How do booksellers organise their bookshelves

The myriad of ways that people organise their bookshelves is a much-discussed topic, and rightfully so! Here, some of our booksellers share the methods they use.


‘In my house, I have two big bookshelves arranged by colour (white at the top, moving down through yellows, pinks and reds, greens, blues then black). I tend to remember covers, so it makes for a surprisingly quick and easy way to find books, and I like the way it looks.

I also have a shelf of my favourite and most beloved books on my desk for inspiration, placed in no order whatsoever, and I have stacks of ‘to read’ and ‘currently reading’ piles in various spots around my apartment. It’s all a bit messy, but organised chaos.’

Nina Kenwood, marketing manager


‘I am very particular about my books.

I try to do a cull every few months of things I don’t think I’m going to read or lend out again (though, working in a bookshop means that for every book you get rid of, three more appear). I am a militant alphabetiser which many have teased me for, but I truly feel it’s the only way to go. Most of my books live together on two large shelves – fiction and non-fiction side-by-side.

There are a few exceptions to this rule. I keep all my poetry on a separate shelf/borderline shrine. Dictionaries and reference books also live separately to the rest. I am less organised when it comes to art and design books – I’m much more comfortable leaving these lying around. When they aren’t sitting on coffee tables, I keep them on the bottom shelves of my main bookshelves alongside my craft books.

I also have a special shelf set aside for magazines and zines. These stack up almost as quickly as my books, but I find them much harder to get rid of, especially the ones that contain writings or art from my friends.

Finally, my cookbooks all live in the kitchen. I’ve just moved house, so at the moment they’re precariously stacked up on the table while I try to figure out the best place to permanently stash them. I’m a bit addicted to beautiful cookbooks, so the stack is quite huge.

Every time I move house I curse myself for owning so many books, but of course I totally forget the pain of lugging all those heavy boxes around as soon as they’re unpacked and properly arranged.’

Ellen Cregan, bookseller at Readings Doncaster


‘Up until recently my bookshelves were organised by the Shove It Where It Fits method – but when I moved at the end of last year I did a huge clear out, bought a couple of extra bookcases, and actually had to think about how I wanted to present my home library. In the end I went with category, then author within category, plus a few little special sections like my collection of Wizard of Oz-related titles, and a shamefully big stack of TBRs. I’ve got a few little bits and pieces scattered amongst the books: toy cars, mini terrariums, at least three Dorothy figurines. My partner refers to it as ‘clutter’, I call it ‘frosting’.

My shelves are currently looking woefully empty (White space! Face outs!), but I’ve got boxes and boxes of books in storage at my Dad’s house that have been waiting for me to finally settle into a forever home. It’s definitely time.’

Lian Hingee, digital marketing manager


‘I tend to organise my books in a very loose way.

My home stretches over different levels and so I have books on every level, tucked into in every available space. I have shelves just for cookbooks, and for hardcover editions. I also have shelves for my novels, and others for my art books. I have piles of books by my bed to read, as well as piles of books in the lounge room that everyone should read. The books I used during my studies are tucked inside my partner’s study, and the books that I feel most sentimental about are tucked up high on my father’s old desk,,

On one particular shelf, in an old science locker cabinet in my dining room, I once tried to arrange the books by colour but soon realised this was unsustainable. Instead I now have a jumble of books, some on their sides and others crammed in to the very top of each locker (seeing the titles is nearly impossible). The cabinet also happens to be filled with photos, toys and relics from past family trips. It is not for the fainthearted.

Many of my books have pieces of debris in them. I tend to use whatever is close to hand for a bookmark, perhaps a postcard, a note, a receipt or a train ticket. Really, I’m not at all precious about my books so some do have stains on them – coffee and wine, maybe crumbs from chips or a smear of oil from olives. Some of my book’s pages have been torn or bucked by water or age. And I like that my books reflect my life, that the pages of my favourite ones are alive with memories. Sometimes I do fantasise about having a wall of bookshelves with one of those ladders that are secured by rails, but in the end it feels cosier to have all my books at my height. I think it allows me, my family and friends to select and ponder over a title at any moment.

It’s possible that I am romanticising the situation of course, and that the reality of my home library is one huge gigantic mess. I’m okay with this.’

Chris Gordon, events manager


‘I’m a bit dull when it comes to my home library – no colour coding, designer stacking, face-outs or space for sentimentality. My books are organised alphabetically by author, fiction and non-fiction together, and while I keep anthologies, literary journals and comics separate from the others, they’re still alphabetised within those categories. I prefer not to have anything else on the shelves beside books, and I always feel stressed by unusually sized books that force me to tuck them in strange places. This includes picture books which I keep in a steadily-growing stack on top of my bookshelf, though I keep all other children’s and young adult books mixed in with the others. One shelf has a designated section for books that I’ve borrowed from others, because I’m paranoid about forgetting to return them. I also invariably have a reading stack by my bed, though I try to restrict myself to no more than four, ideally just one or two.

I live in a sharehouse and as a general rule, our home is FULL of books in semi-organised chaos. My two housemates each have their own enormous, ever-growing collections, and there are countless stacks piled up in the hallway and living room. While my cookbooks live in the kitchen, all my other books are kept to my room. My partner and I are actually having a space issue right now as our books have spilled out beyond the two large bookshelves we own, which means we’re due a book culling. I like doing this as it’s nice to be reminded of books I own and have forgotten to read, and I also really enjoy giving books away to other readers.

I also have a second home library at my mother’s house in Brisbane – when I moved to Melbourne, I left them behind. She has an amazing bookshelf that reaches to the ceiling, complete with a ladder and I love seeing all my old favourites when I go home.’

Bronte Coates, digital content coordinator

Cover image for Remodelista: The Organized Home

Remodelista: The Organized Home

Julie Carlson,Margot Guralnick

Available to order, ships in 5-9 daysAvailable to order