How do you organize your books?

I came across an article asking this question and wanted to answer it but didn't want to be in the greys. So I'm back! And I'm going to talk about my books!

Though the first response in the article declares that "alphabetizing is a morally wrong and antithetically banal sorting method," I am an alphabetizer. In fiction. I remain skeptical of the merits of genrefication (my library at work is genrefied because it was when I got there, it's the standard in my district, and changing it back would be an epic undertaking) and the idea of organizing by color or size seems utterly arbitrary and far less effective at accomplishing the one goal of organizing books with any system: finding them. Alphabetical by author's last name it is (again, in fiction).

Nonfiction is organized by subject. Since this is a fairly self-indulgent topic to begin with, I'm going to lean in. I'm going to go through the subjects one by one. So, in order of shelving (which is itself fairly arbitrary):

Travel
This includes books about places I've actually been, as well as places I can never visit because they don't actually exist (The Dictionary of Imaginary Places, Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America, etc.).

Biographies and Memoirs
From Abbot Suger to Elie Wiesel. Some overlap with travel...and now I'm reconsidering the location of Dinner with Persephone and The Colossus of Maroussi.

Science and Math
And sports. Because The Science of Yoga wound up here, then other books about yoga, then sports. Have you read Soccer in Sun and Shadow?

Miscellaneous
Oof. A dumping ground for mysticism and colonial humor (among others).

Religion

Philosophy
Alphabetical by philosopher. It isn't sexy, but it's practical.

History
Chronological, as much as I could manage. A lot of ancient history, not nearly enough modern history.

Poetry
Alphabetical by poet.

Mythology
Kind of chronological, with a stack of the Canongate Myth Series stacked at the end.

Artists
Alphabetical by artist.

Art History
Chronological, with a few random things tacked on at the end (typography, architecture).

Dictionaries
I love looking words up in a physical dictionary.

Shakespeare
Including complete works, individual plays, books about Shakespeare, and a few movie adaptations.

Drama
Alphabetical by playwright.

Languages
Alphabetical by language. The place you will find How to Talk Minnesotan.

Graphic Novels, Comics, and Picture Books

And then there are the stacks of library books waiting to be read. Oh, and cookbooks and books about food are in the dining room. Books everywhere! (And I can find them all.)