I have priorities here.
This is my new TINY shelf! Which is like two shelves in a trench coat.
My mum just came in 2 minutes ago and leaned on the little white one and it nearly fell over so THAT’S FUN. Honestly I’m just trying to live life to the fullest and take risks and etc. etc.
It’s also mostly empty because it’s for transferring books from my TBR to my shelf.
DON’T JUDGE HOW MANY COPIES OF CITY OF BONES I OWN. SOMETIMES THESE THINGS HAPPEN.
Now this is the top and other (less pretty) side of my bookshelf.
I mean obviously I hide the ugly things. Would we pick visual honesty over visual prettiness? OF COURSE NOT. So the other side of my bookshelf is for most ugly things and the colour overflows and the top of my shelf is my TBR of shame.
Sometimes I lie under on my carpet and look at up at my TBR and think about mortality.
Slightly daunting.
LOOK I’LL GET TO IT??? IT’S NOT LIKE I’M BUSY OR ANYTHING. [insert me screaming under 901 commitments]
And lastly, these are my hardcover shelves…which I…um…stole… from my sister that one time.
You know what if you leave stuff lying around, you should expect it to go missing.
Also please view my STIEFVATER SHRINE. It doesn’t even fit The Scorpio Races OR All The Crooked Saints and I’m a little bit distressed.
Now as an author, it’s obvious I need space to work. It’s also very obvious I have no desk in this room. So I have three options for writing and they are:
#1 = SITTING ON THE FLOOR
I actually want to shout out to Owlcrate right now because I use one of their boxes as a desk. 10/10 recommend.
Also Red Rising is everywhere in this post because I’m currently reading it and it’s also very attractive. The ugly notebook beneath it is my bullet journal that died about 3 weeks after I started it. Now it just contains list of books I can’t buy but I appreciate its effort.
#2 = A TINY SQUARE OF FLOOR
I mentioned this recently in my monthly recap post, but I also tend to fold myself into a tiny huddle between my bed, bookshelf, and beanbag. On the floor. Not, you know, anywhere comfortable. I get very hyperfocused, okay?!? But sometimes I do also sit on the beanbag but then my dog gets offended because he thinks it’s his.
Could I actually sit somewhere better and more logical?
#3 = MY ACTUAL GENERAL BED
And don’t look @ me wanting a photo. Do you think I was going to make my bed for this. Hilarious.
I’m extremely professional. YOU WANT TO BUY MY BOOK. 180 days to go.
1. LASTEST BOOKS YOU ACQUIRED.
2. BOOK SERIES YOU WISH YOU HADN’T TRIED.
3. BOOK YOU DIDN’T THINK YOU’D LIKE BUT YOU DID!
4. FAVOURITE COVERS YOU OWN.
5. LAST BOOKS YOU’VE READ LATELY.
- DIVIDING EDEN: Look I was whinging that I hadn’t read this last week AND THEN I READ IT!! So proud. Pity it wholly sucked but oh well. ★★☆☆☆
- AMERICAN STREET: This was really brutal and gritty and amazing! Let’s lowkey ignore the fact that I got a whole lot of racists commenting on my Goodreads review. Ugh. People. Why. ★★★★☆
- THE GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO VICE AND VIRTUE: Yes I’ve read this twice this year and I shall not stop. It is my favourite. My favourite. ★★★★★
- THE LOVE LETTERS OF ABELARD AND LILY: Look it was good? With #ownvoices ADHD rep! Which I thoroughly appreciated. Buuut the ending left me feeling very sour and the autism rep was not…great. ★★★☆☆
And because you shouldn’t have to put up with a post from me without A PUPPY PICTURE…here’s my dog, Atticus.
He’s poking his tongue at me and then looking very very very tired about my life choices, which is basically his entire aura. Also YES I bribed him with a treat to actually sit on my bed for a photo. I’m that kind of low species but don’t judge me because at least you get a photo!!
And thus concludes my bookshelf tour!
Yes I just said “thus” because I’m slightly pretentious.
I am basically one smol bean surrounded by a lot of books and the ultimate aim is, obviously, to become a book. I’m not even sure how to exist if there aren’t books in every direction. Also shoutout to my parents and I as we managed to fit this many bookshelves in this room. Wizardry was involved. Probably the darkest kind.
Ah how my books have grown in 4 years. Just think! In 4 more years you probably won’t be able to see me as I’ll be living in a book igloo. #Goals
#ATTRACTIVE
I’ve always thought that your bookshelves were STUNNING. 😍😍😍 I have one main bookshelf I got as a gift from my parents after finishing high school, as well as a smaller second hand one stuffed into the corner of my room…but I will shamelessly admit that I need ANOTHER. I just have waaaaayyyyyy too many books, and they’re piling up all over my desk (which, until now, I’ve tried to keep relatively clean for my writing. HAHHH.)
OMG, KARA, THANK YOU. THAT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME. <3 I mean I'm so proud of it and not even ashamed haha.😂 Aww your parents are lovely to gift you a shelf!! My mum found my smaller shelf at a garage sale and I'm so thankful ahh!! Is there ever a time when we have enough shelves though?! Really.😂
My bookshelf is currently empty/filled with rejects because I’m moving *tears* (luckily I have nice friends who are using their valuable luggage allowances to take my books to New Zealand but it’s still really sad, okay?) and I don’t really know what kind of bookshelf I’ll have when I move (plus Shar and I will have to divide our books). So I have about 40 books ‘of my own’ but lots that are family books or other peoples books. And most of my books are second hand because that’s what I can afford, and I don’t get ARC’s at the moment. I have tried lots of differen organisational styles… I had a rainbow at one point, but I didn’t have enough yellow and orange books to make it look good, and I did it by genres, and author last name, and then genre again, which is probably my preference. Your bookshelf is beautiful, though. What percentage, approximately, of the books you read are digital? because probably ninety percent of the books I read are digital library books though that might change…
I’m currently reading The Goose Girl. I really like it!
And your bookshelf looks so good #goals (except my goals are also live in faraway countries which makes it hard to have a lot of books…but my family moved to India in 2006 with 5 books and now we have hundreds so I guess anything is possible)
Omg you clearly have made the best kind of friends, KEEP THOSE ONES. I would be so stressed to live in a different country to my books! I stressed out just having them in storage haha. Also my sister and I both “own” the Lemony Snicket books but I’ve got them and have stolen them and shh, don’t tell. Sharing books is hard.😂 (Also 2nd hand books are FABULOUS.)
I’m actually terrible with the digital! I’m going to measure it up this year because I calculated it on my spreadsheet (finally remembered to!) but it’s probably like 10% of my 200 reads this year were ebooks.😂 I’m usually a bit better than that? But I focus better on physical pages.
THIS IS SO FUN! Interesting fact: my dog isn’t allowed in the house right now because he’s very smelly because he ate poo. Ugh, dogs. Anyway, while I was reading this post I was like ‘I should do a bookshelf tour! then I was like: most of my books are in another country (New Zealand), books I don’t like, or (for 5 or so) in Cambodia (it’s a long story). So now isn’t a good bookshelf tour time in my life.
