Overflowing with books (because you're super-smart) but don't have any idea how to arrange them in a book case? Stack 'em. Here are 7 ways to stack books so they look good.
When I redid my house I knew the first thing I wanted to do was get my books out from under my couch and into a bookcase.
I had books everywhere and whenever someone wanted to borrow one or I wanted to re-read one (I can do that because I tend to forget anything I've read/watched/heard within 2 months of reading/watching/hearing it) I had to go searching willy nilly all over the house. At any given moment a book I was looking for could have been a) under the couch, b) in the basement behind a large sparkly reindeer and 2 dead centipedes, c) under my bed or d) shoved under the leg of a table I found in my neighbour's garbage.
The bookcases I chose are Billy bookcases from Ikea because they're only 11" deep and don't take up a lot of space. It took about half a day to put the bookcases together and secure them to the wall.
It took another 2 months to fill the bookcases in a way that I liked them. How do I know this is the final configuration? I haven't broke out into a sweat and come running downstairs from a dead sleep to rearrange it in 2 years. That's a pretty good sign I'm satisfied with it. It's also a pretty good sign that I'm crazy.
The odd time I'll change a stack around to look a little different. Just for fun. Just changing the way the same few books are stacked can completely change the look of the bookshelf.
So if you too have a bookcase, or even a shelf with books at home, take note. There's more than 1 way to skin a cat. And there's more than 1 way to place a stack.
The Bias Stack and the Sandwich Stack II are great if you have a book cover you really like or want to show off. You know. Something that makes you look smart. Not that my to cover choices make me look smart. A bit odd perhaps, but I haven't kept that a secret from you. I haven't even kept it a secret in this post.
So if you're looking at your bookshelf thinking it looks like stink, it probably does. You know what your problem is? You just haven't lost enough sleep over it. You haven't woken up with crazy hair in the middle of the night and re-arranged it. You haven't laid every single thing out on your floor and placed it back in the bookshelf one by one over a 17 hour period eating only bits of stuff you find in the carpet. You haven't obsessed and stared and gotten angry at it enough. Quite frankly, and I hate to be rude, but the plain truth is ... you probably just aren't crazy enough.
Finding myself in good company here. I became distracted by "Geek Love" and couldn't focus on the cool book arrangements, thought I must be a loony here. But here I am in a room full of book kooks just like me. "Geek Love" is so weirdly fantastic. If a librarian had recommended it to me I would have come back to deliver a kiss on the mouth. And Augusten, well, isn't he a twisted genius.
Anyway, I ramble. Just wanted to pipe in that it's nice to see a bookshelf covered in the same books as my own. And nice to know I'm not alone in my strange and fantastic book world. Had you had Haruki Murikami in that stack of seven I might have wept with kindred joy.
Karen, you're smart and funny and I hope you keep up the good words.
Ashley - I've never read Murikami. Oh hell. I've never even heard of Murikami. Which book would you recommend as my first? ~ karen!
A wolf at the table was a really good book. And thank you for the post :)
Yup! Read it! Read all of his books. :) ~ karen
Love the bookshelves and yes i know what you speak on the gettin' up in the middle of the night etc to tackle a bookcase. What i was wondering is what type of lighting is that on the top of your shelves?
Hi Kty - They're just standard Ikea bookshelf lighting. You can buy them separately or in a 3 pack like I did. ~ karen!
Came across your site while googling how to stack books without bookshelves and I'm blown away! I love how they're stacked. I'd love to do all the different styles; once I have a place of my own with a mini library that is!! Thanks for the post :)
oHHH i am in the middle of my bookshelf styling session! I am in my third trimester, and yes, I got up in the middle of the night, hobbled down to remove everything off 2 boards and adjust the heights and swap the stuff....i am up before my toddler to "research" where I am going wrong :
sandwich stack II is required
and a little more crazy!
You're a genius. And really skinny. (Totally unrelated but I'm jealous and it's worth mentioning.)
Leanne - Yes I am and yes I am. Both come naturally to me. ~ karen
ha, I've been doing the spiral stack for years and didn't even know it's name ! Love your blog....
