If you love books, fewer things are more satisfying than a full, well-organized bookcase. It reminds you and your visitors that reading is an important part of your comfortable, welcoming home. Sometimes, however, with volumes constantly being taken down and put back, your bookshelves can become just a touch disorganized. Maybe you can’t always find the favorite you’re looking for. Here are a few tips to make sure every shelf is top-shelf.

Ways to Organize a Bookshelf

It’s easier to find what you’re looking for if you have a system. And your bookcases are more attractive when you put some thought into which books go where. Try one of these bookshelf ideas to keep you beloved collection in order.

• By size. Particularly useful when shelf heights are different and the books taper neatly from large at the bottom to small near the top. Another version is to separate hardcovers from paperback, perhaps on alternating shelves.
• By use. Put your favorites front and center. Reserve a shelf for those you haven’t read yet and another for those you want to read again. Have a spot for “loaners” where your friends are free to help themselves.
• By type. Separate fiction from non-fiction. Sort fiction alphabetically by author. Group genres such as mystery and romance. Arrange non-fiction by topic.
• By condition. Take those heirloom books, the ones your great-aunt gave you, and showcase them. Sure, they’re a little cracked around the binding, but with a couple tasteful bookends they’ll look as classic as any other antique!
• By color. Not an idea everyone likes, but this arrangement can make a bookcase stand out, particularly when key colors coordinate with decor. On the other hand, it can make specific authors harder to find.

The biggest drawback of categorizing is that it can be a challenging to add new books. If you fill up your mystery shelves, for example, you have to shift everything to add more. These methods work best with a little breathing room in each section.

How to Organize a Bookshelf with a Lot of Books

Even when your bookcase appears full, there are still ways in can hold a few extra.

• Stack some books horizontally, from the bottom to the top of the shelf. Mix horizontal and vertical to avoid an over-cluttered look.
• Put some on top of the bookshelf. Use those horizontal stacks again, along with upright volumes between bookends.
• Stack books neatly alongside the bookcase. Use similar books – e.g., same color, same author – and top them with one bookend or a small metal sculpture to present a deliberate rather than haphazard appearance.
• If you have a bookcase with an open back, position it as a room divider with each shelf holding two rows.

How to Organize Deep Bookshelves

A deep bookshelf gives you the opportunity to double up. If you’re worried about books on the back row getting lost, there are techniques to keep them from becoming second class citizens.

• Put the tall books in back and the short ones in front.
• Use bookends to leave gaps in the front row, and arrange books in the back by topic or author. Then you’ll know that the books you can’t see are similar to those you can.
• Create spaces on the front row and fill them with vases, baskets and other decor.
• Keep a Rolodex on the end of each front row with a list of what’s in back.

Different Types of Bookshelves

A great way to organize more books is the have more bookshelves. The good old rectangular case is the workhorse, but it’s far from the only option. Ladder bookcases lean against a wall and hold decor in addition to books. Thin bookshelves behind doors or shallow shelves in a hallway increase your capacity. Some bookcases have doors or drawers, good for storing books and related materials you haven’t had a chance to arrange. A tall thin bookcase or a short wide one may be better depending on the room and what else is in it. Rolling bookshelves move your library from room to room as needed.

How to Organize Books without a Bookshelf

If you really, really like books, you might want to have them throughout your house, and there are plenty of approaches to showcase them without using traditional bookshelves.

• Use a bookcase bed with shelves built into the headboard.
• There are project tables with shelves on one or both sides.
• Some L-shaped desks have bookshelves under the short side of the “L”.
• Wall shelves can be installed in a number of configurations. Shelves the length of a wall, rows of shorter shelves, and triangular or L-shaped corner shelves are a few options.
• Display a few favorite books on your coffee table for guests to flip through as they sit.

Wherever you display books, leave space for a few items of decor. Some candles, a decorative jar or two, a small metal sculpture finish off the literary-minded home. You might not want to arrange your book collection by color, but you can still choose decor that highlights those colors.