However, I really enjoyed this one! It’s so cool that it’s double sided (although maybe it’s discouraging to have to look at the ugly side..? I mean I guess all books are beautiful though). ALSO YOU OWN SO MANY BOOKS THAT”S SO COOL. While there’s definitely a privilege thing related to book ownership, I think saying ‘oh you must be rich because you have a lot of books’ is not cool. Because some people might spend their money on fancy large TVs even if they don’t have much, or, I don’t know, gymnastics lessons. What you own isn’t only about how rich you are but what you prioritise buying. idk. I don’t own that many books that are all mine? Shanti buys more. But I really like them, and yes. Anyway, LOVED this book tour!
AHH THANKS SHAR!! And also your dog is gross and I also very much understand because my dog did that recently and I kind of just…like WHY?!? What the heck goes on in a dog’s brain sometimes. I can’t even. I think we bathed him twice and I still haven’t forgiven him, stupid cute face.
Omg your books are so spread out! That would panic me so much.😂
And it’s not so bad to see the ugly side because it’s like half a metre out from the wall so I have to squeeze around there to see it anyway.😂
And ugh yeah, I kind of really added that point in because I’m a bit tired of people assuming I’m uber rich. I’m privileged, obviously! I’ve been blessed by epic library sales and generous publishers, but I seriously never even bought a book until I was 17. I’ve had people on instagram message me and say I should “give them some book since I have so many.” 0_0 (And you’re so right…it’s also about priorities. I like am still wearing the same jacket I’ve had for 10 years…😂 So I can afford books instead.)
IT IS SO PRETTY I LOVE IT CAIT. My bookshelf is…well. NOWHERE NEAR THIS PERFECTION. Mostly because I still have to share a room so I don’t have enough space for a new bookshelf. Hopefully, next year (i know, i’m so patient) I should be able to have WAY more space and therefore…A NEW BOOKSHELF. I am just running out of space? Like my bookshelf is a tiny old thing and…THERE IS NO SPACE ANYMORE. #help. My books are organized by genre and series because COLOURS mean splitting up y series and NO how do you do it! And yay for getting so many books from publishers! that’s great! And sure you can use the word “lucky” but you’ve put in a LOT of hard work for your blog (you can tell) and deserve it.
ATTICUS IS SO CUTE
Isn’t needing new shelves like every bookworm’s eternal cry?!😂 I also am running out of, like, walls for shelves but oh well. Clearly I don’t need a bed and that can go next. #Logic
awww thank you though!! <3 That means a lot to me because I Do work hard on this smol little blog!!
also may i ask you a question? why do you have ADSOM and AGOS red spine versions and then the complete hardback collection?
The only answer is: WHY NOT, ILSA.😂😂 Actually I got given some of them and it’s not my fault all her covers are so fantastic. *falls in love*
My shelf is at home. It’s organised by author, but not actually by author. I mean, yes, I lump all the books by each author together, but no those lumps are not in alphabetical order. (Does that make any sense?) I’m currently reading the second Magnus Chase book…still, because coursebooks keep happening and they have to take priority because the world is a cruel place. 🙁
My memory stick appears to be stuck inside its casing, so I read “writing” and died inside.
That does make sense!! I can’t actually imagine being fully alphabetised.😂 Okay fine I can’t imagine anything but rainbows! I’m addicted! And omg I hope ou get a chance to read more of Magnus soon because that book os FABULOUS.
I was actually inspired by your bookcase to change mine to become rainbow. It looks absolutely fabulous now and I am so pleased that I ‘converted’!
AHHH THAT MAKES ME HAPPY THOUGH!! Honestly rainbow shelves are just so pleasing to the eye.
My shelves are currently hating me for my lack of organization. My books don’t like me very much because I stack them everywhere without much chance for showcasing their gorgeous covers, spine or even just colors…..yes, my shelfie is a mess. It needs a lot of help or rather to that I just don’t have right now. 😳😌😳😌
Somewhere along there says “time, I just don’t have now”….but auto correct seems to have a mind on its own.
It’s so hard not to have enough shelves though!! That’s like the truest bookworm horror. *cries with you*
What a great post :D!!
First off, I LOVE your bookshelf. It is amazing and beautiful. I could just stare at it for a while and not get bored. It’s totally clever using both sides. Secondly, a talent for eating brownies is always useful *nods*. I loved seeing the pictures of Atticus too, I always love seeing pictures of dogs.
I don’t have just one bookshelf, I have multiple, a lot of them. Some are smaller, some are larger. I organise my books first on genre, then within a genre I put authors and series together and I move what fits where (I don’t like to split up a series where one half goes on one shelf and the other goes on the shelf below it). I also like to put my favourites near eyeheight where I can see them more easily, and lesser favourites on the top and bottom shelves (which are either too high for me to reach easily or too low down so that I need to sit on the floor to reach them). I have a large TBR but I don’t separate TBR and R (read) books. I own a large number of books and a lot of rows are doublestacked. The rainbow organisation wouldn’t work for me, but I love seeing it in your bookshelf! I personally think mine look great the way they do and I can (usually) find stuff, so I’m happy with them. I can’t bear to split up series and authors, but I do tend to remember a book’s cover/spine colour more than the title :P. I buy a lot of books and have a huge TBR, but as long as I can afford it and have the space I think it’s okay. I just love buying books. I read a lot of books too (but not as many as I buy). I also go to the library and loan books there (and I love library sales). I like to read lots of different kinds of books, ie. for adults, YA and for children, and I also like multiple genres, such as contemporary, fantasy, and so on (though those two would be my favourites if I had to choose). On occasion I read a graphic novel or manga too (I must thank you for recommending Quiet Girl in a Noisy World by Debbie Tung, I believe I bought that because of your GoodReads review, and I absolutely loved it). I read both books in English as well as books in Dutch, though if the original is English I usually prefer to read the English version instead. The books I buy at library sales and such, are often in Dutch, but what I buy online is usually English. I also go to bookfairs, second hand shops, book shops, etc.
Anyway, I really enjoyed seeing pictures of your shelf, reading the history, seeing a room tour. And your writing space looks nice and cosy. I loved this post :D.
I’m SO clever and talented with eating brownies honestly. It’s absolutely admirable.😂 And Atticus is so cute and so evil but CUTE so I keep him.😂
And your organisation method sounds very reasonable! I mean I go by aesthetic, because I’m shallow haha, but I end up having to put some of my more favourite books on the behind-the-other-side of the shelf which is annoying because they’re not the right colours.😂
And of course buying books is okay!! You’re supporting writers everywhere and that’s AMAZING. I think there should be no shame, ever, in huge TBRs. *nods*
So so glad you liked Quiet Girl! That one was so relatable. 😀
Your bookshelf is so gorgeous! The way each book is fitted perfectly amazes me. There must have been intricate work in organizing it. But I have to ask: doesn’t your back hurt from writing on the floor all the time?
From the most recent books you acquired, I’ve read Exit, pursued by a bear, and I really liked it. It was a great one and so impactful too. I am so sad you didn’t like Dividing Eden. I really wanted to read it because it sounded awesome. Also, The Gentleman’s Guide is a FAVE.
The shelf of my dream is the one from The Beauty and the Beast, with that moving staircase, but who wouldn’t want that shelf? I did get an AWESOME shelf this year, though. It was my first one, it is white and, since I didn’t really want it to occupy much space, I got one with the exact measurements I needed and put it INSIDE one of my clothing closets I do not use. I can open and close it whenever I want to see my bookshelf and it is beautiful!
