Reading Rainbow

So there is a movement afoot in the home design world to arrange the books on one's bookshelves by the color of the spine instead of the title, author, or subject matter.

My initial reaction to this was horror. I have worked in a bookstore far too long for this method of shelving not to bring the bile up in the back of my throat. You're talking to a girl who alphabetizes her DVD selection and packed my entire book collection for moving by author and genre.

On the other hand -- it looks stinkin' cool.

How do these people find their books? How do they stand to have their sets broken up? Take my Chronicles of Narnia --- I have the boxed set, but each is a different color.

The Magicians Nephew would be four shelves away from The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

99% of my books are packed away in storage right now, waiting for when I move into my own place next month. I only have what I've acquired in the last six months with me now, about one shelf's worth. With so few books it's not worth trying to arrange them any special way, especially because they run the gamut from Pulitzer winners to bartending guides and church history to humor essays. A hodgepodge.

So I took the plunge and arranged them by color. I like it. A lot.

But I still don't think I can do it to all the others when the time comes.

_Originally posted on fb with pictures 9/27/09_