Monday, September 22, 2014

My Bookish Reality

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that when your mom comes for a visit, lots of shopping will be involved.

I had such a wonderful time with my mom this past weekend - taking a day trip to the coast, seeing new-to-me places, eating out, and yes, doing some shopping. ;) My mom very generously bought me a new couch, and though I've been claiming to be fine without one, I must admit I'm excited to have a comfy place for me and my guests to sit while watching movies and reading! 

A happy side effect of the new couch is that I got to move my bookshelf in preparation for the couch's arrival. Why is that news-worthy? Well, in my living room I used the bookshelf for knick-knacks and whatnot - more of a decorative piece. But now that it's in my guestroom, I've actually filled it with *gasp* books!

For now, I decided to use it as a place to put my TBR books. I think this will help with the whole Mission: Contentment thing, as I'll now be able to actually see how many books I have to choose from, as well as browse them when I'm feeling in the mood to try something new. :) Check it out...


Besides the two "filler" book boxes at the end of the top row, these are all books I have yet to read! I may have started a few and then set them aside, but for the most part, I have all these lovelies to enjoy from cover to cover sometime.

And yes, there is sort of a system!

Currently, the top left is for review books, the top middle has the Love Inspired/Heartsong Present books, and the top right has some Harvest House Amish books that I might want to read for AmishReader.com.


The second shelf begins my Christian fiction (alphabetical order by author's last name)...


...which continues into the third shelf. The right side of the bottom shelf is for my YA books.


Will I keep that system? *shrugs* I like the way it looks for now. :)

I should add that:
  1. I bought a couple of these books this weekend when I went into Barnes & Noble (Meant to Be Mine by Becky Wade - I've heard such good things! - and Love's Fortune by Laura Frantz). A mama's visit is a special occasion, no?
  2. There are a few stragglers in boxes in my closet that didn't fit into my neat little categories (or on my shelf). 
  3. This doesn't even include all my Kindle books... 
In other words, I have a lot of reading to do! *laughs*

Tell me, friends, where do you keep your TBR books? Any books we have in common?

P.S. While visiting Barnes & Noble, I went on the hunt for Harvest House books - and I didn't have to look too hard! Loved seeing these Harvest House books and more in the wild...

Get Unstuck, Be Unstoppable by Valorie Burton

Choose Love by Stormie Omartian

P.P.S. Speaking of Harvest House books... I'm guest-blogging over at Seekerville tomorrow (Tuesday), talking about marketing tips - and we're going to be giving away four new Harvest House releases in honor of the company's 40th anniversary. Hope to see you there!

16 comments:

Ganise C said...

Meant to Be Mine is a delectable read. Always enjoy seeing bookish posts - and reading them! Happy reading, Amber!

Rissi said...

I keep my TBR books (a term I use for the publisher books I have to review, because those I *have* to read) all together on a shelf, whether on my bigger shelf or smaller. Love this post, Amber and all you share in it, not to mention the many books on those shelves - I see MANY pretties on there I adore/plan to read. My plan is to redo some of my shelves later this week since I need to pick up another shelf and am hoping (for now) that will be all I'll need for a while - I have three in my room alone. ;)

Yay for Becky Wade's newest. Hope you love it as much as its been hyped, girl. :)

Moms and shopping is always cause for celebration.

Anonymous said...

Loved, loved, loved getting to spend a few days with you! We always have a lot of fun together. I really enjoyed going to Yachats and seeing new places with you. Looking forward to our next adventure!
Love,
Momma
XOXO

Anonymous said...

Love this glimpse of your bookshelf, Amber! I have quite the lengthy list of "To Be Read's" but not many at all on my bookshelf at the moment. :) Just reorganized my bookshelf as a matter of fact--I love doing that. SO freeing and a blessing to look at the covers and titles and say a soft, "Hello" to some favorite characters. :)

Amber Holcomb said...

