Forum

I confess ... I too have a "library collection".

I usually don't plan far enough ahead to make effective use of it

But I've ended up buying books that I originally got from the library and liked enough to add to the Library bookshelf, then found that they were coming up in a lot of my searches on EYB with recipes that I really did want to make. It has turned out to be a way of test-driving the book a bit more thoroughly before buying.

Hooray for the library!  I use my library's network and enjoy perusing books I check out on every visit. Then I often buy a copy of the ones I find myself borrowing many times.

Like many of you my collection has grown since EYB....I am now pushing 200 cook books.  Living in a small apartment, it's difficult to keep things organized but I tend to group by country/region, type (breakfast, healthy/veg, slow-cooker), single ingredients (yogurt, vegetables, grain, rice) then baking, dessert, "about cooking" or "about food".

I am a second-hand bookstore junky and also love to make monthly visits to the bookstore that is part of "Jessica's Biscuit", where I can get lost for hours in their cookbook aisles and always leave with some wonderful finds!

Hmmmm.....Loved reading all the replies. Having once worked in a bookstore, I tend to use the system that was used there.

I have a large library upstairs and it is still overflowing. Stacks of books coming in , or stacks of books for a specific project.

I have a small bookcase in the kitchen of books I comonly use.

Books on the coffee table, books and magazines in the office. Let us not forget the bedroom.

But when I do sort them and get them all pretty. It is like this:

Location Regional. I am here in Texas. (Womans clubs, church and organiztions are kept sepearate)

By Author

Healthy (vegan, vegetarian, low-fat, WW, and so on)

Appliance (bread machine, pressure cooking, blender, etc.)

Grilling and BBQ

Ethinic (Italian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, French, etc.)

Wine and drink with Entertaining at the end.

Putting away food.

Best of books. (like Food and Wine, Bon apetite', Gourmet, Cook's)

Desserts/Baking

Food Writing (They have great stories and recipes)

Historical Cooking (Old Virginia, chuckwagon, Presidents, etc) books published before 1900

I hope nothing was left out. I think you get the big picture though.

P.S. Thanks for asking.

mcvl  

I follow a similar system to yours, but then have a bookshelf for those with whom I believe I'm on first name terms ~ Jamie, Nigella, Nigel, Karen (Martini), Maggie (Beer). You get the idea. So if in my head I'm saying "I wonder if Jamie has a recipe for..." off to the first name terms shelf goes that book.

That's so funny kestypes - I hadn't thought of it that way but that is exactly how my first-stop shelf in my kitchen is done too. Nigel, Nigella, Jamie, Dorie, and now Melissa (my new fave cookbook, Cook This Now).

I just had to go and buy 2 new bookshelves today as the piles of cookbooks on my office floor are getting ridiculous.  My filing is more or less like everyone else:

Desserts and Baking (biggest section of my collection)

Single subject - breads, pasta, sauces, etc

Seasonal

Entertaining

General

Ethnicity - Italian, French, Indian, etc (many shelves for those)

Restaurants

BBQ/Grill and Meat

Vegetarian, vegetables, salads

Reference and food writing

America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated books

My system is easy... I really have none.  I love pulling my cookbooks out and leafing through.  The odd thing about me is that even though I have well over a hundred cookbooks, I can generally tell you what the spine looks like by the title.  I just look for the right spine and I am on it.  The other odd thing is that even though I can do that, I still forget that I've purchased a book and bring home a duplicate.  When that happens, I lovingly gift it to some luck person.  Obviously it must be a good one, if it enticed me to bring it home twice!

I have two bookcases in my home office; 5 shelves in each. One unit is reserved strictly for cookbooks/books about food. My shelves are high enough I don't have to worry about the taller books.

I have 'like' books together - multi-volume series, general cookbooks, herbs - how to grow, how to use, instructional books (mostly professional courseware), books about the science/history of food, books about garnishing, books about specific foods grouped together, local community cookbooks, international cooking.

Ethnicity is the ethnicity of the cuisine in the book and Country is the country of publication.  Obviously very different categories which is why you will see Greece listed in both.

Over the years I've tried various different ways to arrange the +/- 200 cookbooks I have.  But what works best for me, and what I've used the last ten years is "by color"!  A red shelf, a blue one, green, white, etc.  That's in the kitchen where all my favorites are.  I have a small pantry and in there I keep a shelf for bread baking and another for desserts.  Some of the oversized ones are so beautiful (like The French Laundry Cookbook, or A Return to Cooking) that I just stack them in the family room to peruse from time to time.

@sfcarole - I also index by colour... thank god someone else does that too...  The cookbooks are all upstairs in the open kitchen/living floor and the long bookshelves are like a piece of installation art!  

I have my cookbooks (about150) in size order in my bookcases and have done basically what chezcarol did only I used MS Access to create a database which gives me the title ,which bookcase and what shelf I can find it on.

Neil

@CarolineMelb and Slkhat: Hooray, good to hear I'm not alone!  Over the years my cookbooks have become such good friends that generally I have no trouble recalling what each one looks like.  Jane, that's a fascinating site you mentioned.  So many beautiful ideas...

Very interesting topic.  My books are more or less similar to how NaomiManygoats arranges her books.  I know exactly where the books are.  I don't have any shelves for favorites books though.  I also have separate area for Japanese language cookbooks and those are also arranged by types of food for example, ethnic, Western, Frying, Breads, Japanese Desserts, Western Desserts, Noodles, Western Noodles, Italian, etc. 

I have complete Bon Appetit and Food and Wine from 1970's all arranged chronologically, complete sets of Gourmet from the beginning to end, Saveur from the 80's, and many others.