Arranging Books by Color
By Ali Canary
@AliCanary (3249)
October 10, 2023 7:39pm CST
I was reading an article the other day that made a reference to "people who sort their books by color". The author was writing about dating and getting to know people, and mentioned this as a habit that might annoy some people, whereas other people wouldn't care. She said it would set her teeth on edge, so I guess she'd be bothered by it.
I think that arranging one's books by color is something that caught on some years back as being for aesthetic purposes - people thought it looked attractive and chic. However, I think that people might also find it practical or even necessary, as apparently a lot of people remember books by their color - I have friends who are librarians, and they say a lot of times people come in asking for a book and don't know the title of the book or the name of the author, but they know the book was red! I'm not sure how they expected to find it, but I think that often librarians actually CAN find it, because they are kind of magical.
Whether it's done for aesthetics or because the person genuinely relates more to the color than any other aspect, I don't see any problem with sorting books by color or why it would bug someone. Personally, I sort my nonfiction books by subject matter and my fiction books by author, but not necessarily in alphabetical order, and it's all done pretty loosely. I do hang my clothes in my closet by color, though.
How do you sort your books? Do you think it would bug you if the person you were dating did it differently?
11 people like this
12 responses
@RebeccasFarm (90294)
• Arvada, Colorado
11 Oct 23
Sadly, I have three or four books in total now..one being the Bible..
One from my youth, Shepherd of the Hills, one written by Tyler Henry, and one I forget the name of that I bought in Ireland..signed by many Irish artists, musicians and so on.
So no fear of me sorting my books.
But if I had a big library Ali, I would not want it to be sorted
I would want to have an old book shop type library with cobwebs.
I had many books as a child..a whole basement full of encyclopedias and stories and so on.
All gone, lost forever now.
I had many books as a child..a whole basement full of encyclopedias and stories and so on.
All gone, lost forever now.4 people like this
@AliCanary (3249)
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11 Oct 23
I grew up in a house with shelfloads of books that nobody really read, although I believe they HAD been read (we all liked to read, but most of us used the library). I think my dad just liked having a collection of books. I always wanted that, too, but I came to the realization that it's just excessive - the more you have, the more you have to take care of! I am getting rid of my books, now, so other people can enjoy them.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (90294)
• Arvada, Colorado
11 Oct 23
@AliCanary That is good Ali. Other people will love them too.
Yes I agree, too much too many sometimes.
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@amitkokiladitya (171927)
• Agra, India
11 Oct 23
I just arrange the books by their size
2 people like this
@AliCanary (3249)
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11 Oct 23
That seems very practical! I think no matter how they are arranged, you probably know where they all are if you needed to find one.
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@amitkokiladitya (171927)
• Agra, India
11 Oct 23
@AliCanary yeah...actually size wise arrangement helps me to find them easily
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@ShyBear88 (59347)
• Sterling, Virginia
11 Oct 23
Lots of people sort their books in all kinds of ways. I have no real way of sorting my books. I just place them in the bin. color would be pleasing to the eyes for some people plus it mixes up the different types that it could be. The way someone sorts their books doesn't bother me at all. I'm an author and I don't let silly things like that bother me. What feels nice to one person might not to another.
1 person likes this
@AliCanary (3249)
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11 Oct 23
Yes, I think it's very personal. One thing that I've seen in design magazines is people turning the books around so that you just see the paper edges, not the spines. This is to create a uniform, neutral color. That seems wildly impractical to me, but if people want to do their books that way, well, they're *their* books, so...
@ShyBear88 (59347)
• Sterling, Virginia
11 Oct 23
@AliCanary Some people get that part painted or sprayed a certain them so if it's like dragons or like daggers. I've seen moons/suns and stars and so on for that.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471969)
• Switzerland
29 Oct 23
@AliCanary - My husband is very picky about how books are arranged. When I have to move some to clean, I take a photo, to be sure to replace the books exactly as they were before.
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@AliCanary (3249)
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29 Oct 23
@LadyDuck if he's that picky, he should clean them
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@AliCanary (3249)
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28 Oct 23
That makes sense. It's nice that you have the same style! My husband usually reads them and sticks them near the bookshelf, and I put them back, lol
1 person likes this
@AliCanary (3249)
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28 Oct 23
@paigea - yes, I think he is very proud of them, but I hope when he passes away, they can go to a library or someplace where people can enjoy them. I've been donating mine after I read them, as I don't often read books more than once.
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@AliCanary (3249)
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28 Oct 23
My collection is getting smaller, too. I'm trying to minimize things. I have a friend who is in his 90s, and he has three - yes, three- houses, which I think is because he has so many books and other possessions. A secondhand book store went out of business about 30 years ago, and he bought their entire stock. He still has all of it!
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (181315)
• United States
11 Oct 23
I don't sort my books by any color, size or subject. They go wherever I can fit them since my bookcase is stuffed. Good to see you. Have a great day.
1 person likes this
@AliCanary (3249)
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28 Oct 23
Yeah, I try to keep fiction and non-fiction separate, but they do kind of all end up somewhat mixed because of size differences. I hope you have a great day, too!
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (181315)
• United States
28 Oct 23
@AliCanary Thanks, Ali. Hope you are having a good weekend.
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@AliCanary (3249)
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28 Oct 23
Yeah, I can't see being picky about something like that. It's kinda weird!
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@changjiangzhibin89 (16784)
• China
12 Oct 23
I sort my books by their categories,such as history,literature and professional books
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@AliCanary (3249)
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11 Oct 23
I do that to an extent - I have a shelf with tiny books and a few for the very large ones.
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@AliCanary (3249)
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28 Oct 23
I like how my clothes look when they're sorted by color, so I could kind of see the appeal, but clothes are more about how they look, and with books, what's inside is important!
@AliCanary (3249)
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28 Oct 23
Oh yeah, color is a HUGE part of branding. Can you imagine a blue can of Coca-Cola? Or a green can of Pepsi?
1 person likes this
@Melanie_Marie (1871)
• New Baltimore, Michigan
11 Oct 23
It would look really cool and organized if they were arranged by color, but if you're searching for a certain book in particular, unless you can remember the exact color of the front/back cover.. it might take you a while to find.
Maybe alphabetically would work better 
1 person likes this
@AliCanary (3249)
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28 Oct 23
Yes, I think that would be more practical for me. With non-fiction books, I do try to at least loosely sort them be subject.
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