But this is my emotional support book pile

welcome to my version of a house tour

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Someday, I’ll build my dream library: built-in shelves, a ladder, natural light, and a comfy armchair. Today, I’m grateful for two small shelves, one plant stand turned bookshelf, two makeshift crate bookshelves, and piles. Books piles everywhere. We’re not drowning in books over here. The stacks are pretty modest, topping out at ten books or so, and they’re scattered around the house so as to avoid any resemblance to a hoarder’s den.  We just own more books than shelves, resulting in piles which I occasionally tell myself are an aesthetic choice—but really, they’re essential to how I organize my reading life as a visual planner. 

The nightstand pile: current reads and board books, usually consisting of one literary novel, a poetry or short story collection, and my Kindle. 

• And Yet by Kate Bauer

• White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link

• Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

• Puddle Pug by Kim Norman

• Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

The TBR pile: five or so books I’d like to read in the next month or two. I attempted to narrow down my #tenbeforetheend but got realistic and chose just five physical books I aim to read before the end of 2023. 

• The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos

• White Cat, Black Dog (recently moved to the nightstand pile)

• Let Us Descend (also graduated to the nightstand pile)

• The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff (I’ve been saying I’ll read this next for…ever)

• Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

The TBR pile for after I read the first TBR pile: this pile rotates by season. Every few months, I move the books around to different piles, re-shelve a few, shuffle the stack, or scrap it and start over. I’m such a visual planner, so it helps to see the books I’m intrigued by in any given month or season.

• A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales

• Thank You for Sharing by Rachel Runya Katz

• The Appeal by Janice Hallett

• Babel by R.F. Kuang

• A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders

The donate pile: books I read but didn’t love, books I know I’ll never reread or loan out, and books that have sat on my shelf for far too many years, unread.

• The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray

• Constructing a Nervous System by Margo Jeffries

• Educated by Tara Westover

The new books with no shelf room pile: I aspire to read a new book, fresh from the bookstore, right away when I buy it—but that’s just not me (right now).

• Tomb Sweeping by Alexandra Chang

• Ghosts by Edith Wharton

• Miracle at St. Anna by James McBride

• Light Skin Gone to Waste by Tori Ann Johnson

• Peach Pit, ed. by Molly Llewellyn and Kristel Buckley

The (rotating) favorite picture book pile: the books we’re reading over and over and over again and don’t bother to re-shelve because Theo will pull them out soon anyway. 

• Bunnies on the Bus by Philip Ardagh

• Bunny’s Book Club by Annie Silvestro

• Little Pups in Big Trucks by Bob Shea

• Counting Cows by Woody Jackson

• Very Good Hats by Emma Straub

• The Flea’s Sneeze by Lynn Downey (a recent addition)

The library book pile: it’s very important to keep this separate from the other picture book piles. We stack library books on the family room armchair, keep them in the library tote, or separate them from the rest of the books at the end of the day. We don’t have a library stack at the moment, which means it’s time to pay Miss Victoria a visit. 

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I promise you won’t trip over any of these book stacks if you come over to my house. In fact, before you arrive, I’ll make another pile of books to borrow just for you. 

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