Ganise,

So I've heard - and thus I finally caved and bought it! ;) Glad to hear you enjoyed the book!

And thank you so much for reading my bookish post. :) Happy reading to you, as well, friend!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Rissi,

That's great that you keep all your official TBR (To Be Reviewed) books on a shelf - in the past, I've generally kept them in a pile on my desk, or more recently on the floor. ;) I'm excited to be utilizing shelf space for upcoming reads!

Glad we share some pretties! And thank you - I'm certainly looking forward to Becky Wade's, and even though her first two weren't complete favorites of mine, I already know I enjoy her writing style. :)

Yes! Moms + shopping = happy days. :D

Happy shelf organizing! It's really fun to organize book collections, isn't it?

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Hi, Momma!

Aww, I LOVED my time with you, as well! We always do have such fun adventures - and great conversations. :) I'm blessed to have you for a mom! Thank you so much for everything. ♥ Can't wait to see you again!

Love,
Amber
XOXO

Amber Holcomb said...

Meghan,

I'm so glad! I'm always happy to share about books. ;)

Love what you say about reorganizing bookshelves! Wonderful points, my friend. :) Hope you get to enjoy some great reads in the coming weeks - familiar or new!

~Amber

Abbi Hart said...

I love your TBR shelf! So many great books on it!
I have been debating doing the same thing but I kinda like having all my books together. I am planning on moving soon so we'll see how everything ends up in the new place!

Cathy said...

Oh I love seeing others bookshelves! Looks like you have a lot of good reading ahead.

I recently won 'Meant to be Mine' and recently bought 'Love's Fortune.' Looking forward to reading both of them.

Happy reading Amber! : )

Kara said...

It is also a truth universally acknowledged that I love any new post written by Amber!

First of all, yay for happy visits from mom! So glad y'all had a wonderful weekend. (And YES! A momma's visit is most definitely a special occasion!)

Second of all, what a fabulous idea! I should probably put all my TBR in the same place. As it is, I distribute them throughout my shelves, mainly because I shelve my books by author last name and I like to keep them that way. At least as much as I'm able. But hmmmm. Perhaps I should try something new? :)

And third of all, what a great post! Your shelves look very nice and I'm totally rooting for you to whittle them down a little. (At least until you find more books to add to them! ;)

Amber Holcomb said...

Abbi,

Thank you! And I know, right?? I've been collecting these books over a period of several years or more, I guess (although quite a few are more recent). Now I just need to read them, haha. So many to choose from!

And how exciting that you might be moving soon! Moves are bittersweet, but I hope it's a happy transition for you. :) And yes, moving affected how I use my bookshelves. ;) I have a lot of my "already read" Christian fiction still in boxes in my closet... The bookshelf in my room has some classics and devotionals and whatnot, while this one in the guest room now holds my TBR books. :) We'll see how things continue! Might need to get more shelves at some point...

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Cathy,

I think I do have some good reading ahead! :) And bookshelves are really fun, aren't they?

How wonderful that you've recently acquired the same two books that I just did! Both are excellent authors, so I'm sure they'll be lovely reads. :) Happy reading to you, as well!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Kara,

Awwwww! If there were such a thing as too awesome, you would be it, my friend! ;) Thank you for your sweet words!

Visits from Mom are definitely a treat! My mom and I are BFFs. :)

How interesting that both you and Abbi keep all your books together! I generally like to keep my unread books separate from the rest, although I suppose that hasn't always been the absolute rule... Let me know if you decide to switch things up! ;) You'll have to take pics!

Oh, don't worry... I'm always finding new books to add, haha. My Kindle gets a workout! But it would be great to turn to the already-owned books more often when I'm looking for reading choices, so that I can enjoy what I already have. :)

Thank you for the comment, dear friend!

~Amber

Unknown said...

Oh, I loved browsing your bookshelf, Amber!

Amber Holcomb said...

Rachelle,

Aww, yay! Thanks for checking them out, Rachelle. :)

~Amber