Books

[jack]

I've been cataloguing my books. I'm about half way through, and have shelved:

~100 very good books, on bookcase #1.
~150 good books, temporarily boxed while waiting for a final count.
~75 books I don't really care about, but found interesting enough to keep.
~25 books I haven't read.
3 books I don't want at all. (1 Jenny Colgan, blame Jane, 1 random horror, 1 random thriller.)
4 books I don't own. (Same Jenny Colgan, 1 Umberto Eco long-term loaned from Grandfather, Tristan Shandy from Katherine, Mathematics of Financial Derivatives from Justin.)
10 not fiction and poetry, not including textbooks which are packed with notes.

Doubling gives about 700 total, about 500 which it would be nice to display. I have just about that much space if I set up the new bookcase and empty the oldest one.

I've been sorting books into very good and good, in my opinion, and within that shelved by author. I've kept some authors together, when I've generally liked or not been too bothered about them, but split up some's books when some I've really liked and some I really haven't.

Fortunately, I've no co-authored books where I can't decide where to put it. I've never liked an Pournelle or Barnes, so all those go under Niven. Good Omens goes under Pratchett because I've only got Neverwhere of Gaimen's.

I'm slightly scared there's so many, though nothing to how many some friends have. And pleased by how few I don't want.

I should have done more cleaning instead, but I'm pleased I did this. Maybe next I'll sort through the drawers of useless tat and get everything labeled up! :)

How does everyone else sort?

Comments

[sonicdrift.livejournal.com]

I have several big boxes in my parents spare room. Some have been in boxes since 1999, some only since I last took a load home as I ran out of space here. When I packed originally most of them were in a vague order but after many years of routing though to find the one book that I've desperately wanting to read there's little left. Since dragging them down from the attic (as I moaned it was too damp and they were going yellow and no amount of silica was helping :) ) I have a "normal" pile of books that shouldn't scare guests and that I don't mind if the spines are bent on *gasp*. The rest are stacked as solidly as possible so I can stack the boxes on top of each other the a wardrobe without bending any and hidden behind coats so it doesn't look like I keep my books in a wardrobe.

Of course, as soon as I actually glive somewhere permanent "Solid Bookcases" are very near the top of my shopping list :) I like the idea of sorting according to how recently I read it, so I can see if there's anything good I haven't read in a while, but am far too obsessive to break up sets!

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Eek, disintegrating books! OK, that is not a nice thing to happen to them.

hidden behind coats so it doesn't look like I keep my books in a wardrobe.

ROFL. OTOH, does anyone see in your wardrobe who doesn't know you that well anyway?

Do you find yourself able to remember if books you want are in a box or in a box at parents or out?

BTW, thanks for the loan! :) I haven't ransacked them yet, but am about to.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

PS. Do you know how many you actually have, scattered around cambridge? :)