How should you organise your bookshelves?

Nobody organises their shelves the same way, and people defend their systems with surprising passion. That is fine. There is no correct method, only one that suits how you read, how many books you own and how much you enjoy the hunt.

The main systems

Alphabetical by author. The library classic. You always know where a book is, and an author's works sit together. The downside: it is a little impersonal, and a big alphabetical wall says nothing about what you might like to read next. It also needs regular reshuffling as new books arrive.

By genre or subject, then alphabetical. The most practical system for most homes. Fiction in one place, travel in another, food writing in the kitchen, poetry together, books of ideas together. Within each section, alphabetical if you like order, loose if you do not. It answers both "where is it?" and "what kind of thing do I want?".

By colour. Beautiful in photographs and genuinely calming in a room. Terrible for finding anything unless you remember the colour of every spine, which most people do surprisingly well for their favourites and not at all for the rest. It suits small collections and readers who think visually.

By mood or occasion. A shelf for rainy evenings, one for summer, one for when you need cheering up, one for when you are feeling brave. Wonderfully personal, and it makes choosing the next book easy. It works best for fiction and for people who know their own collection well.

By size. Practical when shelf heights vary, and tidy to look at. Hopeless for finding things. Often combined with another system: big art and cookbooks on the bottom shelf, paperbacks above.

By chaos. Books wherever they land. Delightful for serendipity, maddening when you need a specific book, and more common than anyone admits. If it makes you happy and you can live with the occasional search, keep it.

Systems that mix well

Most real shelves are hybrids, and that is sensible. A few combinations that work:

• Sections by subject, colour within each. Order and beauty, at the cost of a little speed.
• Alphabetical fiction, everything else by subject. Novels are the books people most often look for by author.
• A "favourites" shelf at eye level, whatever the system for the rest.
• Seasonal displays. Some books suit a season. Calvino's Marcovaldo, published in 1963, follows its hero through the seasons of a city year in twenty short stories; a small shelf of books for the current season, changed four times a year, is a nice way to keep the shelves alive.

The kitchen shelf

Cookbooks are the one category almost everyone keeps apart, and for good reason: they belong where they are used. Keep the reference books that you cook from, a big Italian classic such as Ada Boni's Il talismano della felicità, first published in book form around 1929, within reach of the stove, and the ones you read for pleasure in the living room.

The to-read shelf

The single most useful change most readers can make is to separate unread books from read ones. A dedicated to-read shelf, or a pile, or a basket, does three things:

• It shows you what you have, so you buy fewer duplicates and more of what you actually want.
• It makes choosing easy. When you finish a book, the next one is right there. See our page on choosing what to read next.
• It keeps you honest. If the shelf overflows, it is time to read, lend or donate before buying more.

Keep it somewhere you pass daily, not tucked away. Out of sight really is out of mind.

Letting books go

Organising is easier with fewer books. Once a year, take out anything you will not reread, did not finish and will not return to, or that someone else would enjoy more. Pass them to friends, a local library sale or a second-hand bookshop. Keep the books that matter; the rest can start a new life with someone else.