All my new books are neatly put away now. And duly catalogued as part of our library.
Samantha guessed pretty close. Merritt and I own 1,360 books.
And in answer to the question all the little old men at the book sales ask, yes, I do hope to read almost every one!
It was Natalie who first helped me catalog my books. I’m sure I wrote a post about it, if I were to look far enough back in the YLCF archives. But one time when she was visiting me, she sat right down and typed out all the books I owned into an Excel list just like hers. I’ve added my own columns through the years, so that I can capture all the details I want about my books. My Microsoft Excel columns are as follows:
A. Author/Editor/Illustrator Last Name
B. Author/Editor/Illustrator First Name
C. Book Title
D. Hardback/Paperback/Leather/Board Book
E. Replace?
F. Series
G. Sonlight?
H. On Loan or Packed?
The first columns are self-explanatory. I put the proper initial in column D, so I know whether I have H a hardback or L a leather bound copy. An R in column E means I’d like to replace the copy I have of this book. In F you’ll find the series a book might belong to, like Landmark or Golden Books.
An S in column G means this book title is on the list used by Sonlight Curriculum. When I was a little girl, I detested textbook-style history and science. But I loved reading. I once set about “writing” my own curriculum that would be based entirely on reading books. Imagine my surprise to find out someone else had already had the idea, when my Mom told me about Sonlight. 
I never got to use it for myself (we used C.LA.S.S. off and on throughout my schooling years), but I would like to implement much of the method with our children, Lord willing. Merritt and I both love to read, and want to pass that on. Thus, following Natalie’s example, I am collecting books from the Sonlight list, if for nothing else than having a collection of good literature at my fingertips.
And finally, I like to make note in column H if I have loaned the book out or packed it away to be read later.
I also like to make a mail merge document in Microsoft Word, with three columns and tiny font, so that I can list the author/title/binding/replacement a title per line. Then instead of twenty-three pages, I have just a few pages I can tuck in my purse, so that whenever I’m book shopping, I always know what books we already own. I keep a copy of Sonlight’s list in my purse, too, as well as a list of other authors and titles I’m looking for.
Books are so much fun. And the best thing is, Merritt loves books and book shopping as much as I do. It doesn’t get much better than book shopping with your best friend, especially when you’re collecting for the same library…
**swoons**
Oh, to have a library!
I’m working on my own, slowly but surely.
God bless!
Caitlin
Aha, are those P.G. Wodehouse titles I spot?? What a lovely lot of books! I almost envy you, though I would have no place to put as many books as you have in your collection.
Your site is a source of refreshment and encouragement to me. Thank you all and keep up the good work!
Blessings,
Mary
Thanks for sharing how you catalogue your books. I’m having fun doing the same with mine…
Just curious, why are you looking for Sonlight curriculum books? Is that the curriculum you and Merritt plan to use with your children? What do you like about Sonlight?
MB
Yes, those are Wodehouse books there. A friend at Summit recommended the movies long ago. I found a book at the library and got hooked about the same time Merritt did. He couldn’t believe someone else had told me about them first. We saw our first Jeeves and Wooster movie after we got married, and have picked up every one as soon as the library gets them in.
Love it! The joint library collection idea that is. Man I wish I had that many to read… that would be the life. Oh I have a few essentials, (M.H.Lovelace series, LMM, and Keeper of the bees…) But oh I am looking forward to a good old persual of my parents half dozen bookcases when I go home on vacation this summer! Keep up the reading!
I love books too. I like the Microsoft Excel idea. I laughed while reading this post, thinking about something my little brother said not too long ago. We were talking about clothes or something, how some people have a 6 foot closet full of clothes, and my little brother immediately piped up, “That’s stupid. How could you pack it?” See, we’re MKs and travel a good bit, so I guess for him the first question to ask when buying something is, “Is this easily packable?”
My family’s solution: our library is spread over 2 continents, several States, and more towns/cities. My very own personal library is very much smaller but spread over the same places.
We use Sonlight, btw, and it’s really good for the most part.
Question: Do you list books like cookbooks and annoying non-conformist ones like that, or just straightforward books, fiction or otherwise?