Shifting Shelves

I know all about switching books out on shelves according to season, themes, colors, etc etc. You can't be on Instagram/#bookstagram and not see that stuff, honestly. While I understand the concept and appreciate the idea, I just never had time for it. Plus, whenever I switched out my kid's toys, he would immediately ask for the toys I just put away, even though he hadn't touched them for two months prior! So playing the same game with his books just seemed exhausting and pointless.

After doing the 12 Days of Christmas Storytime with my son, I realized how fun it was to have a different book to read every night. I'll admit I have some favorites that I love to re-read, just like he does. But... we often don't agree on which ones we'd like to read over and over again. Reading new books together made bedtime fresh and exciting for us, so I realized it was definitely time to go through his shelves and change things up.

I pulled his books into stacks, such as: 

• spring and summer books, including birthday books because he's a summer babe

• fall and back to school books

• Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and winter books

• series and favorites

I left the series and favorites on the shelves, because we read obviously read our favorites a lot, and with series, there are multiple titles, so while we're reading the same characters for several nights, each book is different. I also left out some of his board books. While some board books can be intended only for babies, the ones I left out have more of a story to them, or are favorites, or are ones he can "read" independently.

We have tons of children's books, so I added some "random" anytime titles to the seasonal stacks, just to have fresh books on the shelf that aren't specific to the time of year. I also culled some to donate, because we already have more than we need, and we go to the library to max out our cards fairly often! We'll donate some to a local women's and children's charity, and keep some to put in Little Free Libraries around town.

As an added bonus, there's now room on his shelves for some of his smaller toy bins. They also fit under his bed, but often get pushed back too far to reach, so this is a great solution. I love how his shelves look right now, but the real test will come in March when I get out the spring and summer books, because... what will I get rid of? I guess I can use his Goodreads account to keep track of what we read this year and put those away to bring out next year after Christmas? Who knows! It's an interesting experiment I hope I can keep up with, especially given the volume of books we own!

Do you change out your child's bookshelves? Or your own? What themes or system do you use to change them out? Share in the comments!

Weeding

My bookshelves post made me think about how and why I get rid of books. Weeding in the library is totally different than weeding at home, but I have a lot of experience weeding. I volunteered in a small branch to weed Nonfiction, and I weeded the Young Adult section when I was a Teen Services Librarian. It feels great to get rid of old or ruined materials, and to see how attractive the shelves look once you’re done.

At home, things are a bit different. I can get rid of my own books pretty easily. If I really love a book, I am keeping it because I know I will re-read it. I used to re-read some of my favorites every year, but never more often than that. However, last year I didn’t re-read a single book! There is just so much out there, and I’ve really been pushing myself to read as much new stuff as I can. And that’s good too, especially since my favorite indie bookstore went out of business last year. They have since reopened as a different store, thank goodness, but everything was half off as they got rid of inventory. That means I bought a LOT of books. Even with everything being half off, I’m still ashamed to admit how much I spent. Except NOT ashamed. Because it’s books! I will always, always spend money on books. (I mean, I love libraries too, but sometimes you just need a new book.)

When I get rid of my own fiction or nonfiction books, I prefer to list them on PaperbackSwap, which I wrote about before. I used to sell textbooks on half.com, and was so sad when that site closed. It allowed you to keep books as inventory, so they could sell whenever someone wanted it, instead of setting a time limit on an eBay auction. I recently listed some books on eBay and Amazon but I was so used to half.com (due to using it for over a decade!) that it’s tough to remember to list things. If I get a stack of books and don’t have the desire to post them online, I donate them to the library or leave them in Little Free Libraries.

Getting rid of picture books is really hard. I have so many, and I’m grateful for that. Some I bought, some were gifts, some were just huge boxes of books sent by friends and family. I go through them periodically and weed, but the shelves are still full. If we read a book and loved it, and it gets asked for often, of course we keep it. What’s the harm in that? If we read it and didn’t like it, I might give it another try and then get rid of it. If the title or topic seem questionable, I’ll look it over and maybe donate it before we even read it, just because it doesn’t jive with our family or personalities.

When I get rid of picture books, I like to donate them to my son’s preschool. I will also keep some aside to put in Little Free Libraries we have all around our city’s parks and community centers. Some I will put on PaperbackSwap, but I really try to get them out in the community because I know there are so many people who don’t own a book, and I want to change that.

Bookshelves

My history with bookshelves is expansive. I have always loved books and always been a reader. I’ve always had bookshelves in my room, and I’ve always owned books. I feel so lucky to say this, especially since my parents also took me to the library every few weeks. There was never a shortage of books, I was always encouraged to read, and I was always given time to read.

As a result, I still carve out time to read. It is my favorite thing to do when I have a few minutes, and I try to give myself at least 30 minutes at night to unwind and read. This means my “bookshelves” are scattered all over the house, and they’re not always shelves…

In my mid-twenties, I lived in a duplex with six bookshelves chock full o’ books. Then I put everything in storage and traveled for six months – still reading! I took books I got as ARCs, or from used bookstores, and left them as I traveled. It was a great way to travel light while spreading booklove! When I came home from traveling, I lived in a tiny apartment and downsized to two bookshelves. From SIX to TWO! Is anyone else in awe at that? I still am, even though a lot of those books were old textbooks I sold back to students. (I definitely used to horde my English and Literature books – anyone else with me?)

Now I have a house I’m in love with, and want to stay here forever (knock on wood), and my bookshelf situation is still shifting. I have a bookcase in my office, with library science, literacy, and reference books. Oh, and the bottom shelf is picture books. Of course. My son’s room has 2 bookcases bursting with picture books. The back room has 3 bookcases, two of adult novels and one of children’s reference and kids’ picture and activity books.

Not the full scope, but you get the idea

I would love to have gorgeous built-in shelves in my back room, which is a playroom/hobby room for me and my son. But who wouldn’t love built-ins?! I am still trying to get rid of books I don’t love. I want to look at my shelves and see titles that inspired me, opened me up to different worlds, showed me how others live.

What do your bookshelves look like?