Sep 17, 2014

Bloggiesta Mini Challenge: Conquering Book Organization and That HUGE TBR Pile!


 
Doesn't everyone just LOVE Bloggiesta?! 
It is time to revamp your blog, learn cool things, and play in the blogging community online :) 
YAY BLOGGERS!

Today here on Cover2CoverBlog, I am talking about BOOK ORGANIZATION and TBR PILES. 


I guess I should start my Challenge post by saying that I love to organize things. I can't stand to have books everywhere or not know what is coming up in my TBR pile. Are you like that? Am I the only crazy, obsessed person? .. I hope not :/

First things first, lets get organized! Here is my deal and then some tips and links.

So I... don't have enough bookshelves. I think we all run into that problem. So to make up for the lack of space I have been double shelving books - it is sad because I can't see all the titles... but you gotta do what you gotta do... Personally I shelve books by genre (YA, MG, Adult) then last name but I do keep a separate space for my next months TBRs. They are just kind of set aside and ready to go when I need them. Nothing too exciting I know, but there are awesome ways to organize your books and keep them off the floor (ahem ... buy another bookshelf...).

So on to the tips and tricks:

BOOK ORGANIZATION OPTIONS

  • You can be traditional and go with Author Last Name all the way through your books.
  • Or even more organize-y you -- can do by Genre and Last Name {oooooo AHHHH -- I am a nerd, I know} 
  • A favorites shelf with all of your loved ones. Here are some fun shelves: 
 Floating Book Shelfhttp://technabob.com/blog/2012/12/27/dark-knight-bookshelves/http://www.outblush.com/women/home/storage/fusca-design-medium-comic-bookshelves/
  • Or you can get super creative and be colorful and not care about authors, genres, series, etc...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/decorology/3323350377/
Blogger/Crazy Person Note: for some reason while I find this style pretty - I cannot for the life of me do it. If I have a series I want the books to be together and sometimes they have various colored spines... it hurts my crazy to think of separating them... How about you?


http://groovexi.com/inspiring-wall-bookshelves-creative-contemporary-design/great-under-ceiling-floating-shelf-as-inspiring-wall-bookshelves-for-comic-college-display-in-white-boys-room-ideas/
  • You can make art with your books...   





not my shelf/ books


SWAPPING/PURGING/HOARDING? 

Still finding you have too many books and /or want new books? Here are some places you can swap books:
BookMooch
PaperbackSwap
YA Book Exchange

Some Bloggers that Trade/Swap books (If you are one let me know in the comments and I will add you):


Lili Lost in a Book

Need to just get rid of books?

On to the other organization I need and love... 
THE DREADED TBR PILE {dun dun DUH!!!!}

So I love lists and spreadsheets. I work with them, I live with them, they make me happy -- also, all the color coding. As I have been blogging I have been using various ways to keep track of my books/posts and what I found was that I needed all the things.
  
I use a Google Calendar for seeing which posts are soon more like an at-a-glace version of my TBR spreadsheet which keeps ALL the info. But what we are really here to talk about it the TBR pile itself and its madness... I have so many books in my Goodreads TBR (320 right now) and that is even after I go through everyone once in a while and 'give up' so to speak on a few.
I normally open my calendar when I am in my email looking though Blog Tour requests and Author requests to see if I have the space and time to read another book. It shows me all the books I should be reading in the month, mostly it is just ARCs and copies I have gotten for Blog Tours and Review copies but I also add my TBR Jar book as well. I track the book, series, who I am reviewing for, that I posted to Goodreads/Amazon etc all the goodies.  
Here are some great tools about TBRs and the such...

LINKS TO ORGANIZATION

A great article from Lit Reactor about cutting down your TBR is HERE

Read.Sleep.Repeat has a Spreadsheet you can download and use: HERE

Snuggly Oranges has a Post about Managing your Reading Schedule/ ARCs : HERE


HERE IS THE CHALLENGE!!
Try something new, let me know how it goes.
Organize your books or calendar, or make a TBR spreadsheet, and then tell me...
 
 How do you organize yourself and all of your book goodies normally? Do you have any tips to share with bloggers? What works/ what doesn't? 

PSST....There may be a mystery prize in your future :) There were 11 linkups/comments and the winner is...

<<<<<<<<<DRUMROLL>>>>>>>>>

 
  Lady in Read - I will be emailing you soon.

Link up with your posts, or comment below :)

Happy Bloggiesta Everyone!
 

16 comments:

  1. I love looking at pictures of people bookshelves, I don't know why! I only have one bookshelf (the perks of being a heavy library user, I don't have to find space for all the books!). I only have one book on my bookshelf I haven't read yet (A Prayer for Owen Meany). Otherwise I organize by goodreads! And 1 post it note on my work computer that has the books that are coming in the mail for book tours! Very low tech!