I wish I could organize it in rainbows, but it is too hard. I place my fave books at the very center, and the ones around it are vaguely color-coded, but not as flawlessly as yours! I finished Daughter of the Burning City finally and it was better. The book picked up for me at the midway point, and I started liking the characters, but the beginning was just too slow and I struggled with it for a long while. I think I will give it between 3 and 3.5 stars.
I’m currently reading The Last Namsara by Kristen Cicarelli, which is about DRAGONS and for some reason is giving me serious #Vikings vibes.
Actually my back doesn’t tend to hurt, which is probably a miracle.😂 I DO prefer the desk though. Like I never had a desk until earlier this year and then I wrote 2 books in like 8 days because I had a desk finally. LET ME CRY FOR ITS LOSS. Aaanyway, haha, I’m super glad you liked Exit, Pursued By a Bear! I probably won’t get to it until next year but I’m really keen, eep.
And omg, agreed. I want the Beast’s library immediately.
Oh oh I want to read the Last Namsara!!
Nice tour, Cait.
My, how your shelves have filled out.
It’s hilarious that your shelf is in your doorway. 😀 It’s a good thing that the door opens outward or you would be trapped!
Thanks for sharing the Atticus photo! He is adorable! I have two small doggies. They have destroyed my house and everything in it.
Please be careful. That shelf looks heavy enough to squoosh you.
Happy Reading!
~Icky. 🙂
Thaaanks so much!! My door actually opens inwards and there’s like 1 cm clearance.😂 But whatever works right?!
Omg I relate with the house-destroying-dogs. Good thing they’re so cute, right?!😂
Wow. Your bookshelf is amazing and you get most of it from publishers…. So cool. I don’t even have a bookshelf to show you how bad it is.. Just a couple of books piled in a small teeny tiny corner. Incase you decide to share some books love I call first dibs. I’m currently reading Binti: Night masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor courtesy of Netgalley. P. S is it bad that I want to live in a fort made of books
Oh I want to read Binti someday!! I hope it’s awesome. 😀 And thaaanks about my shelves, I do love them.😂
Yes the binti trilogy is awesome. P. S:dont go in with any expectations though cause it will totally blow your mind…. I mean in one of the books there is a pregnant spaceship.. ..oh no spoilers.. Sorry.. I shall accept what ever punishment you give out. 😂😂
Cait, your room doesn’t actually look that much smaller than mine, but we obviously have different priorities because I have three tiny shelves and three desks, and a giant collection of nutcrackers and one of giraffes, not to mention four or five mountains of … I’m just going to say mess. THINGS PILE IN MY BEDROOM, AND I’VE JUST COME TO ACCEPT IT. Also, I bought myself a loft bed and I sleep on the ceiling.
But, um, my shelves. I have three. It used to be two, but they filled up and I was piling them on the floor, so I bought myself another one randomly at walmart because I was left there unsupervised after midnight. My shelves used to be organized by author, but now it’s about 50% by author and 50% however I managed to shove those books onto the shelf. I’m about to do a massive rearrange (just as soon as I take my tree back down from Christmas), and I’m going to use one shelf for my Indie Books, one shelf for books I haven’t read yet (because I have a staggering number of those, and one shelf for my books that are not indie published.
As soon as I can get the floor fixed in my room (I had a water leak issue that I ignored for a mite too long. Listen, kids. If your water is leaking in your bathroom TURN IT OFF PRONTO, BEFORE IT ROTS OUT YOUR FLOOR), I’m going to buy a fourth shelf that’s floor to ceiling for the other side of my room.
And don’t ask me what I’m currently reading. I have about five or six books that I’m squinting at right now.
How on earth do you fit 3 desks in?!? I can’t even fit ONE desk in! Even if I didn’t have my bookshelf, it’d barely fit a desk in here. *cries* And haha I love that you being left unsupervised equals a new shelf.😂 Priorities!
Well, two of the desks are UNDER my bed. And I don’t have a ginormous bookshelf. I just wish that I had a ginormous bookshelf.
Other things I have bought while unsupervised at Walmart: notebooks, pens … pizza.
I love all your shelves! I wish I had the shelves of my dreams. 😞
It’s three am and I just finished All Fall Down by Ally Carter and I can’t sleep because my brain is broken from the whip lash I got from all those twists at the end! 😵 So here I am. 😊
And also I’m currently reading Jane Eyre because I’m forcing “ahem” CHALLENGING myself to finish it so I can pretend I’m scholarly even though it kind of makes me want to bang my head against a wall. 😑
I hope you get the kind of shelves you want someday!! And omg I love it when books break our brains with fantastic twists!! (Good luck with Jane Eyre.😂)
Yayyy for rainbow shelves!!!! They are the best way to organise your books!
I just had my birthday so I have the lovely bookworm struggles of working out how to fit all of my books on shelves that can’t physically hold any more books!
Ohh I feel that pain. GOOD pain though.😂😂
AH YOUR BOOKSHELVES ARE SO PRETTY, I HAVE ALL THE JEALOUSY. ALSO YOU HAVE LIKE TWICE AS MANY BOOKS AS ME, THAT’S AMAZING! I do not have the shelf of my dreams at the moment, sadly. We just moved house, so half my books are at home in boxes and the other half are on my shelf at Uni, of which I only have one and it’s not very big (for reference, I had four at home though I’ve had to lose one in the move). I organise by author and size, my shelves at Uni are different sizes, so I have hardbacks on the bottom shelf (as it’s the only one that will fit them) and then paperbacks on the other shelf. I have to cry a little because one shelf is so small, I can only fit books on it horizontally rather than vertically, but I make it work. There’s also quite a bit of double stacking as I have too many books to fit them all on my bookshelf. I couldn’t do rainbow shelves, I think they look gorgeous, but I’ve always organised by author and size. I’m currently reading The Crown’s Fate and Chainbreaker.
Omg I hate having books in boxes for packing, so I understand those feels. I think it’d be so hard to have books spread out so far, but a bookworm must do what they must do, right?! (And omg I love the Crown’s Fate and I’m dYING for Chainbreaker!!)
Ahh your shelves are just so BEAUT
Susan Etc
AWW THANK YOU!
Yay I have rainbow shelves too! Except for my tbr books, they’re all just piled on my dresser…
RAINBOW SHELVES ARE THE BEST!! *hi fives for our priorities in life*
Okay, I’ll admit, your bookshelves make me go weak at the knees. They are SO gorgeous – how’d you know I love COLOUR BLOCKING LIKE IT IS MY OWN CHILD. Also you use an owlcrate box as a desk, I literally laughed out loud 😀 If anyone ever needs a complete description of you as a person and your life and successes and failures and dreams, just show them this post. It is everything. I LOVED reading this so much!
Omg I’m glad you enjoyed it!😂 AND I KNOW RIGHT?! Like this post is just the entire description of me.😂 I should tell Owlcrate how I use their boxes.😂
the bookshelf in the middle of the room is brillient. and who cares about having a bed frame? I slept either on a mattress on the floor, or the actual floor for most of my life until we moved (THANK HEAVEN) for my tenth birthday, and now I have a room twice as big as the last one and only ONE sib instead of FIVE to share with, and now I can spread out all my things and never vacuum and complain about my dust allergy. its fun.
