Posts By: Rashika

If you identify as a bookworm, it is likely that you at least own a couple books. If you own a couple books, you’ve probably spend at least a little time wondering how you should arrange them. Author’s last name? Rainbows? Sizes? So many options. What it comes down to is

aesthetic vs convenience

Some people are fine arranging their books in color because they are really familiar with the color on the spines of the books they own. I am not that person. It takes me 5 mins to find a book when my shelves are in color vs the handful of seconds it takes me when they are arranged by authors last name. But, both ways have their pros and cons and I think it just comes down to personal choice/taste.

The Rainbow

Source

Look at those shelves I found on the internet, THEY ARE PRETTY. But aside from being pretty, they can also be pretty handy for #bookstagram? Not just because you can take pretty #shelfies but also because it’s much easier to plan for photos when you can see the color combos you are working with. Of course, this pro is really only a pro for a certain group of people and not everyone is going to think about bookstagram when they are thinking about arranging their shelves in color. And let us not undermine the value of pretty bookshelves because I think that a pleasing aesthetic can help create creative spaces where you feel inspired and want to do ~more~.

Authors Last Name

Now, I can wholly attest that authors last name shelves look nowhere as pretty as rainbow shelves and yet there is still value to them. When you arrange books in rainbow, you have at least some control over the sizes and the order they go in but if you’re looking to do your books by author’s last name, those books are going to be all sizes and in random color orders. But it can still be satisfying! Nothing bothers me more than when books that are part of a series aren’t together and I hate having to dig around to find them. Having my books arranged by author’s last name also lets me enhance my wishlist by seeing what books I need to fill gaps in my book collection. If I own the first book in a series, then I can see that I might need the next two so they can all be together and happy. It’s all a very nice way to make that to-buy list even bigger than it already is. I mean, I do need ALLL THE BOOKS. Right? Who knows.

Anyway… which way do you prefer to arrange your shelves? Is there a superior method? Give me all the answers.