I have use a Kindle reader for 10 months now and it has been a organizing life saver! It has saved me money as a Kindle book costs 50 to 75 percent less than real books. There are also so many FREE books available too. Our local library is now lending electronic books to Kindle and other e readers.

This has really cut down on having to organize books. If I want to save a passage in a book, all I have to do is "clip' it on my Kindle and send it to my computer.

Another plus to the Kindle is that it has a built in dictionary that will show you the meaning of any word when you put your cursor on the word. I also can have the Kindle read to me while I am performing some other organizing task....talk about great multi tasking!

I have tons of books and the sorting method is....um.....eclectic. In the living room, where the shelf space is limited and smallish, I have hardbound OLD books that aren't real large. All of these were bought at antique shops or secondhand book stores - things like a complete set of Dickens.
The den is where I store most of my books - four floor-to-ceiling bookcases with room for even the largest coffee-table books. One bookcase is almost all travel books. One is history, one is fiction, one is car books (DH's), one bookcase is memorabilia and scrapbooks rather than regular books. Most of these books are hardbound.

My paperbacks occupy a lowly couple of shelves in my storage room. I purge these regularly, because I simply have no more space.

I recently got a Kindle and love it. I foresee that from now on, I will only buy REAL books when it's more pictorial and I want the color photos, or a classic that I want in hardbound.

My novel is out on Kindle, but it's also coming out in paperback within a few weeks. I've discovered that it's easier to promote a book if you can make sure the widest possible number of readers can access it.

Carolyn

Well, personally, I don't think I will be getting a Kindle, I prefer feeling the book in my hands or listening to it on tape.
Just let me know, and I do understand it is the newest toy out there....just my own preference.

Diana-I agree with you. There is something about holding a book that I find more appealing than holding a machine. I know several folks who love their Kindles, but I guess I'm just old & set in my ways. LOL

I have my books on the shelf by author. It is easy to find one when I need it.

I like to hold a book when I read it like a couple of you. There is something about holding a book that makes the reading experience feel right.

I am no expert, and DH would laugh at the thought of me giving organizing advice to others, but on this issue I have relevant experience.

I just reorganized my largest bookshelf. It was overstuffed and overflowing with books stacked on the floor in front of it.

1. One shelf at a time, I got rid of books we no longer need— was ruthless— the library has them or can get them thru interlibrary loan, if we ever want them. I took them off the shelf, dusted them and packed them in boxes immediately.

My husband was good about taking each filled box to the garage and supplying additional boxes as needed. That way I could stay right there and on task.

(I gave them to our church book sale (7 boxes!) and future castoffs will go to the library book sale.) I returned other peoples' books to rightful owners. Used sticky notes to designate until I saw the people.

I dusted all books, no matter the destination, as well as the shelves.

The keepers went into piles by category until the shelf was dusted and went right back before doing the next shelf. That way, if I got interrupted, it would not be leaving a big mess.

2. I organized the remainder by subject/genre, as that is how we tend to search: all mystery books together, with each author grouped, all humor books together, etc.

3. A few years ago DS was in high school learning business programs on computer, so he made a database with all his and our books. Now we have a list which can be updated— helpful when planning to buy books for gifts, so we do not duplicate what he already has.

4. It is great having empty space on the shelf, ready for new books, though we are buying less and using the library more— let them store and keep track! Less for me to dust.

5. I exhorted all members of the family to put books away in their proper locations.

6. For library books we have a spot on a table near the door for books to be returned and whoever is going is expected to take them.

Good going, Cluttered Princess! You really do need to have a system and a strategy in mind for a project like that. One shelf at a time make an overwhelming job smaller and easier.

Elaine

I love your system! Can the rest of you tell me what your systems are for making sure library books are returned on time?

We have a rolling file box where the library books "live". It slides under the printer's shelf. We can all pull books from the box to read, but they go back when we're done, and are easy to haul out and return. System-wise for dates, we try to go at least once a week, and I can renew books on-line, which helps.

When DH was alive, he used to go the library all the time, so getting them returned promptly was easy. A shelf of a bookcase was called the "Library Shelf," and all library books went there. I don't go as often, and don't check out as many. So I developed a different system.

I have tabs which I got in an office supply store, fairly stiff and reusable. I used my labelmaker in a small font to make a small label saying "library books due", which I put on the tab. It has a sticky backing, and can be put on the master calendar in the block for the due date. As I return books and get new ones, I move it on the calendar.

For some reason, the library stopped stamping the due dates on the backs of the books (this was so simple - why did they change it?). They now give patrons a small piece of paper with the book's title, due date, etc. on it. I have no doubt that those tiny papers, about 2 x 2 inches (or longer, if more books) get misplaced or lost. So I used the labelmaker again, in a bigger font, to label a colored envelope "Library receipts," into which I put the papers. When I return a book or renew it, I make a notation on the papers, in case there is a question later. After several months or so, I toss the older papers.

We can also renew online, or place a request for a book we couldn't find in the branch nearby. A copy will be sent from another branch, if available. The library sends an e-mail when the requested book is ready for pickup.