Most crazily, ~Olive
EXACTLY. Books > everything else. Obviously I have my priorities here.😂 Also that’s really awesome you don’t have to share with so many siblings now haha. I used to share with one sister but that was way enough for me.😂
Your shelf is so pretty! It’s cool that you have old photos of your bookshelf. I didn’t have any bookshelves until a year or two ago. Most of my books lived in piles on the closet floor. Then I stole two shelves from my sister and bought one, and now my books are freed from the closet. I don’t have as many as you, though.
I’m such a nerd that I literally take like “shelf updates” every year so I can compare.😂 It’s like a proud mum taking baby photos WHAT DO I EVEN DO WTIH MYSELF.
Well I wish I could have a whole wall full but for the situation I am quite pleased with my three shelves downstairs (and I have Merijn’s books elsewhere downstairs) and then there are the book shelves upstairs…Never mind.
I love seeing your color coded shelfies but my book spines just aren’t that colorful?
I wish I could have a whole wall of books too.😂 LIVING IN A BOOKSTORE!! THE DREAM GOALS!! And actually I do understand about the non-colourful spines…I have way too many black spines.😂
I have exactly half a bookshelf to call my own. My sister and I share a six shelf bookcase, but I got the top shelf, so I am now trying to reach the ceiling with books. Oh, and praying that they don’t fall and kill me before I move out and get my own proper bookcase. It’s my dream to have my own bookcase. I don’t currently organize it because there isn’t enough room, but I’d love to.
That is honestly very relatable.😂 I used to share a room with my sister and we just always had books all over the floors and our desks. There’s never enough shelf space right?!
Whoa there are so many books and that seems like a real talent there squeezing all your books in the shelves 😮 most of my books are now scattered on my tables and bedside because my shelves are already full 😀 I arrange my books by series and authors, I’d love to do color code but I get lost easily xD
It’s like a huge puzzle in my room trying to fit me + all the books in.😂 And that’s awesome you go by series/author!
Atticus is named for Atticus Finch, right?
Did you name him or did a parent/sibling?
YES! And I named him, because I’m a huge nerd.😂
So my dorm room is abnormally packed with books. Sometimes I accidentally leave a stack on my roomies desk. But she left her shoes in a pile in front of my closest, so, yeah.
ACtually, the textbooks are in a stack on the floor, and my shelves are crowded with my lovely books. And then that overflows, so they get stacked in my closet, and I throw away clothes to fit in more books, I *might* have a problem.
That sounds like a glorious dorm room and what could be better. :’)
Your room and bookshelf are absolute goals!
Aww thank you!!
YOUR SHELF IS BEAUTIFUL! I’M JEALOUS.
I have a bookshelf in my room, but I share a room, so my sister and I share the shelf. One shelf is covered in books (1 full 12 book series, 6/7 books of a series, and the first book in 3 other series… 😂) and the one below has a few notebooks (LOL I love pulling out one that I drew comics in and the plot makes zero sense and everything is so random it’s so funny! 😂) a series of 3 books, some binders, and I think that clay charms maker I got for Christmas last year? *guilty glance* That clay probably is rock solid by now… But anyway, I’m running out of room on my shelves! On the top one, I have books piled on top of each other and put in front of each other. THEY’RE ALL PAPERBACK. THEY AREN’T AS BIG AS HARDCOVER. HALP.
IT IS BEAUTIFUL. IT IS MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN ANYTHING ELSE, PARTICULARLY ME.😂😂 Hey notebooks are awesome though! I love collecting them and…never using them. Ahem. But we all always need more shelves right?!
Ooh, this post is so fun and pretty!! I love color coded bookshelves, but I get way too uptight about keeping series and authors together to actually do that to my own shelf. Plus, I’m not sure I own enough colorful books to do that? I may have to check on this . . .
I’ve never seen a freestanding bookshelf like that, but it’s GENIUS. Look at all the space you have! That’s a serious life goal right there. Someday I’ll dedicate an entire room to a bookshelf.
Atticus clearly deserves a whole beanbag chair all to himself. Obviously.
As for what I’m currently reading, I picked up A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue after reading your glowing review. It’s extremely entertaining so far and is doing a great job of keeping my mind off the terrible cold I can’t seem to get rid of.
I totally get that!😂 That’s why I have some of my series either behind the rainbow shelf or on my really skinny shelf (like my Stiefvater shrine)…I wish series always had the same colour spines?!? That would solve everything.😂 And YES. Freestanding is genius and it’s like so full of books it’s too heavy to tip.😂 So I hope.
Also Atticus thinks he is the royal queen at this point and I don’t even know what to do with him.
GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE IS MY FAVOURITE THING IN THE WORLD.
PUPPY. He’s so cute. <3
Also, your room is basically just devoted to books and I 100% approve. That bookshelf is what I someday want my house to be. A rainbow shrine to books. Who needs space for anything else???
PUPPY IS THE CUTEST even if he is secretly evil. And I’m very pleased you approve of my bookish skills here. Honestly all I want is walls and walls lined with shelves like these. Obviously not to much to ask. Hopefully my family will agree, or else, you know, move out and give me more room.
I love your bookshelves! And I also I want them lol. Unfortunately my apartment is the size of a pea and I can’t fit big shelves, otherwise I’d have bought shelves like yours. 😀
I so hope you get to have big shelves someday soon though!!
Thank you! I’m hopefully moving next year so big shelves are in my future. D:
OH THIS POST IS FILLED WITH ALL THE PRETTINESS, I AM IN LOVEEE. I love your bookshelves so, so much and I love that they’re color-coordinated. I’m sort of trying to do the same thing, but… it’s hard sometimes and I don’t know where to find my books just yet, but… I will eventually, haha. 🙂
Sometimes colour-coding IS really hard.😂 Like at this point I can only read green books because all the other shelves are full.😂
I’m gonna say I don’t have my dream bookshelves (Belle is the winner here, obviously), but I haven’t run out of space yet (it’s a near thing) so how can I complain? I share my room with my sister, so there’s not exactly prime space for my books. I have one beautiful-wood-handmade-by-my-grandfather bookshelf under my loft bed, which like two year ago held ALL my books AND miscellaonoues stuff. But now it fits only novels and I’ve overflowed to this random shelf in my closet and a shelf that isn’t actually mine above the window. And I moved my stuffed animal collection and my childhood toys to the garage (tears) to make room for more books in (and on top of) a nine cube shelf. So basically I have a really pretty bookshelf and the rest of my books are all over the place. But I still somehow know where all of them are? My sister complains, but I think deep down she loves looking at them, too. They’re so pretty. (I just counted 427 books) (don’t tell my sister).
I have always sorted by author then genre, and I still primarily do, but I recently broke my stubbornness to sort my middle grade shelf as a rainbow, and my contemporary shelf with a sort of ombré effect, which looks a lot cleaner when there are only 3o books and some are black and white. I would probably break and go all out rainbow but none of my shelves are adjustable to account for size so I’m sort of stuck. Plus the whole thing about not having all my books in one place. I think the clothes are going next.
omg I want to live in Belle and the Beasts’s library, IMMEDIATELY. And books are really pretty so I hope your sister admits that she is very wrong and your books are very beautiful and deserve all the space in the world. :’) (And omg an ombre effect! That sounds amazing!)
