Building Bookshelves Part II

Back in June I posted about my new bookshelves that I was so proud of - you can see that post here if you missed it - and how I was excited to finally unpack my many boxes of books that had patiently been waiting in storage for the past eight months. The boxes have been unpacked and the shelves are finally full, so I thought I would share some photos of my bookshelves with you! Seeing other people's bookshelves is one of my favourite things to do when I go over to someone's house. It's interesting to see what others like to read and what books they choose to keep and display on their shelves.

Here's a before picture:

Pre-books and pre-secured to wall

If I didn't have a husband, I probably would have left the shelves all uneven and a potential safety hazard like that. Good thing I do have a husband, because now the three pieces look more like one big piece.

My library in all it's glory!

I actually purged approximately 4 large boxes of books this time around. I used to keep everything I have ever read, but now I get rid of the books I didn't like and would therefore either never re-read or never lend to someone else to read. I also purged a lot of books that I've out grown - like all the Candace Bushnell books (sorry to any Candace Bushnell fans!).

Here's a close-up:

Right now, I've organized the books alphabetical by author, with all genres mixed together. I've always wanted to try this, but I find it hard to really customize my shelves this way. I like to organize the books based on their appearance or colour. Either way, I feel it's an evolving process and will continually change as I accumulate more books! I also, reluctantly, had to give the husband two shelves for his books (right side, fourth and fifth shelf from the top). He's not even a reader, yet he had almost enough (unread) books to fill two shelves!

Here's a few close-ups of my favourite shelves so far:

My beloved thrift store finds, including an old Fisher Price 'The Woman Who Lived in a Shoe' Shoe.

My collection of well-loved paper-backs that take me back to my young teen years.

My husband and I LOVE pirates and will pretty much buy any pirate book we ever come across!

How do you organize your books on your bookshelves? Do you have a system? Which books do you decide to keep, and which ones do you decide need to go?