My University book shelf is starting to get full and I know the simple solution would be to stop buying books ! (this would also help the poor student issue) ! but I enjoy buying books. Some people find comfort in buying food or clothes, I however would eat and wear books if I could.
Today I sorted out my bookshelves to make more room and I thought I would share with you the five stages I went through when doing it. Let me know if you go through this as well or what you do…
stage 1… DENIAL
I put off the task of organizing my book shelf because it means that I have to accept I cannot purchase more books. Although I have been in this denial stage for a long time because I just keep taking books home to hide them there on my overflowing bookshelf back home.
Buying books is just such an exciting task that I do not want to let it go yet… so I believe that I can just rearrange the books to make the fit.
The next stage is SHOCK/REALIZATION…
That devastatingly heartbreaking moment when you realise you cannot fit anymore books any where, not even behind the front ones or on top of them. AHHHH I hate this part because it is like being hit in the face with a ton of bricks; it physically hurts, okay! (and emotionally) I am such a nerd but I honestly do not care. Books help me to be less taciturn when in a social situation because they let me express my passionate nature.
stage 3 – The BARGAINING process…
The moment you realise there is no other options…
- Do I get rid of my precious books? NOOOOOOOOO
- Do I move some of them, maybe put them away in storage?
- Do I buy another book shelf?
- Do I just put some next to my bed, like I am ‘currently’ reading them?
Stage 4- ACCEPTANCE…
At this point I accepted that I cannot get rid of any of my friends, I will never let go. I decided I will sneak a few home, move my clothes into storage to make more book space and organised the remaining once as an apology for even considering such a crime.
This leads me on to the next stage ORGANISATION…(stage 5)
- Do I colour coordinate the books?
- Put the in alphabetical order?
- Height order, maybe?
- Even genre order?
- Classic collection order…books of the same trilogy/series together?
I decided to mix it up and do it in the collection order (I could not split the little book families up) however I then put them in alphabetical order, regarding the authors name. Jealous? Do you do through this as well?
I am currently in the same situations. Books are so amazing that I can’t not leave a bookstore without buying some. I have almost 10 books to read, yet I keep on getting more. It’s both a blessing and a curse. Ugh.
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I feel this so much! It really is a blessing and a curse. 😀
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Holy, what a dilemma you crated. Was fun reading it though. I wish i would still have all the books i purchased back in the day. I actually feel some nostalgia for not having all the books i used to have. They would probably help me now for sure.
Colour coordinate the books? That´s a new one for me.
Why don´t you put them each book to each other by categories,or if it´s the same author then put him or her one book after the other. And your running out of book shelf´s.. stack them to the side of your room or some place. But don´t throw them or if you decide to throw them then call me and I´ll purchase them. You can make a profit.
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Thank you for commenting, it means a lot. Haha I like to be adventurous with my colour coordination experiment, I love that books can hold such memory and admiration.
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I know these feels!! 🙂
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I can identify to this article SO much! I’m still stuck in the stage of denial though…
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Reblogged this on Anne-Sophie at UEA and commented:
This article sums up how I feel about books…
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I can totally relate to your limited bookshelf space. 😦 When I went to college, I only owned like 100 books and took half of those with me….I had to just stack some if I bought new ones, which I always did. Curse you used bookstore….
I’m stuck not even HAVING a book case. Haha. You can imagine where my books are…All over the house.
Ha, I loved how you went through your stages.
The acceptance stage made me laugh, mostly the “I decided I will sneak a few home, move my clothes into storage” part.
I can only imagine what would happen if I got a bookshelf or two, I’d be in Heaven. And organizing for days…. I love the Easy A gif, by the way. Makes me want to watch the movie now.
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oh, i feel your pain. sincerely i do. it’s like ‘sophie’s choice’, isn’t it? choosing which books to keep and which to hurl into the abyss. heartbreaking and impossible to live with oneself afterwards.
my present strategy for clearing space (when it’s *absolutely* necessary) is to set free the books i’ve read by passing them onto someone i believe will appreciate them. this works fairly well for fiction, which i rarely re-read, but as for textbooks, i have no idea how to thin the herd.
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I love the ideas of giving them to someone else, it is a lovely thought ❤️
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And at least, by passing the ideas ‘n’ information to someone you know, you’re increasing your chances of getting feedback on the contents.
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The full bookshelf is a common problem for book-lovers everywhere. Personally, I am currently enforcing a one-in / one-out policy until further notice. Good luck.