Way to go on the book-collecting, Cait! 😀 I’m going to be completely honest: I color-coordinated my YA fiction section because I liked your books so much. And yes, I totally know where the books are because I remember the colors too! That and I’m used to sight-reading. Doesn’t take me long to skim a bookshelf anymore. I could probably use another bookcase or two, considering the one I’m using for the children’s fiction section actually *cough* belongs to the landlord. *cough* And I recently started collecting some Manga, and ran out of room, so they migrated onto my bed.
Omg that really makes my day.😂😂Rainbows are BEST and honestly we should all try rainbow organisation at least once, right!? And I think the eternal bookworm cry is: more bookshelves!😂
I do not have the shelf of my dreams. In fact, I believe it’s more like the shelf of my nightmares.
My parents bought this one bookshelf, that has four shelves, and decided that each family member got one shelf on it! It’s not even that big! It’s maybe medium size, and for the longest time they EXPECTED ME TO USE ONE SHELF OF IT ONLY!! A couple months ago, they stuck a couple more tiny shelves on the wall next to it, but half my books still live on the floor!
Because of this, and because of the fact that these shelves live in A CLOSET, a lot of my books are hard to reach, so I organize my books in a really strange way. It’s literally organized with my favourite books front and centre, and the ones I’m probably never going to read again tucked away in a corner. (Because of this, nobody but me can ever find anything on my shelf, and half the time I don’t even know where stuff is).
And then my parents complain, because my books are a mess on the floor.
I think the solution is obvious… get a new bookshelf, but every time I suggest this, my parents refuse, and suggest that I should GET RID OF SOME OF MY BOOKS!!! Like, hello? NO! How about you get rid of all YOUR books, and let me use YOUR shelf space?!
Or just, you know, get me some more bookshelves?
NOOOO that does sound like a shelf of nightmares. 😫😫I feel for you! I really do! I hope you someday get to have all the shelf space you need so your books don’t have to be homeless.
Also being told to get rid of books IS THE WORST AND SHOULD BE AN OUTLAWED PHRASE.
Your bookshelf is really pretty, I always like how colorful your photos are. It makes me want to try out a rainbow shelf someday. I have one big bookshelf and a small shelf for notebooks. I only loosely organized them by genre.
Maybe you could get a bed frame with built-in shelves? I think some people have even taken small ikea shelves and built them into a bed frame.
Please don’t get squished under falling bookshelves. (But it doesn’t look like anything is in line to fall on the bed, so that’s good enough!)
Ahhh thank you!! I’m so proud of my shelf haha.😂 And I probably could get a bed that also fits with a shelf but…expensive.😂
I also just moved house a few months ago! But, this move we basically doubled house size. MWAHAHA the book room!!!!! Since I finally got a job earlier this year I actually had money to buy my own bookshelves, and I am INCREDIBLY proud of them *we’re ignoring the fact that I don’t have enough room on them and need at least one more* They are pretty and they match my new bedroom furniture and I am all the excite. I don’t organize mine by rainbow, unfortunately, because I feel like I would never get them perfectly along a color grain, and it would drive me insane. (see it makes me rhyme) BUT I do separate TBR/read.
I am currently reading A MAN CALLED OVE. Which, WOW, what a crotchety old man. He is all I aspire to be in old age. It’s hilarious so far, though I’m sure it’s going to break me sooner or later.
OMG I’M SO JEALOUS!😂 My room practically halved in size which is…frustrating but oh well. At least it’s like a cosy book cave?! I’m so glad you get to buy books/bookshelves now!! I’m 99% sure that’s the only reason to have a job, right?
It really is. Every time I get paid my mom is like “so, we got paid. You going to get anything USEFUL this time???” And i’m just like “NOPE” *swims into my sea of books*
YOU ARE SO FANTASTIC.😂😂 Also books are totally useful, right?! They could…be…weapons in an apocalypse?
Books = knowledge
Knowledge = power???
I don’t know. I could definitely use some of my bigger books as weapons though. Who needs basic necessities when you have books? 📚📚📚
…. UMMM… #BOOKSHELFGOALS
I have a book bench. It’s sorta like a shelf but it’s not. I mean, I do have a bookshelf but it’s not in my room and anything that isn’t in my room, doesn’t feel like mine. So, whatever *is* in my room is mine mine mine. I’m a bit territorial with my things. o-o #oldersiblingproblems
ASDFGHJKL WHO IS THAT CUTIE PATOOTIE??? CAN I HAVE YOUR PUPPY? I’LL GIVE HIM BACK. MAYBE. o-o
You never fail to make me laugh.
xx Kenzie
I do understand the territorial thing!! I always want my shelf in the same room as me because I muuuust see it at all times.😍
And my dog is so antisocial he’d probably eat you but HE’S CUTE ANYWAY. 😂
Those people who are like “you must be so rich to buy all those books” or “I wish I had the money to buy books like you do” don’t seem to realize that used bookstores exist, and also that we choose to spend money on books rather than other things. I know that if I buy a hardcover book I might not be able to go see a movie or go out to eat or whatever. It’s about choosing where you put your money.
Also your bookshelves are beautiful. Somewhere along the lines mine stopped being organized and started being “shove this book wherever it fits”
Omg I know right?!? Like there are so many things you can sacrifice to save money to put towards books. I literally buy nothing else so if I have some spare cash = BOOKS! I just got asked (in all seriousness) if I “lived in a bookstore” recently and it’s…frustrating. But anyway! Books are lovely and gorgeous and rainbows are best.😍
I love your shelves sooo much! I have mine in rainbow order, but I’ve tried by author and by genre but neither was as pretty. I have a medium ish bookshelf with 150+ books, but the bottom shelf is for large/ nonfiction books. Do you have any large books ( like the big Percy Jackson’s Greek gods/ heroes) and where do you put them? I desperately need my bottom shelf for others, but I have no where else to put the big ones! Also, my friend let me organize her shelves into rainbow order, she has twice as many books as me, and it was the best thing I have ever done!!
Ahh thanks, JoBeth!! I’M PRETTY IN LOVE WITH THEM TOO. I do actually have some awkwardly large books and I put them around the back of my shelf in the “designated ugly area”.😂
Aww your dog!! And he’s named Atticus! True mark of a bookworm right there.
And 600 books?! Wow!
I used to organize my shelves alphabetically, but late last year I think I decided to take everything out and re-organize by color. I thought it might make books harder to find, but I was surprised to find that, like you, I remembered the colors of book covers pretty well. I have a window right next to my bookshelf too, and not going to lie, admiring the natural light hitting the rainbow shelves would make up for any difficulty I might have anyway.
I’m not reading anything now, but I’m hoping to read Tower of Dawn soon, if I can get a hold of the copy.
Thanks for sharing!
claire @ clairefy
Isn’t it just?! 😂 Great way to declare my nerd status when I’m bawling in the yard for Atticus to turn up. (His middle name is “Bean” too after the kid in Ender’s Game haha.)
yesss, I’m so glad you’re a colour-coder too! IT’S SO AESTHETIC AND LOVELY.
I have moved to an apartment with 18 ft ceilings. My friend says I should get really tall bookshelves that have ladders. Went online. Those bookshelves have ladders. I want bookshelves that actually need ladders – never mind how I’ll manage to fill them. Instagram has kindly provided me with a local carpenter. Hello future custom job. Goodbye savings account
THAT SOUNDS AMAZING AND I AM ALREADY WHOLLY JEALOUS. YOU ARE LIVING THE DREAM.
