So, I have lots of books. Lots and lots of books. Books are my number one splurge purchase on Amazon, and my largest collection. Thank goodness for libraries and paperbackswap.com, because if it weren’t for getting most of the books I read for free, I’d be bankrupt by now, I’m sure of it.
A few weeks ago, I got an idea. It started as an organizing idea: I want to get all of my books in one place, AND organize them into categories! If you know anything about me, you won’t be surprised to hear how excited I got about this.
For example, this makes me happy, not offended:
Because it’s true. Bitches do love libraries. (Not that I’m a bitch. But you gotta admit, that’s funny. Let’s not overanalyze, okay?)
You see, I’ve never had all my books in one place before. There’s a bookshelf in the living room, a bookshelf in the guest room. A shelf in my studio devoted to artsy craftsy books. A short stack of books-to-read or books-in-progress on the ledge behind the bathtub, and an even taller stack next to my bed. And let us not forget the cookbooks in my kitchen.
So the wheels in my head started turning*: if my books were consolidated and organized into a single library, what categories would I have? What would be my most popular category? How many of these books am I truly interested in keeping? And exactly how many books do I have?
This is where the thing gets really nerdtastic**. In asking all these questions, I started to think…what would my book collection say about me? Can I turn this into something even nerdier than it already is?
Yes. I can.
The {Nerdtastic} Book Challenge
You are what you read. So what do your books say about you?
Let’s turn this into a personality assessment, shall we? (All together now: YES, Michelle, let’s do!) An assessment that sidelines as a fun way to sort, purge and organize your book collection. Hence: nerdtastic.
Here’s how:
1. Gather up all your books in one place. Scour every single room. This can double as a work-out, if you find you’re doing a lot of hauling. (You could even go crazy and include digital books. I didn’t, but you could.)
2. Sort into piles according to your own categories and meaning. For example, you might call a category “Prosperity” while I call it “Money”…which might also change the books that are included.
3. Tally up your counts using this handy-dandy printable. Skip the parts that sound boring, this isn’t an actual assignment. (I’m really not quite sure if y’all are as nerdy as me, here. I like to go big.)
4. Revel in your newfound self discovery and freshly purged & organized book collection…then maybe go read a book in the bathtub.
Hop to it, you nerdy bird. Download your worksheet here (PDF).
In case you’re curious, here’s my worksheet, filled out with my own book categories.
AND: Something new + awesome is coming to the blog next week!
On a related note, I’m excited to announce a new series to the blog…and if you read to the bottom of this post, I know you’ll love it.
I love reading, and I love sharing the books I loved with people. I want to do more of it, so starting next week, I’m going to start posting book reviews…and when I’m done reading & reviewing, I’m going to give away every single book. Because sharing is caring, and goodness knows, my library probably shouldn’t get much bigger.
I’m kicking off the series next week with It Was Me All Along by Andie Mitchell of Can You Stay For Dinner?. (Spoiler alert: loved it.) I can’t wait to tell you more about it, and do a drawing so one of you can read it, too!
*Unintentional reference to Gaston. I heart Beauty & the Beast.
**Nerdy, in a really fantastic way. It’s a thing.
