The Stack Has Fallen (A Chat About All Things Bookish)

Hello folks! Today, we’re just going to casually talk about books, all things related to books, book storage, scary books, and anything in between. As I’m writing this, it’s a dreary rainy day and I’m bundled under some blankets, trying to figure out how to type on my computer without taking my hands out of said blankets. The mood is perfect for a casual chat/ramble. So grab some tea, your favorite book, and let’s talk about all things bookish!

First news of the day: 

THE STACK HAS FALLEN

I’m quite proud of the name I came up with for this blog. I was making a list of things to rename it, and I looked around my room. This was back when I had two tiny bookshelves, so I had a stack of books balanced quite, well, precariously. 

I have since gotten a larger bookshelf and things now fit. But I still have a not-so-tall-but-still-existent stack of books that aren’t technically mine but are for some reason in my room. That stack has stood the test of time. The walls shake when a door is slammed, and it survives all of the shaking. The cat jumped up on my bookshelf and walked dangerously close to it. He sniffed it and turned away. It. Did. Not. Fall. 

Then, last night while I was sleeping, it fell. It scared the living daylights out of me. You know that feeling when you’re deep in sleeping-land, and then something falls or someone shouts or an alarm goes off and you go right into fight or flight mode? Yeah. That was my late night adventure. 

I don’t know how the stack fell, but it just… did. I guess I need to rename my blog now? 

The Hierarchy of my Bookshelf

This got me thinking about book storage and organization. How do you organize your books? How do you decide what books to buy with your precious Barnes and Noble gift card? How do you put said books on a bookshelf and not in a precariously balanced stack? 

I have two bookshelves: the tall wooden one of my dreams that my step dad made for me, complete with little blue doors on the bottom. The other one is a square-cube one that is technically made for those cube box holder things, but I use it mostly for books now. 

I put my prized books on the pretty bookshelf. The ones that have pretty covers and have a nice story. My to-be-read books and not-so-much-of-a-favorite books are on the cube shelf. On the pretty shelf, I have things organized by overall subject. One shelf has middle grade books, another classics, another YA, and a shelf dedicated to nonfiction. 

On my cube shelf, I have things organized by cube. Scholastic book fair books that I’ve accumulated over the years. Books that I need to read, random nonfiction books that didn’t fit in the nonfiction section. 

I find it very relaxing to organize my bookshelves every now and then. It’s fun to switch things up, and there are so many different ways you can organize a bookshelf. 

Accessories 

Of course, shelves can be pretty. But not so pretty that they lose their functionality. I have books to put on these things, remember? I like having a few small and random accessories on my shelf. But not too many. I’ve put Hamitlon and How to Train Your Dragon lantern jars my mom made in gaps. I also have a few smaller trinkets sitting on the edge, but that’s it. 

Book Buying

The issue with books is that they can be expensive. Before I had a kindle, I relied a lot on the library to read new things. But my local library is small and doesn’t have many YA books, so if I wanted to read something that the library didn’t have, I bought it. Over the years, I’ve come up with a few ways to buy books quite cheaply:

Hannah’s Mini Guide to Buying Books

1. Siblings 

My brother occasionally has a “penny auction” where he gathers up everything in his room he wants to get rid of and he auctions it off to other siblings. I’ve bought many books from him. 

2. Thrift stores and Garage Sales 

I’ve actually bought a lot of books from thrift stores and garage sales. I would do the math to find what percentage of books I own were thrifted of some sort, but I’m a writer, not a math person. I found a boxed set of The Hunger Games at a thrift store once, along with hardcovers of some of my favorite middle grade books. Definitely look at the books the next time you go thrifting.

3. Ebay

I was able to buy The Lunar Chronicles on Ebay for pretty cheap (and they were the old covers, which I like so much more than the new ones) When I read The Raven Boys I was bought the rest of the series on Ebay. So if you want old editions and cheaper books, check out Ebay! 

Kindles 

Having a kindle has really opened my eyes up to the world of e-books. I’ve been able to borrow from an online library or buy e-books for a pretty low price. The nice thing about this is that I can read books before I buy them. I love this because now I can fill up my bookshelves with books that I know I enjoy. 

I hope you enjoyed this long ramble about books. It was really relaxing to write. But alas, my teacup is empty, so I’m afraid we must part. 

Let’s keep the ramble going! How have you been? What are some of your random bookish observations? How do you organize your bookshelves? I hope you have a great rest of your day! 

-Hannah

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