Skip to main content

Keeping Things in Order

colourful books stacked on bookshelves

As I organize myself in preparation of tackling the ever-growing, never-ending TBR pile, I am struck by how people organize their home libraries, especially after my journey between minimalism and maximalism. As much as the trend is to organize by colour right now, I would be even more mixed up in trying to locate titles. Since my preference is to keep books in publication order for each author, this helps series to remain together (for the most part). I also enjoy seeing the evolution of how authors write as their books progress.

Furthermore, there seems to be more attention paid to how spines can look, thus leading to some of my favourite series depicting complete scenes when placed next to each other in order—a real visual feast! My absolute favourite to date is the Hope and Glory series from Elizabeth Camden for both the spine art and the cover art which all links together. I couldn't imagine breaking those titles up for aesthetic value when it already exists. A visual cacophony of colours, if you will, is still eye-catching to regard.

With my books already categorized by genre and then sorted alphabetically by author, it shouldn't be too difficult to locate the next read. While I have a LibraryThing account that catalogues everything I have, it is not fully accurate as there remain some titles that I have donated and not tracked accordingly. However, I am grateful for this service as it's a handy reminder of what books I need to read, including the ARCs I received from the Early Reviewers program.

There are several methods that I am thinking of utilizing to sort out which books I should tackle first. The first is to go back to my LibraryThing account and compile a list of my oldest TBR books. I started doing this recently and was amazed at how many books remain on the list from when I was in college several decades ago. The second is to randomize the books to read in which I have written down the authors' names and placed them on scrap pieces of paper to be drawn at whim.

While my Christian non-fiction list really reflects the genres I have been interested in over time, telling its own story, I cannot say the same for Christian fiction. Therefore, I believe I will approach the non-fiction titles a little more systematically and the fiction titles with a little more surprise. I wish I had the time or capability of wrapping up my TBRs nicely in kraft paper as some Bookstagrammers are doing, but I am content to draw names for now. Although I have joked with my husband that he can re-gift me the books I have not yet read, I may prefer the element of surprise to come a different way 😄

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Christian vs. Clean

This is a theme that isn't new if you've been following some of my musings over the past several months. You could even say this is the natural progression of taking this line of thinking to its conclusion. In evaluating which books to read, the refrain of Christian vs. clean has become so ingrained in my thinking that it's practically been on repeat for me. To be honest, I've never really held a view on Christian vs. clean books until the end of last year. Most of my reading since becoming a Christian has been all over the place, where I believed that acquiring knowledge, almost any knowledge, was worth it for the sake of becoming more learned. Being a voracious reader meant that I would consume most anything—especially if it was free as I didn't have a lot of books growing up (my parents preferred to take me to the library on a weekly basis as I would have cost them too much in books 😂). However, God has definitely been impressing upon me the conviction that I ca...

Christian Book Review Programs

Over time, I've been on the hunt for Christian book review programs that readers can join. As a result, I've been able to compile the following list which may be of interest if you are seeking review copies of Christian books. This list mostly applies to print and ebooks, although some publishers offer audiobooks as well. If further information is available for any of the publishers below (or any missing publishers), please let me know as I am happy to update this list—thank you! Please note that you can also search for these publishers on NetGalley and other review sites in case there are no review programs available or you don't qualify for one 😊 Christian Publishers B&H Publishing Group Previously offered the B&H/Lifeway Blogger program which has since closed Availability: Professors and instructors Link:  B&H Academic Book Requests Baker Publishing Group Availability: U.S. and Canadian residents Genre: Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction Imprints: Bet...

Review: The Rekindled Heart

I acknowledge that it's easy for me to fall into a spiritual rut and treat walking with God like a checklist. I fall into these bouts knowingly and unknowingly, so I was quite keen to read The Rekindled Heart by Mark Y. Yarbrough as both a refresher and a reminder of how to energize my spiritual life again. This book was just what I needed and it's one that I will continue to reflect on in the coming days and weeks. Many thanks to  Moody Publishers  for providing a complimentary copy of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. Book Synopsis Sometimes our faith needs to be revived. You started your spiritual life with a burst of joy, feeling deep gratitude to Christ for saving you. You rejoiced with a sense of belonging in the family of God. And likely, you couldn’t wait to open your Bible, to worship, to share your faith with others. But somewhere along the way, your passion for the Lord faded. Your spiritual journey became a slog. The Rekindled Heart was ...