How to organise your books for that Pinterest-worthy aesthetic

Alphabetically, by collection, by genre or theme, even by colour — it’s time to take advantage of a calm and quiet summer break to organise your books. Such makes a therapeutically stimulating yet peaceful vacation for the mind.

In a recent article in the Washington Post, Mark Athitakis gave a heartfelt shout-out, “Why bother organising your books? A messy personal library is proof of life.” The journalist writes, “It’s hard for me to remember now the exact moment when my ambition for order died.” He explains how he set out, when his family moved into a new house, to meticulously tidy up his library in the new shelving. “I tidily separated the fiction from the nonfiction, dutifully arranging the fiction alphabetically by author…. Perfect. And then, of course, soon enough, not.”

How many of us, like this writer, have found the perfect trick to organise our books before finding, distressed and dismayed, that no amount of logic will keep the precious books in place for more than two weeks. So what can we do? Read on for some easy ways to organise our favourite books for that practical yet Pinterest-worthy aesthetic.

Arranging your books by colour

 

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A post shared by Books By The Foot (@booksbythefoot)

How about ditching alphabetical order and turning to colour-based classification? If you’re at all a fan of Marie Kondo — the guru of tidying — you may already be feeling a “spark of joy.” Yes, arranging your books by colour is a truly pure visual and intellectual pleasure.

But beware, in this perilous exercise, there are several elements to size up at once, because you have to create your own literary rainbow while matching the height of the edges. Not as easy as it sounds. On Instagram, the trend is a hit. And the result is superb, we must admit.

Organise your books by book spine poetry

For those who, like the Washington Post writer, are ready to throw in the towel, nothing stops you from playing with book titles to create your own story segments. For example, one such ‘poem’ on Pinterest reads:

“I Live in the Future & Here’s How it Works”
“People”
“Waste and Want”
“Everything”
“In Pursuit of the Unknown.”

While on Instagram hereweeread has put together

“Here We Are”
“Under the Same Sky”
“Night and Day”
“Imagine”
“Everyone’s Welcome”
“So Many Feet”
“Lost and Found”
“Together”
“Welcome”
“What a Wonderful World”
“Pass It On”

 

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A post shared by Charnaie Gordon | Diversity (@hereweeread)

Turn your books into flower stands

While we’re at it, why not go for a horizontal solution? A pile of three or four books to give your Monstera Deliciosa plant some height and in one fell swoop, your two favourite home hobbies (reading and home gardening) combine and take you to the summit of the social networking trends. Who could ask for more?

 

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This article was published via AFP Relaxnews

Hero image: Wesley Hilario/ Unsplash; Featured image: Courtesy Booksbythefoot/ Instagram