C.C.Ballard

A few weeks ago D added some new bookshelves to my office and I decided to throw the books on them for “right now.” I honestly had the best of intentions to straighten things up, I promise!

I will not show you the shelves on the other side of the room. *hides face in shame*

I am a very disorganized Virgo.

My Goodwill haul for today. All for under $7… I love you, Goodwill!

Operation Organize is finished. My dad gave me his old reading chair. Love!

I just started organization of my shelves (by genre) and I ran into a problem. I had thought I could do it by simple re-arrangment but now I’m wondering if it would be better to take everything off completely, and put things back as I organize.

My other option is to stop and leave it like this and just not worry about it anymore. This option is looking better and better. :)

When I was little I read every Sweet Valley High book I could get my hands on. I had all of them (that were out at the time) including the Thrillers, Magnas, Sagas, SuperStars, and Super Editions. I even had both Jessica’s and Elizabeth’s Secret Diaries. At some point I decided I was too old for these books and I gave them to my cousin, never suspecting she would not hold books as sacred as I do. Needless to say, she didn’t hang on to them. I have always regretted the loss of those books, if only for the sake of my childhood memories.

Today I stopped in at Goodwill on a whim. I was really tired and a little sick with headache but for some reason I wanted to see if they’d gotten any new books. Imagine my delight when I found these on the shelves! I bought the lot and eagerly came home to see how this collection matched up to the one I used to have.

One of the Super Editions has a tear exactly like my old one did, and Book One and Twenty are missing. Strange, because my old collection was also missing book twenty and book one’s cover was in really bad shape, enough that someone who had no sentimental attachment to it would have tossed it out. Now, I’m not saying these are the same books I had back then. That would be way too big of a coincidence. But in my heart I like to think my books somehow found their way back to me.

Spent the day trying to catalogue my shelves, with the result that they are slightly better organized now. This is my favorite room in my house. :)

I just got these at Goodwill. $11 for the lot. Plus Emma, which I needed because I ran over my copy with my car. (It was an accident!)

Whaaaat? So excited.

How to De-Organize Your Bookshelf.

So remember when I posted this picture of my bookshelf?

And I said I still had work to do, adding more shelves for the rest of my books? Well, I did that:

But I guess it wasn’t disorganized enough for me because I decided to do even more and since I’ve gained a lot more books between the first and next picture, things are now out of control:

I told you, I am very bad at keeping things tidy and when I try to fix it, I only make it worse.

A first edition Dr. Seuss I discovered on my bookshelf.

This is the awesome result of my mother scouring yard sales and flea markets for books while I was growing up. She’s the one who encouraged my reading habit from a very early age.

I finally got my kindle! So exciting!

Having been a lifelong extreme reader I can say that I have no qualms about ereaders. The story is what I’m after, the precious words, the adventure and escape. Yes, I love the smell of a physical book, the pages under my fingertips. But give me the words and I’m happy.