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That is a good logic, I wish I had the willpower to do that 😀
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All it takes is a little advanced planning. I’m sure you could do it.
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I used to have this problem, but now I have moved on to a Kindle. I am sure that I will fill that up at some point, but with cloud storage I have plenty of room 🙂 I love it, it means you can own twice as many books as you normally could.
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Yeah I have a kindle too but then if I really love the book, I have to buy it again in paperback 😀
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Hah, I feel your pain. Every couple months or so I’m thinking “okay, no more books!”, but then I find an excuse to go to Goodwill and of course the books are like 50 cents so how can one resist?
Your post reminded me of a sweet anecdote, I was once in a train in Alaska and there was a book left on my seat with a little note saying something like “I loved this book, I hope the next reader will enjoy it just as much”. It was “Let the right one in” and I can’t say I loved it but the idea behind it was very cute.
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Yeah that is another down fall of mine, I will go to one of these places and buy more than i should just because they are SOO cheap. That is such a lovely gesture, haha I might do that to someone else ❤️
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I can’t bear to part with books either. Almost every book I’ve read is one I’ve bought, and then I keep them forever. If nothing else I find it aesthetically pleasing to have bookshelves with hundreds of books in my living space, knowing they’re all books I’ve read and thus have some personal connection to.
That’s why I haven’t switched to Kindle, and am unlikely to in the future. I love the physical presence of books.
I’d say just get more shelves. There’s no reason to get rid of some of your books, or to stop getting new ones. Even if you have extremely limited space, you should be able to find room for books, even if it’s just a matter of stacking them in high piles in a corner of the room when you run out of shelf space. It’s nice to organize them, but not imperative if the alternative is to lose some of them entirely.
Your love of books is palpable in your posts, and I really like that. Yours is a warm and fun blog.
I’ll offer a bit of criticism too. Normally I wouldn’t, because it’s not my place. But you specifically ask for feedback and criticism of your blog, so I feel you’ll take anything I say in a constructive spirit.
I think the content and style are fine; I’d like to see the mechanics cleaned up just a bit. Not that it comes across as poorly written or really sloppy, but it’s less than you’re capable of, since you’re obviously an intelligent and articulate young woman who cares about writing and is studying English.
There are a few spelling errors (though I know some of those are just U.K./U.S. spelling differences, and so not errors at all, but see “bargaining” for instance), typos, and structural inconsistencies (e.g., the “stages” are sometimes capitalized and sometimes not, sometimes have a numeral and sometimes not, etc.). I’d just like to see you be a little more meticulous about your mechanics; it’s a good habit to get into.
I certainly don’t mean by that that you should write in a stiff and formal way. Your informal, conversational style is a positive, and I wouldn’t change that. You come across as sweet and likable, and as I say you write in a way that gets across that you’re writing about something you love. Plus of course an informal style is appropriate for a blog.
Anyway, keep up the good work, and keep spreading your love of reading and education.
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I did not think I had this problem, but under a microscope the dust on my shelf seems to contain many words, well letters in some as yet unrecognised language, technically making each mote a book!! What to do ;()
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This is basically what I went through all of last week :’)
You could stack books up and use them as a bedside table sort of thing.
You could make book pillars that touch the ceiling and that you can hang your coats on.
http://www.brokeandhealthy.com/88-fun-ways-to-display-books
that site has a lot of bookshelf ideas (including a TARDIS shelf)
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My University book shelf is starting to get full and I know the simply solution would be to stop buying books (this would also help the poor student issue) but I enjoy buying books. Some people get comfort out of buying food or clothes, I however get comfort out of buying books.
Based on this alone, we could be twins separated at birth. Well, with a time machine involved, since I’m 25 and our of university, but you know.
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I do this with my book case at home. It’s getting filled up and I keep trying to find new places to put my books. Like somehow organizing them by color is going to magically make more space appear.
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Reblogged this on Literary Homicide with TropicalMary.
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Haha, I so relate to this! Loved the way you processed it and lived to write about it, too :).
Thanks for stopping by my blog!
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Story of my life!!! At some points, I was thinking I’m in need of some serious help too as I am prioritizing buying books over other life necessities. But I’m trying to think that if I can’t be rich in the future, at least my kids can get these books as inheritance. So it’s sort of an investment 🙂
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Reblogged this on diaryofateenagebookaddict and commented:
My current dilemma too
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