I would not say I am a book hoarder but if I were to hoard anything it would be books. Also, I would fail to see the problem with that. I feel like hoarding books is hoarding stories and knowledge and how can that be a problem? Until a stack of books falls on you and you cannot get out from the weight of it. Maybe read your way out. So still, not a problem. Nevertheless, to prevent myself from getting to that point I do give away at least a box a year to charity. I also got a Kindle as a gift to prevent me from being crush by books a decade from now. I appreciate the thought and I rather like the device. It is migraine friendly and everything. However, it does not replace the distinct presence books have or the value I place on them. I love hunting my small stacks for a good reread.
I do have four bookcases (of fiction), not counting small bookcases and drawers of books, that are rather overflowing with books. I recently re-organized the whole thing based on sub-genre of fantasy and making sure the series were together. It took some time. In a fit of insomnia. But I also wanted to make use of the space I had. You know how it goes… you run out of space so you begin to double or triple layer the shelves. Well, I wanted to make sure where I could the double layers were upward so I could see the most amount of books as possible. Although on some shelves that do not have the height have to double forward. I was able to weed out two boxes for charity this year.
Soon I will be moving the whole thing downstairs to make an actual library out of it. The room it is currently in will be solely an office or computer room deal. This also means more room for another bookcase or two. Yay! I will be able to actually see all of the books! And more space for more books!
What a venture though. As anyone who has a lot of books and has moved will likely remember vividly. It is not fun by any means. Even if this is only a slight distance. That is a lot of weight to be trudging down the stairs. I rather hope I don’t take a tumble. And maybe I will organize them differently which will be quite a bit more effort. Or by color. No, not by color. By feelings? No, too ambiguous. By ranking? Way too much effort. I like by sub-genre. However, I like the idea of segmenting the long series of books to shelves so I can pick them out right away.
I feel like I should also buy an extremely comfortable chair to put down there so that I can read surrounded by my books. I love to write surrounded by them. Creates a certain comfortable ambiance. I will still have my non-fiction bookcase up here for easy access.
I feel like starting now. I have the insomnia power to do so. But then I would not sleep at all. I know once I begin I will not stop.
The Wyrd 