I don’t have a bookshelf because I have to share one with my sister in this new house we have (ugh). So I keep my books in a box. I bought one invisible bookshelf one day but I wish it contained more space! And I still need to set it up!
Well done for being able to give all those books homes xD
Omg invisible shelves are SO COOL. I would love one of those someday!!
I WANT TO OWN AS MANY BOOKS AS YOU DO OR MORE.
My family owns a lot, but I share mine with my sister and stuff so UGH.
This is why I am planning on opening a bookstore.
Side note: Your bed looks made to me. *coughs at comment on no picture for bed and then the next comment about her dog on her bed with a very nice bed*
It’s funny, since I live at two homes, one of my beds is a futon mattress on the floor and the other is a loft.
YOUR BOOK IS COMING SO SOON. CAN I GET IT IN THE US?
Omg haha I didn’t notice I did that with the bed BUT IN MY DEFENCE my dog is sitting at the end of my bed so the quilt is folded back there and looks kind of acceptable.😂
So far my book is only coming out in the UK but it’s available on book depository which has free world wide shipping!
I just want to start off by saying that your shelves are absolutely stunning 😍 I aspire to have have shelves likes yours one day!
I don’t have that many books because I have to pay for them myself and… well… my job doesn’t pay that great (and I also have to pay for food 😂)
I recently threw my IKEA bookshelf out of my room and now I have four shelves attached to my wall because this way I have MORE ROOM FOR MORE SHELVES!!
I tried to organize my books by rainbow at some point, but almost all of my books have very dark colors so it wasn’t a really great rainbow… 🙈 So now I have them organized by language (English or my first language, Dutch) and then organized by height. But I’d love to try a rainbow again when I have some more brightly coloured books!
Aww thank you so much!! I really love my shelves haha. And totally hear you with the buying-books-is-hard thing…honestly without all the library sales I’ve found in recent years I would have a lot less books.😂 (Omg do you mean you have like the floating shelves on your wall? GOALS. I would love some of those!)
My shelf is well… Full… But I’m working on it! Since my father made me the shelves I think I’m going to convince him to add one! Unfortunately I don’t have rainbow shelves, because I don’t have many colorful books, anyway my book are organised by height
By the way I’M SO EXCITED FOR YOUR BOOK how am i supposed to wait 180 days!?!?
I think the eternal bookworm cry is for more shelves, isn’t it?!?😂 And omg the struggle with not owning colourful books is real! It took me forever to get to this stage because so many of my books have black spines.
AHHHHH I’M FREAKING OUT THO. 180 DAYS DOESN’T EVEN SEEM LONG ENOUGH.😂
WHAT.
IN.
THE.
WORLD?????
bookshelves or a lil slice of heaven????????
also color coordinated shelves all the way. (heart eyes)
gr8 post as per usuallllllll
I’M SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT AND I AGREE, IT IS MY COZY HOBBIT HOLE OF BOOKS AND HEAVEN.
I never would’ve thought that you keep your bookshelf in the middle of your room XD But at least now I know that you have your priorities straight bc bookshelves are way more important than beds… or just having space to move around in your room. I’m sure you get this all the time but the way your shelves are color coded is just GORGEOUS!
THIS IS LITERALLY MY REASONING. And plus I had no free walls for it.😂 And I can utilise two sides so like who needs a bed?😂😂
I LOVE YOUR SHELVES THEY’RE FABULOUS. Although tbh I don’t think I could live with them because the whole “floating in the middle of the room” thing would give me an EXISTENTIAL CRISIS. I recently acquired the shelves of my dreams though and I practically cried. They are so amazing and beautiful but I do NOT have enough books for them at ALL. *runs to Book Outlet website*
I don’t blame you hahhaha. Sometimes I like under my shelf and look up and think about how fragile life is.😂😂
Your dog is so cute!! Thank you for sharing, I needed that 🙂
And your bookshelves are beautiful!! I love seeing photos of them in ‘real time’ haha. But, I’m starting to realize that as much as I love reading, I don’t really feel like a REAL reader? Like, I’m very, very slow (as in, I’m happy to finish 1 book a month) at is as much of my free time is also split up between writing and drawing, I have a hard time finding books I like anymore, and I don’t actually own THAT many books. I’m not exactly rolling in the dough, so I’m always very hesitant to spend money on a book I’m not sure I’ll enjoy (you know, the whole not liking a lot of what I read anymore). Plus, once I finish a book, if I’m not 100% in love with it, I don’t want to keep it taking up space so I’ll get rid of it. And then that feels like throwing away money so again, let’s just not buy books! I do love reading and books, but I feel like a fraud most of the time.
My dog is honestly just here to be cute and impress all our cute little eyeballs.😂
But duuuude, you don’t have to read a ton of books to be considered a bookworm! I think if you enjoy books, regardless of how many you read, you can be a bookworm! And hey not everyone is super attached to books.😂 My sister likes reading but doesn’t care that she owns zero books and maybe reads 2 a year? (She’s also in uni.) So don’t feel you have to conform to some sort of set of rules or image to be a book lover. 😉 Just be you!
hahaha i love how your bookshelf is just out there like yeah, i’m a big beautiful bookshelf, LOOK AT ME. it truly is a representation of bookish freedom.
my books are all currently piling up in very haphazard stacks in my bedroom because i like very precarious looking stacks of books. before then, they were in a rainbow-esque shelf like yours!! once upon a time, my life WAS slightly aesthetic.
i feel your tiny room pains. so tiny. i also use the floor as the main space for sitting. my rabbit takes all chairs and pillows, because he’s the smallest so he needs to largest amount of comfortable furniture, right?
Tiny rooms are such problems for a bookworm’s life. WE NEED INFINITE SPACE FOR ALL OUR BOOKS.😂
AHH, so you do all your writing hunched up on the floor?? Like a little scrunched furiously typing crab-like creature?? THE DEDICATION. THE BACK PAIN. I CAN’T.
I’m so impressed, to completely change the subject, with anyone that can maintain color-coded shelves. They look SO gorgeous, but if I don’t have my shelves perfectly alphabetized, I swear my EYEBALLS get itchy.
THAT’S LITERALLY ME. IT’S A BIT OF A WORRY. I just scuttle about concocting evil truly.
And fair enough!😂Honestly if my shelves weren’t rainbow-ordered, I’d feel the same itchy way!
This is amazing smushy, not only the amount of books but even just the overall aesthetic of your shelves. It goes to show how all that hard work has paid off and honestly, you’re the hardest working blogger I know. From the old days of The Notebook Sisters to the Paper Fury empire. And you’re still such a little bean.
I can’t wait for your book launch, we’ll be celebrating the culmination of years of slogging your ass off and toasting your success. I know I’m.sounding my age, but feeling as proud as your mum is right now.
THANK YOU, KELLY, I’M TRYING TO ABSORB BOOKS UNTIL I BECOME A BOOK. DO YOU THINK IT’S WORKING. And honestly I have put a lot of work into this smol corner of the internet so I’m glad it’s entertaining and looks pretty and is fun.😂 <3
YOU CAN BE MY PROUD ADOPTED MUM.