Thanks Tammy! Um, confession time ... I made up the names of all the stacks. :) But feel free to turn the names into everyday language. ~ karen!
had to tell you: not only are my living room shelves looking fabulous, but yesterday I finally got my second hand version of Geek Love in the mail. Based on 20 pages, I am yet to determine what is more disturbing: the story line or the fact that I cannot put the book down... Just love it. Thanks ladies! :)
Oh, ho ho, but I HAVE gotten up out of a dead sleep and rearranged pictures on the wall or made feverish drawings of furniture reconfigurations. These actions prompted my husband to ask if I had skipped my meds that day.
LOVE this! We are adding bookcases to our office and I was wondering how to best display books....aka make it look like a Pottery Barn photo :)
Karen,
Can I comment even though I've never read Geek Love? But about your bookshelf - it's so beautiful. But about your table - is it a Jonathon Adler? But about you - love your blog, and your musings, and your writing and your house. You always crack me up. Thanks.
Hi Liz! If you're talking about the silver pedestal table in my foyer ... nope. It's just a no name thing. I do have a Jonathon Adler sofa table in my living room, but I don't think you can see it. So you probably aren't talking about that one. Unless you're peeking in my window at the moment. :) ~ karen
I've been following your blog off-and-on for several months and finally had to comment just to say.... that Geek Love is an awesome book! I named my two cats iphigenia and electra. unfortunately, people think i named electra after that god awful movie. Anyway, love your blog! (And the cupfakes are awesome!)
Thanks Barry! I'm glad you finally commented. Funny it was Geek Love that brought us together. ~ karen
I like the dark books. I'm always looking for something new and off the wall to read. I am always a sucker for books that friends rave about. I have been looking for something else to read anyways.
You need to come to Nashville, TN sometime. We would love to meet you.
Ok... So many people have made such a big deal about Geek Love that I have ordered a used copy off of Amazon for $4.
Karen - I am all the time sharing your blog with my friends via email and on Facebook. We love you!
Thanks so much Liz! I can use all the help I can get if I'm going to keep this blog going. :) Every reader helps! ~ karen
Oh! And by the way ... Geek Love is NOT for the faint of heart. It's a very dark book so be prepared! ~ karen
Beauteous. I can't help but notice that almost all of your books are impressive looking hardcovers. Any ideas for cheap-o me who owns mostly paperbacks? My husband has an impressive collection of hardcover first-editions, but he hides them in his office where the rest of us and our grubby fingers can't touch them.
Oh, and Wow! I can't believe how many of your readers share my love for Geek Love. Great read.
Shauna - Thanks! I find that paperbacks look best when they're really neat and straight. Since they're usually smaller than a bookshelf nook requires I stack them like the Classic Stack II side by side. If you look at the first picture of my bookcase (the big full one) you can see a whole shelf of paperbacks. They're the centre row (under the antlers) 5 shelves from the top. Also arranging paperbacks by colour would work really, REALLY well. It'd make them look prettier and more impressive. ~ karen
Great looking bookcases! I know you said in your post that you attached the bookcases to the wall, but did you have to attach them to each other to keep them lined up properly? And if you did, can you tell me how you did that?
Hi Brenda! The Billy bookcases come with everything you need to attach them to the wall and to each other. They're held together side by side with little pins on top. Other than having to be accurate with your measurements, it's easy! ~ karen
I sacrificed a night out with the girls to stay in and style my new bookcase. Like your staggered stack why didnt I think of that? I know what I'll be doing this weekend, superstyling again!
Your comments are as entertaining as your blog.
:) LOL
LOL. Yes, I've heard that before! I have some good commenters on this site! ~ karen
i need to get me some bookshelves!
Karen, let me mention also the OCD stack! (something like this: http://www.paintitblack.it/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/tumblr_kz5hk9i0RD1qzzh8ko1_500.jpg)
this is probably what my bookshelf is going to look like as soon as I finish unboxing! But I have to admit that the On The Bias Row is very intriguing! :)
Valentina - I LOVE colour blocked books. The problem is finding that many books in such pretty colours! I'm just looking across to my bookshelf right now thinking .... Maybe I'll try the colour block thing. Here we go again ... :) ~ karen
Valentina! The link is gone! The link is gone! I was just going to look at it again. :( ~ karen
I think that you just need to take out the parenthesis at the end of the link afer .jpg anyways, the picture can be found in this post: http://www.paintitblack.it/mensole-librerie-idee/ (sorry, I didn't mean to spam my website but the original source is not working anymore!)