There have been quite a lot of discussions about how to tidy up your keeper pile and your TBR to facilitate choosing and reading and access and it struck me that I wouldn't put them all together
Keepers or even just books that I've already read I would sort by imprint and/or author
The TBR I would NOT sort except by the boxes they arrive in, as they shouldn't blend in until after I've read them, otherwise it's far too easy to ignore certain titles - I'm talking about the ones you buy because you've had an offer you can't refuse, but if they weren't on special offer you might never have even read the back blurb.
The sure things, the definite future keepers, the recommendations from other readers, those are all ensured a relatively top spot in the TBR. The ones that have negative recommendations are also practically guaranteed a spot while you check whether you agree with the criticism. However the middle of the road books, the ones you've bought on the offchance there might be some hidden gems to discover, they're the ones that will benefit from being the Blaze in the bunch of Supers (or Super in the bunch of Intrigues) the imprint you rarely read but that might open up a whole new horizon
That's why I don't sort my books until after I've read them, but once I've read them I do need to tidy them by imprint, so that if someone wants to borrow one I'll know where to find it
This is not currently the case as my library isn't set up yet, which is why I won't be lending FF that Jessica Bird, it would take me the time I take to read a book, just to find it for her (we won't even go into the time I'd need to find a box, get ready other titles she wants to read and actually make it to the post office)
So when do you sort your books, before they make it into the TBR, or after?
Are you complaining? About
Are you complaining? About me?
I'm shocked! I didn't even ask for that Jessica Bird book. You're picking on me. Poor FF. 
She has large shoulders. She can stand up under the pressure.
"Perhaps what the average member of a group is capable of doesn't limit what a given individual can accomplish." -- Boston Globe, letter to the editor
March's Member of the Month!
Me? Complain?
Not complaining, just explaining why it isn't in the box
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
ROFL .. you two are always so entertaining ;)
thanks for the smiles!
as to your question, my TBR is a mix of both sorted and non-sorted still in the boxes they arrived in ... but eventually they all do get sorted
but before they do, I pick from the mixed boxes ..... but with older books that I've picked up or books that are part of an ongoing series, I like to sort them together by the mini-series or by the author ....
I don't have your remarkable recall ability .... so with books that are linked, I pretty much have to read them in order one right after the other, or I miss those great moments where characters are revisited ... and with some authors that I find are exceptional reads that I can devour very quickly, I liked to have their backlists and there too, lately I've been wanting to read from their earliest forward ... so sorting is pretty much a necessity
once they're read unless they are my most excellent reads or autobuy authors (those get put in their place of privilege where I can get at them for re-reading) they stay in boxes to be sorted a year later to see if I still want to keep them .... but then I don't read 980 books a year!
my TBR is actually massive so I think this summer I will be going through it to see if there are any to pass on ... I know that from trhift stores and ebay lots I've gotten a few duplicates that will definitely need a new home ... just need the time and the space to do the sorting!
would you be interested in a couple of hundred very early Temptations? .... also Intrigues? .... I have about 200 of each in the very early numbers that were duplicates from eBay or thrift lots ... once they've been moved from the house, I'll have some breathing space!
~~ KatherineT ~~ I'm a Harlequin Addict, and I'm proud of it!
~~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
sorting
I used to keep my TBR bboks in boxes on floor but I ennded up with too many and invested in bookcases. First I got one for the bedroom but that was full really quick. then I got another one. So I seperated TBR on one case TBR on another but then these two quickly became full(and one is two deep), I got another. Right now I'm still okay for book space which is a good thing because I don't have room for another bookcases, but I can always add another shelf in two of them
Christa ~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Challenge Blog
My Shelfari Page
Glad we're keeping people amused
Congrats on being July member of the month, Christa
Katherine, you should know better than to ask me questions like that (luckily DH is out at a meeting or I wouldn't be "allowed" to answer that one) - do you still have my address or should I email you it again?
Hugs
Sadhbh
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
Oh good!
email me please .... do you still have my email addy?
~~ KatherineT ~~ I'm a Harlequin Addict, and I'm proud of it!
~~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
I've sent you an email Katherine
let me know if you don't get it (given that I suppose you'll reply if you do
)
Hugs
Sadhbh
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
Sorting order.
I have a system.
Whenever I buy a book that I know I will read immediately it goes on the shelf next to my bed where I leave my current reads.
Otherwise I have my TBR sorted by genre then alphabetized by author. This has made it really easy when I am going to pick out a book. If I am in the mood for paranormal I don't have to wade through all the historicals and contemporaries to pick one.