Thank you for the shelf tour – it’s super pretty and over 600 books? OMG! I go through major purges throughout the year and I get rid of books from my shelves because I can’t squeeze another shelf in my current library. My husband would also probably kill me.
I also do book purges, mostly when I am itching for a book sale trawl. And even then it’s not always helpful. The last purge I did – 10 books left the tribe and I came back with 15 new ones. Plus a friend gave me another 12.
What is with husbands and the book battle!? Mine honestly cannot understand my need for more shelves (and books)
I’m so glad you liked it!! And also glad my family just leaves me alone in my pile of books hhaha.😂
I physically can’t bring myself to separate series, it hurts me to think about, I also don’t organise my shelves in a rainbow way. They’re just sort of placed about in a way that looks pleasing to my eye…probably no one elses but to me it looks nice. Currently I’m out of room though, I have about 45 books in a box, and 43 books on my TBR shelf which is double stacked and the shelf above it is with 44 books and also double stacked. My bookcase is’t mine, it was my grandmas but I needed it more…only it’s not stable, it wobbles and I’m slightly concerned for my precious books. Since I have paperbacks (cause I have a huge thing against dust jackets, can’t stand them and also paperbacks are cheaper), I don’t want my paperbacks getting hurt.
Your room is pretty much my goals…just not as small, I need space. I live in organised chaos, when I’ve actually tidied I then don’t where I’ve put anything #struggles. I’m also working on slowly rebuying books I already have but in the standard size. (WHO THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE LARGER SIZES OF THE SAME BOOK IN PAPERBACK – STRESSES ME SO MUCH) and slowly I’m converting things to all being the same size and paperback. I mean that’s eventually when I live in my own place, cause my family thought it was a waste of my money buying TMI series again in the new cover design. Firstly, I got it for £12 something instead of nearly £50. Secondly, it’s my money and thirdly they’re pretty….they argue that the story is still the same. Haha.
I do get the pain of separating series! I don’t seperate many haha. But a lot of series come with the same colour spines which is handy?!? And *hi five* for wobbly bookshelves and those of us living on the wild and dark side.😂
I USED to have a much bigger room and i miss it sooo bad. I mean I like the coziness but I had to give up my desk and now I type on the floor.😂
I always love your bookshelf tour! Interesting idea to put it in the middle of the room, but I like how it makes it feel so cozy. 😀
Aww thank you!! And honestly I put it away from the wall mostly because it wouldn’t fit anywhere else.😂 It was like playing jenga fitting me in here haha.
My bookshelves have zero organization. That way I feel like I’m fighting for my life every time I try to dig a book out of the depths – it’s how I get my daily adrenaline rush.
Honestly that’s very relatable. Sometimes I feel like reading a book on the bottom of my TBR and then I think: do I want life? So I don’t.
Oh Cait, did you tell your mom when you nearly killed her with books that a very wise person told you to make sure they were secured but you didn’t listen? I hope so. So your mom knows that at least someone cares 😉 Also. You should use your lack of a bed frame to your advantage- like “Look at me, sleeping on the floor, so sad. Also, here’s a link to my shiny debut book. Remember, I currently sleep on the floor.” And then sniffle a little.
I have… so many books, Cait. I lost count somewhere around 750. And then just stopped trying. I no longer have room for them so they’re just stacked all over. I tried the rainbow shelf, mostly because I love yours, but then things kept getting messy when I’d move books from my TBR to Read shelf, and so I had to give up. Now I just… reorganize whenever the mood strikes me? I have a shelf of favorites that doesn’t get touched much, so there’s that.
Oh, right now, I am rereading The Hunger Games, Harry Potter (because my kid is making me), and Shadowsong. Mostly because I am indecisive and have decided I hate everything and I don’t know how to read anymore maybe?
I DID NOT MENTION THAT, SHANNON, AND I AM ASHAMED. Although to be fair I also said: “hey mother should I screw these shelves together.” And she was like: “Nah.” So ergo my flirting with death is hereditary and also my mum has like 6 kids so losing one under a pile of books probably isn’t a big deal.
DUDE, YES. I’ll definitely pitch that for my “buy my book” line. I’ll get Atticus to cry and say he needs food too. That’ll get me on the bestseller list for sure.
Ahhhh, I still maintain you should ADOPT ME and I’ll read all your books and sit on your children because I’D BE A GOOD PRETEND AUNT.
Also you’re rereading THG. <3 You are the best dedicated fan human ever.
I came for the book tour and fell in love with Atticus! He’s adorable and so much better-behaving-looking than my two munchkins.
Your bookshelves are giving me endless amounts of hope that I’ll be like you one day! I also can’t afford books – I have to spend all income on my two minions who need to go to school and eat, and you know, wear clothes and stuff. .
I have recently become very reliant on our new local library and have become a sort of master at finding book sales. The cheapest I’ve found is R5.00 a book (which according to Google currency converter is like. 0.49 AUD!??)
All my bookshelves are second hand, one stolen from my parents, one from my in laws, and the last one I found on a second-hand group. My husband promised to build me one, but also doubts my need for more books… so yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it.
I organised my books by genre. But then we moved at the end of November and I seem to have subconsciously reverted back to alphabetical. I’ve been tempted to try the rainbow thing but I must admit I don’t think I have nearly enough patience to get it right. Also, when I was repacking my shelves after the move Kevin, our cat, seemed to feel that books are tasty and I am worried he’ll come back for more samplers.
Currently reading: Warlock by Wilbur Smith, Double Whammy by Carl Hiassen & T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton. I’m not so sure I like Wilbur Smith… I’m hoping I’ll come to a conclusion before the book finishes!
ATTICUS IS A SUPER CUTE BEAN. Even if he’s kind of evil.😂 Trust me he is NOT good at behaving. He literally will stare at me rather than do anything he’s told (he knows the commands!!) and he gets offended when he has to share my bed. You know…even though it’s MY BED. *sighs* He’s cute tho so I keep him.😂
Aww I’m glad you liked my shelves! And I totally get that it’s hard to be able to afford all the books we want. SOMEONE PLEASE LET US INHERIT A MILLION DOLLARS SO WE CAN FILL OUR LIVES WITH BOOKS.😂
I separate my books my TBR and ones I’ve already read, and then my TBR bookcases (well one of them anyway) is a rainbow. The others are sorted by height for now. I used to have them sorted by author but then I moved and didn’t put them back!
That’s logical too!! I have a LOT of books on top of my shelf as you can see.😂But I do sometimes let the TBR join the main shelf if I need help with a colour.😂
Why am I totally not surprised that your bookshelf is in the middle of your room. I love you, Cait XDDDD ALSO MY CATS THINK MY BEANBAG IS THEIRS. One of them will wait for me to //arrange the blankets// on it for him. The other will lay on any square 3 inches she finds. Do I sit in my beanbag? Rarely.
ALSO YAY SLEEPING ON THE FLOOR. Your priorities are great.
I’M CLEVER AND RESOURCEFUL. My life literally revolves around my shelf. (This surprises no one.) And what is it with animals claiming our furniture?!? My dog literally gets mad when I sit in my beanbag because he views it as his personal property.😂
My cat does like to snuggle on my lap when I sit in mine. BUT STILL. YES. When my cat come to bed with me I have to arrange the covers for him. What are pets even.
