I love my bookshelves!  Any opportunity I can I’m jumping to show off my shelves.  Even though she didn’t tag anyone, when I saw it on In Love & Words I knew that I was going to tackle these questions about my own shelves, for other shelfie lovers out there.

Big thank you to Bree for making me so excited for this tag.  All of you, please make sure you pop over to read her blog and follow.  You won’t be disappointed.

1. Describe your bookshelf and where you got it from.

I have three shelves that I’m maybe overly proud of.  I spend a lot fime reorganizing them, taking pictures, and showing everyone.  Two of the shelves are hand me down shelves from my mom, and the third was a Christmas gift from my husband.  None of them match, and I kind of like that.

2. Do you have any special or different way of organizing your books?

One book shelf is only for Young Adult novels.  One shelf is only for Adult novels, and the last shelf holds the books that are most special to me.  It has all of my Outlander books, my Harry Potter books, my Clan of the Cave Bear books, and my Antique books.  (My Buffy and Angel box set DVD’s too.)  I also try really hard to organize my books to go tallest on the edges to smallest in the middle, so they slope instead of mismatch heights.

3. Is there a book you received as a gift?

There is one.  My Grandma gave me two antique books from her own library.  She owns multiple copies of Jane Eyre and gifted one to me, because it’s her favorite.  Other than that, I generally think books are a very intimate gift.  My taste and book selection is going to be very different from someone else’s.  I don’t think you can just go to a book store and pick out a book for someone else…  I’d rather have a gift card and the opportunity to browse for myself.

4. Is there a book from a friend on your shelf?

My friends son loaned me Way of the Shadows a couple years ago, and I haven’t read it yet.  I tried to give it back a while ago, but I was told that he didn’t care that I still had it.  He’d already read it.  I still consider it a loaner, and I hope to get to it eventually.

5. What’s the thickest (most amount of pages) book on your shelf?

The Fiery Cross is 1443 pages, I think that’s the thickest one I own.  I read Under the Dome, which is far longer but I don’t own it in print.

6. What’s the thinnest (least amount of pages) book on your shelf?

The Quantum Ghost, the author sent me a signed copy for my review.  It’s only 200 pages long.

7. What’s the smallest (height and width wise) book on your shelf?

The smallest book I own is The Warmint, it’s a poem in a small children’s book that I’ve had since I was a little girl.  My mom used to call me her ‘wicked little warmint’ and would read it to me before bed.

8. What’s the biggest (height and width wise) book on your shelf?

The tallest book I own is Fever Moon, the Fever graphic novel by Karen Marie Moning.

9. The last book you read on your shelf?

I’m in the middle of reading To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and I just finished P.S. I Still Love You and I’m about half way through Always and Forever, Lara Jean.  It’s been a pretty great series so far.

10. Of all the books on your shelf, which was the first you read?

Charlotte’s Web!  It was my childhood favorite and I’ve read it so many times I think I mostly have it memorized.  It’s my favorite classic.

11. Most expensive book?

I don’t buy extra expensive books if I can help it.  The most expensive book I own is Outlander’s 20th Anniversary Edition.  It’s specially bound and really beautiful.  I love it so much I’ve never even read it.  I don’t want to damage it in an way.

12. Do you have the complete series of any book series?

Absolutely!  I love collecting books, and I have a lot of completed series.

Harry Potter
Earth Children
Unwind
Seven Realms
Lumatere Chronicles
Jasper Dent
Rot & Ruin
Raven Cycle
Everlost
Captive Prince
Shades of Magic… and more and more.

13. What’s the newest addition to your shelf?

I’ve been on a book buying spree.  I think my husband is going out of his mind about it.  I love buying books.  These are my most recent buys… just in the last few weeks.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
P.S. I Still Love You
Always & Forever, Lara Jean
Autoboyography
Devils & Thieves
All the Bright Places
There’s Someone Inside Your House
The Female of the Species
Speak Easy, Speak Love
Release
All the Crooked Saints

14. What book has been on your shelf FOREVER?

Sioux Slave is a romance novel I read when I was a young teenager.  I have no interest in reading it anymore, but I can’t bring myself to get rid of it.  It holds meaning for some reason I can’t explain.

15. What’s the most recently published book on your shelf?

I was surprised by this, but All the Crooked Saints was published on October 10th.  It’s my most recently published book.

16. The oldest book on your shelf (as in, the actual copy is old)?

My mother passed down some of my Great Grandmother’s favorite books to my daughter, and heirloom books she’s been holding onto.  I hate to say it, but I’ll never read them.  I hang onto them because of the heritage.

17. A book you won?

The only Goodreads giveaway I ever won was gifted to my sister, Shelters of Stone, so I no longer have that book on my shelf.

18. A book you’d hate to let out of your sight (aka a book you never let someone borrow)?

I don’t really have one.  The books that I’d really hate to loan anyone I bought an additional copy.  I have a loaner copy specifically to share.

19. Most beat up book?

I hate to reuse books, but I think my most damaged book is Sioux Slave and it’s only because I’ve had it for so long.  I gave my daughter the task of finding my most beat up and she laughed.  I treat my books like they’re precious.  They don’t get damaged anymore.

20. Most pristine book?

I should have recorded my daughter trying to find my most pristine book.  Most of my books are in great shape.  She was saying it was like trying to find a needle in a needle stack.  In the end she chose either Caraval, which I haven’t read yet, or Six of Crows which I have.

21. A book from your childhood?

Another repeat, sorry guys.  The only childhood book I have on my shelves right now are Charlotte’s Web and Where the Red Fern Grows.  I kept them because they’re so special to me.

22. A book that’s not actually your book?

I keep claiming There’s Someone Inside Your House as my book, and I keep sneaking it onto my shelf.  It’s actually my daughters book.  I keep hoping she’ll forget about it.

23. A book with a special/different cover (e.g. leather bound, soft fuzzy cover etc.)?

I’m going to cheat here.  My daughter, on her shelf, she has a velvet covered copy of The Secret Garden.  It’s really beautiful.  Her uncle found it in in consignment and purchased it for her.

24. A book that is your favorite color?

The first book that comes to mind is Quintana of Charyn.  It’s green and beautiful.  I don’t normally like books with people on the covers, but this model is so unique and interesting to look at.  She’s perfectly Quintana.

25. Book that’s been on your shelf the longest that you STILL haven’t read?

I tend to get rid of books that I’m not interested in or don’t think I’ll ever read.  Of the ones I still have, I haven’t read I’ll Give You the Sun or We are the Ants.  Someday I’ll get around to reading them.

26. Do you have more than one copy of a book?

Oh yeah.  I have about 5 copies of Outlander (for some reason it’s a compulsion to buy this book when I stumble on it at garage sales), and 2 copies of each of the following books in the series.  I have 2 copies of Jellicoe Road.  I have 2 copies of Froi of the Exiles.

27. Any signed books?

I love collecting signed copies!  Other than meeting the author in person and getting your book signed, the best is when you stumble on them randomly in bookstores.  I have 4 signed John Green books, one signed Maggie Stiefvater, one signed Diana Gabaldon, 2-3 signed Neal Shusterman’s… that’s all I can think of off the top of my head right now.

Alright all you other bookshelf fans!  If you enjoyed learning about my shelves, please return the favor!  I’d love to hear all about your books houses.  Make sure you ping me!