It probably goes without saying, but I love books! I love reading books, being surrounded by books, smelling books, and most importantly- I love buying books. And believe me, I buy A LOT of books, but in my defense, I work at a bookstore now and don’t pay full price for my books anymore. And yes, that does encourage me to buy more books. My fiancée has gotten very used to the piles of books that are around our room due to lack of bookshelf space!

And this also probably goes without saying, but I love organizing! I’ve written a few blog posts about organizing (which I will link throughout this post) and I am constantly trying to find new ways to organize my life.

So one day I was staring at one of my large stacks of books and admittedly, I felt slightly overwhelmed. Books I was currently reading were mixed with books I had recently purchased and the boo I had borrowed from work. Staring at this pile made me realize I needed to find some way to organize my books.

I have a huge stash of notebooks. And yes, most of that stack is “the ones that are pretty, but are too nice to use” (we all have those notebooks, admit it). So I *gasps* took out one of those notebooks and labeled it as my Book Lists.

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This one felt like the most appropriate one to use because of the girl holding a book stack while having two other stacks surrounding her. I also really love this shade of blue and it makes me happy when I look at it, so it really is the perfect choice! And the best part is, I know I won’t use it up too quickly, so I will have this notebook for a long time!

I grabbed a pack of Post-Its that I had in my Post-It stash (no surprise, I’m a Post-It/sticky note hoarder as well) and separated my lists into different categories. The first one being Books I’m Currently Reading. The name says it all! But this gives me a good overview of what I’m currently reading and crossing them off as I read them. If after a certain point I notice a book has been on there for too long, I can evaluate why that is and decide if I want to finish the book or part ways with it. I decide to wait until January to do the evaluation because I just started this notebook. As you can see below, Time of Contempt is the highest book on the list right now, so I have until January to-read it.

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The next list is To-Read (Owned) books. This list is great to see what books I already own. This is an attempt to get me to see just how many books I own and need to read before I purchase new ones. I only photographed the first page, but the list is almost 2 pages long, making it the longest list I have so far! It’s mainly a mixture of books about Wicca, writing, and self-help books with some Fiction books thrown in there as well.

The next list is books I wanted to Review for the Blog. I hid the list because I want it to be a surprise! I enjoy writing the book reviews and think it’s a great way to combine the two things I love most, so I will be writing more of them in the future. If you have a book you would like me to review (yours or a book you really love), let me know in the comments below! Or I will add some ways you can reach me below.

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The next list is Review for YouTube. Awhile ago I uploaded two videos as a part of a journey I wanted to take, but then the world went wayside and it didn’t feel like the right time. I don’t even know if I’ll do book reviews on YouTube (let me know if you’d be interested in watching them), but I figured if I decide to do it, then I might as well have a list for it! I didn’t photograph this list because of the uncertainty of the situation.

The next list is books To-Read (Don’t Own). I am constantly coming across books that I want to read and end up taking screenshots or photos of them on my phone or write them down on a gazillion slips of paper. So finally, I have them organized all in one spot! And yes, I know GoodReads does the same thing and I do have a GoodReads account, but I barely use it anymore. This list is the second longest at about a page and a half.

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The next list is Books to Buy/Repurchase. I have this list mainly so I don’t buy the same book twice (which I have done before). The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit I want to replace because the editions I have don’t match and that bugs me. I’ve seen a really nice boxset that has all four of them together, so I will be purchasing that one eventually.

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The next list is Books to Sell/Donate. Pretty self-explanatory. Not every book works out for the reader and instead of letting it take up valuable shelf space, it can be rehomed to someone who will actually read it and enjoy it. I have this list covered mainly because it’s just some starter Wiccan books and I have since bought more informative books on the subject.

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The final list is Books to Add to Recommended Reading List. Not too long ago, I posted my Recommended Reading List and plan to update it every year. So I’m using this list to keep track of the books I want to add to it. This list is also hidden (because we don’t give spoilers on this blog)!

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So there you have it- My Book Lists notebook! Maybe this might seem excessive to some people, but I think it’s a great way for me to stay organized. Plus, it gave me a reason to finally give one of those “too pretty to write in notebooks” a reason to be written in (because honestly, that pile is getting out of hand as well). I think this is something I will be using for years to come!

So what do you think of my newest organization system? Do you have anything like this? Or think you will ever try anything like this? I would love to know your thoughts! Also, as a sidenote, I recently joined Twitter! So if you would to follow me over there, my handle is @TheWordWitch3. I’m also on Instagram at mystic.ravenclaw. Most of my posts are Harry Potter related with other random things thrown in there as well. So if you want to keep up with me or message me about reviewing your book, send me a DM on either of them and let me know you’re from the blog! Thank you for reading and I hope everyone has a great week!