Hardcover Lover Confessions | My Messy Shelves

Hey, everyone! I know it's been a while, but I'm back with another Hardcover Lover Confessions post! 

In case you forgot what Hardcover Lover Confessions is, I'll remind you! These posts work as a discussion post here on The Hardcover Lover. They are a way for me to express my thoughts and opinions on events going on in the blogosphere, or just for me to confess something about my bookish self.

Hardcover Lover Confession on My Bookshelves

I don't know about you, but I sometimes get really envious when I see everyone's pictures of their immaculate bookshelves. So many people in the blogosphere have gorgeous shelves (or even libraries and reading rooms), and I get a little jelly on my nose. There are so many shelves that are arranged by color, but there are also so many shelves that are arranged by author. Either way, I'm jealous of you if you have gorgeous bookshelves full of amazing books and trinkets. Insanely jealous.

This photo was taken in January. Since
then, this shelf has gotten even messier.

Why? Well because mine are a mess! They are such a mess. There's no better way to put it! Heck, I don't even have enough shelf space on my shelves for all of my books, and they've actually started to collapse. 

How Did Your Shelves Get So Messy, Erin?

Okay... so I've always been a reader, but before I went away to college, I didn't own so many books. I didn't even have bookshelves back then; I just kept my book collection (mostly Nicholas Sparks, adult fiction, and nonfiction) in the built-in shelf in my parent's living room or on the movie shelf. (Yes... my parents have a bookshelf that they use for VHS tapes!)

But then I got to college, and I started acquiring more books. Most of them were my textbooks, but because I was an English education major, I thought I should keep all of my books from my English classes. I also had to buy every new Nicholas Sparks book that came out, and a few other books here and there (especially when the school's bookstore had bargain books!) I would bring the books home every summer in a box, and put them in the attic for three months until I returned to school and had to decide which ones to take back with me. 

Okay... so not a big deal, right? 

Then I started taking more and more English classes that required us to buy and read novels. My favorite professor never really taught out of the required anthologies, but instead, she'd have us read whole books. I loved it. That also meant that my collection increased. I didn't have enough room at school for all of my books. Uh oh.

Then I got to the final stretch of my college education, and I had to take a class called Young Adult Literature. I'd read a few YA books before this class, but I never expected that I would walk away with such a love for these books. Before the class was even over, I had a list of books that I was going to read over the summer. 

When summer came, my grandma bought me Catching Fire and Mockingjay, so I could find out what happened. I read those two books in two days, and I wanted more. I ended up buying so many YA books to read, and my room kind of exploded with books over the summer. I didn't know what to do with them all except try to find room.

Even this "shelf" is messier now!

Flash forward a few years, and I decided to create my book blog. More and more books were being added to my collection monthly, weekly, even daily. I finally went out and bought a simple bookshelf that I put on my dresser and quickly filled. Then I needed to double stack books. Then I needed another shelf. I didn't have room.

So now I have books on shelves, books in crates and boxes, and books in bags. It's a mess, but it's my mess. And believe it or not, I actually know where every book belongs. 

Don't believe me? I saw my copy of Katie Cotungo's How to Love out in the living room, and I immediately ran up the attic stairs and searched the plastic crate where it should have been. When I noticed it was gone, I knew that my sister had stolen it. 

So it's a mess, but for now, it works. Would I love to have those beautiful shelves that I see on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook? Hell yeah, but until I can actually take the time to arrange my books or find more places for shelves, I'm stuck living in a beautiful mess of books.

Your Confessions

Now I want to hear from all of you! Are you like me and have messy bookshelves or are you like one of the people I'm jealous of with picturesque shelves? Feel free to let me know in the comments! Oh, and you can even upload pictures in the comments, so show me those shelves!