Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion, where we discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts. You can check out more about this meme here!
Today’s topic is about owning books and bookish merch. As an avid book lover, I’m so excited for this week’s discussion!
BOOKSHELF ORGANIZATION
I have a very Type A personality when it comes to organization, so my bookshelves are sorted in alphabetical order by author. Before #bookstagram existed, I didn’t even realize there were other ways to shelve books. I’ve seen people sort their books by color and it looks so cool! I’ve also read that some people organize books by genre then author. I guess I was always under the naive assumption that everyone had their bookshelves sorted by alphabetical order like me 😅 So now I’m super curious how other people shelve their books!
HARDCOVERS vs. PAPERBACKS
I used to always buy hardcovers of books, but I have to be honest: paperbacks just look so good lined up together on the bookshelf! I have a tendency to buy hardcovers for books I really loved, and if I buy a hardcover for the first book in a series, then I always make sure to buy hardcovers for the rest of the series as well so they match. The only downside to hardcovers? The price. I really wish paperbacks were released the same time as their hardcover counterparts. I would buy a lot more books when at their release dates if their paperbacks were also available.
MULTIPLE EDITIONS OF THE SAME BOOK
I definitely will buy multiple editions of my favorite books. For instance, I own four different editions of Strange the Dreamer. Another one of my favorite books is City of Brass, so of course I had to buy the Goldsboro editions of those books when they were available! And then there’s my three different editions of The Folk of the Air series (four, if you count the FairyLoot editions that have yet to come out that I will definitely be buying). Past me would never have thought to buy more than one edition of the same book, but now there are so many pretty editions of my favorite books that my self-control is at an all-time low.
FAVORITE BOOKISH MERCH
Let me just tell you: I am obsessed with bookish candles. I have so many that I started to run out of space for them all and that’s when I realized…I should probably start using some of them (to make room for more, of course). I can’t help, they’re just so pretty! And I love having the candles to match my favorite books and line the bookshelves. I also really love pins! I put all of my bookish pins on the bag I use for BookExpo/BookCon and get so many compliments when walking around 😊 I’m almost out of room on the back though, so now I’ll have to find another place to put them all!
Let’s Talk Bookish! Chat with me in the comments below!
Paws & Paperbacks 
Such a cool post! I also like paperbacks much more than hardcovers, less space needed, cheaper and easier to take with you. But sometimes I also buy hardcovers usually only if it’s a collector’s edition I NEED (e.g. SoC) or if the price is good enough and then will go on with buying the rest of the series also in hardback. 😂💛
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I love paperbacks because they (usually) are all the same size and line up so nicely together 😆And collector’s editions always pull me in! I have no self control lol
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Your pictures are GORGEOUS 😍🥺💖 I’m really surprised to see that you own multiple editions of the same book. I own literally only 1 book, so seeing people have so many, and then multiple editions is just shocking to me 😅 But I do have to say, I love the look of hardbacks so much. I went to a book store the other day and was in absolute glee at the sheer amount of books and their beauty in person lol. It was the first time I was seeing some of my favorites as physical books and I was just blown away. Of course, I didn’t buy any 😂 but it helped me understand why people would do so. One day I might just start my own collection 🙂
Anyways, great post!!
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Thank you so much!! 😊A few years ago I never would have even thought about owning more than one of the same book. Now I’m easily swayed by pretty covers and the phrase “collector’s/special edition”. My self control is at an all-time low and my wallet hates me 😂
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I totally agree that paperbacks should be released on the same day that hardcovers, because I personally LOVE paperbacks and wish I could buy them as soon as the book is released. They look SO beautiful lined up next to each other and I also think they’re easier to read 😍👏🏻
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I love buying limited editions, my wallet not so much, but who cares -lol! And I think going into the future, most hardcovers will be new-releases, but the rest will be paperbacks. Unless I want a series to match, I might get it in hardcover if available. I collect wooden bookmarks and booksleeves and HP mugs 🙈
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I really try to limit my hardcover buys to new releases that I LOVED. I also have a bunch of bookish mugs! Those are really fun to collect too!
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I love paperbacks too, especially for reading on the go! And I think I may need to follow your lead with alphabetical shelves! Mine are organised by colour right now, which looks great but makes it difficult to find titles!
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Rainbow shelves are so pretty though! I’m jealous of all the people that have the skill and patience to do it that way 😂
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Oh this is a wonderful post! I organized half of my shelves by color, because I thought it looked cool, but… well it was very complicated ahah. The perk of it is that I now know where the book is based on its spine color. It’s a weird thing to know hahaha 🙂
I love paperbacks so much, they’re so much more practical and look so neat on shelves for sure! I wish they could be released on the same day as hardcovers! 🙂
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I think organizing shelves by color look so pretty! I just don’t have that kind of patience 😂I definitely wish paperbacks would release the same day as the hardcovers! I’d buy so many more new releases!
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Oh, that’s a great insight into your habits. 🙂
I used to organize my shelves by read/unread and then by language and in there by genre. Now they are indeed organized by colour but I feel like now that it’s like this I don’t know if I can ever go back to another way of sorting them. 😂
I often have different versions of books, mostly in different languages. 🙂
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Sorting by genre is another way I’ve seen/heard a lot of people shelve their books! I think I would drive myself insane trying to organize my books that way because so many crossover into more than one genre! 😂
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Ummmm, drooling over some of your book stacks!! Your post makes me feel not so crazy for buying hardcovers for books I adored on Kindle. I think you’ve inspired me to try a bookish candle! Any recommendations?
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Thank you so much! ☺️ I’m a big fan of Wick and Fable candles! They have really pretty labels and smell great 😊
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