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    1. I do too! I love bookshelves and being nosey :) I used to use the library a lot and need to get into it again. Thanks for commenting and stopping by!

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  2. The organization of my stacks is easy...I have TBR books on top of a bookcase in my office, and next up books on the coffee table trunk. I make lists.

    I use Google Calendar if I have a deadline ahead.

    Most of my review books are from Amazon Vine, so on my accounts page, they tell me which books I still need to review, and how many days I have to do it.

    I like keeping things simple. Thanks!

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  3. Hooooooly cow, my fiction really needs organizing! I will make a good stab at it this weekend. My library shelf, my professional shelf and my crafting shelf are all in good shape, but my fiction hasn't been touched since I moved in two years ago.

    My TBR... wow. It's out of control. If I actually want to use Goodreads that way to keep track of what I'm reading, I would have to move a whole bunch of things into another list. Woo, I could do that!

    My reading goals are very meager. I try to keep up with my pile but it's crazy. I will try one of the spreadsheets linked here.

    Thank you for the encouragement!

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    1. I love this comment so much! I wish you luck :)

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  4. How fun! I've never participated in this event, but maybe I will one day :)

    My books used to not be very organized. And now, well, I wouldn't call it 'organized,' but there certainly is a method to my madness ;) lol. The top shelf of my bookcase is reserved for my mythology books, followed by all of my signed books. Within my signed books they are organized by genre, I guess. And after that it's the rest of my books also arranged by genre, and on my last shelf are the books that I will give away/trade. Also, I keep my series/same author books together because I'm OCD like that, lol. I actually one time tried arranging them by color just to see what they would look like, and my bookcase looked pretty cool! Except that only lasted about a day 'cause my OCD wouldn't let me keep my series/same author books apart for too long, LOL. I'll actually be doing a post on that soon-ish! I wonder if anyone else has tried the color organization and actually kept it! My brain is just weird, I guess, lol.

    I also organize my TBR pile, but not with spreadsheets because I just HAVE to have a hard copy of my lists and calendar and all that! I don't know why, but I don't like having to look up everything on my computer or whatever. I keep a handwritten list of books I need to review (I'm down to 2 books! That is a big deal for me because I'm usually really behind! Ooops! lol), a list of review books I have not read yet with the dates of when I need to finish them by, whether it's for a blog tour, and how many pages the book has (this just helps me with time management...). I also made calendar sheets on Word and printed them out. In them I fill in when I'm going to post a review for what, discussion posts, memes, blog tours, etc. I find it especially helpful when I sign up for blog tours and blitzes!

    Thanks for the mention, BTW ;)

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    1. :) I too have a method to my madness... most of the time people just think I am crazy though.. that is ok. I love that you tried the color shelf.. I feel like the same thing would happen to me - I couldn't have series apart it feels too weird. I am with you on that!

      I used to have a physical planner for blogging and kind of want to pick it up again, but I am on a computer all day everyday at work anyway so electronic works for me for now.

      Congrats on being down to 2 books! I wish I were that on top of things :/

      So happy you stopped by :)

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  5. I'm so glad to see this as a mini-challenge - I've been thinking about reorganizing my books for a while. I actually have plenty of shelf space (I actually keep very few books once I've read them) but the shelves on my main floor have mostly been decorative. I've been wanting to get more of my books moved down so they're handier and it's easier to remember. I've been a slacker about updating my calendar; for some reason I've stuck to a paper calendar but I'm not always near it when I accept new books. I'm going to try your Google + idea!

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    1. I hope it works for you! I am on a computer all day while at work so electronic calendars are great for me (although I prefer paper ones)

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  6. I am going to check out Bookmooch. My organization system works pretty well for me at this point--but I am always looking for new ideas to improve it. I get the bulk of my books from the public library which saves a lot of shelf space (and money). I have specific shelves designated for reading projects (TBR pile challenge, classics club, etc.) and there is a general sort by topic/genre (poetry all lives together, craft books are in the sewing room, cookbooks in the kitchen, etc.) As far as organizing my reading schedule I really don't. I read what appeals to me at any given moment. This is part of why I don't accept books for review. Thanks for the mini-challenge--I loved the pictures of the different bookshelves!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! I need to utilize my library more and I plan to :)

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  7. My TBR, NetGalley, Edelweiss lists along with the ones borrowed from the library (digital and regular) really need some organization - I plan to use some of the suggestions in your mini challenge - thank you - most likely the spreadsheet from Read.Sleep.Repeat..Will work on it right now.

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    1. I wish you luck! I hope something works for you, and if it isn't this, please stop by and let me know what did work :)

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  8. Great tips. Staying organized is hard but I so love it when it is. I have to stack my books horizontally on top of each other and then double stack them to fit in my sliding dresser. Not ideal but away from kiddos. I put books I own on a separate shelf in Goodreads so I know what I have.

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    1. That is wonderful. I don't have kids but I can see where keeping books away may be necessary!

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