(monsters of our own creation, that’s what)
I was going to say, “Someone has a City of Bones addiction,” but then you mentioned it yourself and it was like, “Ah, okay, at least she’s aware.” Because I care, Cait. Also, now I know how you manage to climb onto your bookshelf. In my mind, it was a very laborious task that required unloading your bookcase enough that you could shimmy it forward, putting all the books back, climbing up the back, taking a photo, rinse & repeat. But this seems so much more practical. (fun fact: I climb massive metal shelves at work because I’m too lazy to grab the ladder, and our bookkeeper gets annoyed because injury, insurance, all that good stuff. “Just don’t go splat, Britt!”)
And when I was writing books, I went through a couple different, lovely desks, but they just ended up as catch-all spaces for life’s randomness and I did all my writing either in bed or on the floor so I FEEL YA GURL.
Yep, dude, I am 500% aware of my Shadowhunters problem here, but I refuse to think of it as a problem. I AM JUST LIVING THE SHADOWHUNTER LIFE. Sort of. And hahhaah omg I would never put that much work into a photo.😂 I am secretly very lazy. (How dare these people not trust our climbing skills?! I’m sure you’re a great shelf climber too.)
WHO NEEDS A DESK. (That’s going to come back to bite me isn’t it?😂)
I haven’t actually counted how many I have but I do have quite a few! I am running out space actually and need to get another bookshelf. I organize by the author. If I did the whole color thing I would get lost- LOL
Don’t we always all need more bookshelves?! NEVER ENOUGH BOOKS OR SHELVES. 😂
Woah it’s so interesting seeing the behind-the-scenes of your bookshelf and how it fits into your room! I’ve never seen a bookshelf be smack in the middle of a room, but I guess I’ve never thought about how much convenient it would be for you to be able to use both sides of the bookshelf! (I applaud you for your innovative ideas! 😂) Sadly, I have to nail every furniture I have in my room to the wall because I live in California and earthquakes are a real threat. 😊 I used to have a rainbow shelf, but I just recently reorganized my bookshelf and now all books are grouped together by series/author because it’s more convenient for me to be able to find books that way. This was an interesting post to read — I enjoyed getting a glimpse into your bookshelf development!
Ahh I’m glad you enjoyed this! I really love talking about my shelf so this is basically my favourite kind of post haha. And I know right with the shelf in the centre!?? GENIUS, I TELL YOU. (Also a little terrifying but we literally were playing jenga trying to fit everything in.) Gah, I’m sorry about your earthquakes. SO glad I don’t have to deal with those here.
Yesssss I adored this post Cait, it’s always interesting seeing people’s spaces and their glorious shelves! I love how your set-up means you can put the non rainbow books at the back. *whispers I have a whole 2 shelves for this very purpose*.
We rainbow-shelf-makers are really quite devious.😂 It’s all about the aesthetic for the rainbow parts and then we have like the shelves of shame hidden away.😂
OMG, I just found your blog and you are my new favorite person. You could always send one of those copies of City of Bones to me, you know. I’ve been meaning to read it for ages, and someday I will.
There is no “organization” to my bookshelves. Yes, shelves, plural. They are legion and they are taking over my house. I have a really nice built in that takes up the top half of my wall in my downstairs, plus *mental counting* 4? (maybe 5?) standing fellows with 5 shelves each. Every now and then I attempt to sort them by genre, with all the sci-fi and fantasy in one area, romance in another, non-fiction in another, my husbands books about Dragons on the top shelves that I need to climb on top of things to reach anyway… Mostly the only books that stay sort-of in place are the fairy tale retellings, which command an entire bookcase of their own. I even manage to keep them sorted by author, but now I kind of want to try my hand at sorting them rainbowiffically! And that’s just the family room.
I also have another little 3-shelf guy in my bedroom with my to-read books (which have been stacked two deep, with more wedged in lying down, then piled up on the top until I can’t even breathe near it or books fall off) that overflow onto the strange chest-high shelf that runs the length of my bedroom. God bless that shelf. Every week my TBR pile creeps out and eats a little more space. I am hoping to be subtle enough that my husband doesn’t notice until one day my TBR pile literally surrounds us in our bedroom. Then each of my sons (ages 3 and 1) have 2 bookcases in their rooms as well, jam-packed with Children’s books we’ll never have time to read all of.
I firmly assert that it’s not hoarding if it’s books. 😉
HIIIII WELCOME TO MY BLOG!! AND THE MADNESS! I mean, wait. It’s totally normal and sane around here, I promise.😂
Also your bookshelves sound AMAZING especially if they’re taking over your house. I mean waht else are houses for anyway right? I’m 99% sure the sole reason we have houses is so we can fill them with books. It sounds like your life is very saturated with books and also you probably need more shelves.😂
I came across your blog while researching starting my own book blog. I read your post one reasons you absolutely should start one. One thing you mentioned was people to share in your fandom obsession/pain. All I could think was, “Hahaha, yeah, my SO is damn sick of listening to me cry about Red Rising.”
I decided to check out some of your more recent posts… And look at that. Red Rising!!
I think this is a sign. Of something.
Anyway, beautiful blog 🙂
Aww I’m so glad you found my blog!! It’s really lovely to meet you! *shares welcome cake* AND OMG I RAISE MY HAND TO FLAIL ABOUT RED RISING. ISN’T IT INCREDIBLE?!? I JUST REREAD IT AND I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS. WE ARE INSTAFRIENDS NOW.
It was AMAZING!!! And none of my friends know it!!! AND IT KILLS ME!
I was really impressed by the entire thing, cause I felt like it started off kind of slowly! Man did it take off. Ugh. It left a forever impact and I also have WAY TOO MANY FEELINGS. I can’t even start the second one yet. My heart is raw <3
Congrats Cait for owning so many books 😀
Hahah. 😂
Since I get literally 85% of my books from the library, you would imagine that I don’t need as much bookshelf space as I do. BUT I DO. I have three(ish?) shelfuls of books that I’ve read/books I’ve owned since I was a kid, and then stacked up on these shelves is my TBR pile and then a drawerful (yes an actual drawer because I don’t own enough shelves) of books I need to review and then theoretically one bin of books from the library that just overflows and stacks up on the shelves and on the floor and everything else.
That ^ was a small novel. But yes. I need a lot of bookshelf space. (also I move to college next year and how I’m supposed to choose which/how many books to bring is already an issue even though it’s like 9 months away)
Libraries are so so amazing so I’m so glad you have a great one! And it’s amazing how bookshelves can still grow even when one is an avid library goer.😂 And omg I do not envy you leaving books behind. That sounds torturous.
Ahahah, I love how you put your bookshelf in the middle of your room!! Definitely a great way to have more shelf space, but I feel safe knowing that my shelf is against a wall. 😂 And AAAHHH you have so many more books than I thought you had!! 600 books?? That’s INSANEEEE. I think the total amount of books I own is what your shelf looks like in 2015… bless my broke self. :’)
Also your dog is the literal cutest, I want him. 😍
Omg trust me, I don’t feel particularly safe with it not against the wall sometimes.😂My sister is terrified of walking past my TBR but hey, we bookworms like to live life on the edge right?!😂
Your room is beautiful.
I really like your blog, it inspires me.
Aww thank you so much!