My keepers are another story. I have all of my Lori Fosters (my babies) in their own section. The rest of my keepers are on my keeper shelf sorted by type (hardback, trade, and MM) then alphabetized by author.
Sorting, sorting...
Well, I don't keep very many books unless they are for school, so the ones that I do keep are shelved according to size--that way my shelves aren't all up and down all over the place.
My TBR, however, is sort by imprint for the Harlequin/Silhouette books--oldest books on the top with newer ones on the bottom. My single titles are in alphabetical order. If I borrowed the book from someone, it goes into a separate pile so that I don't forget that I need to return it instead of taking it to Half-Price Books. Anyway, with my system, I can pretty quickly put my hands on whatever I want to read according to the genre or type of story I am looking for.
J
Organizing books... my favourite topic!
I do organize my TBR as I purchased a database this year and started with logging all the TBR's. So as soon as they arrrive in the house, I log them in and then sort them by genre - and usually alphabetically within the genre.
There is just something about books - I love re-organizing the TBR bookcase - the books are double deep so I try to bring forward the ones hidden in the back.
My keeper shelves are strictly in alpha order in a different room than the TBR. The shelves are looking pretty messy right now so before I start logging them into the database I better do some tidying up. I might even cull too!
Sadhbh - your renovations for you to have a "library" sounds great! You must be excited.
~ ElleJay - Team member of Novel Obsession
There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the pleasure is having lots to do and not doing it!
Organized...
Most people might see mine as disorganized! All my TBR books are in a section of the living room. I have a small bookcase with the shelves full & the rest are in bags on the floor. There are a few books in the TBR piles that I'm never going to get around to reading. Some of them were passed along but I now know that I will probably never read most of them. I keep sorting those out & getting rid of them from time to time. On the bookcase are all the Blaze books I have yet to read! Once I got behind on those there has been no catching up! The keeper books are on a larger bookcase here in the "spare" bedroom where my computer is. All of Nora Roberts are on one shelf, all trilogies, series etc. grouped together. They are double & stacked on top of each other because she just keeps writing--thank heavens!
I also have a whole shelf dedicated to Jill Shalvis in my bookcase headboard, books stored in flat boxes under the bed & another shelf of keeper books in the bookcase where Nora's books are stored!! I try to go through the keepers about once a year & see if I still really want to keep the books I have there. Since the keeper shelf has been over flowing for a long time I also have bags of books that I'm keeping for now but may decide to not keep at some point!! Decisions, decisions! Since I am probably going to move to a much smaller place I am probably going to have to donate some of my books to the library book sale as I have enough books to start a library!! The books are on the shelves however they fit, no real system that anyone could figure out but I know where they are & have an idea of what is there!!! 
Mostly all my favorite authors!
Everyone have a fun, safe July 4th. Enjoy the three day weekend if you are in the US, if not enjoy the weekend anyway!
Take care, happy reading,
Donna M, Dream Team member
I started sorting mine a
I started sorting mine a while ago, but as I didn't have a clue what I was doing, or what anyone else did, I didn't get very far.
Now, with everyone's comments I have a better idea of what I want done.
Right now I've got all my TBR's in a bookcase by my bed. Everything I haven't blogged yet is piled up in the order I read them beside my computer, and everything I've read are on shelves in the basement, separated into the different lines, but not alphabetically -- yet. Those are the ones I have to decide what I want to keep and what I will give away. Except my really keeper ones. Those are in a bookcase in my closet. No one but me touches those.
I intend to eventually have two lists. One list will contain my keepers, by line and author aphabetically. The other list will be the ones I am willing to give away, again sorted by line and author.
DonnaH
Ack! Sorry, I didn't mean
Ack! Sorry, I didn't mean to kill the thread. . .
DonnaH
Sorting...
My tbr and read books are kept separately. Ones I've read are alphabetized neatly, although Bombshells and Shadows are kept separately in numerical order and I'm in the process of doing the same with Nocturnes and Medicals (not that I have all the Medicals!). As for my TBR...other than all the Medicals being together, my TBR is multiple boxes and piles spread out in random order with only review books being kept in their own special spot. Otherwise, it's all a guessing game!
The D2K Paranormal Junkies 2008 Challenge
Donna - you didn't kill the thread
I think people are ignoring me
Hugs
Sadhbh
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
My Dearest Gnat, I
My Dearest Gnat,
I received Fortune's Fool yesterday. I devoured it last night. I'll send you a check this week.
BTW, Holly Jacobs wants to contact you. Did she succeed? If not, send me an email and I'll give you her addy.
"Perhaps what the average member of a group is capable of doesn't limit what a given individual can accomplish." -- Boston Globe, letter to the editor
March's Member of the Month!