I arrange mine chronologically by author&#x27;s first major work (or rough date of the first work in it in the case of collections, like Lichtheim&#x27;s <i>Ancient Egyptian Literature</i>) so my very <i>shelves</i> are didactic. Even if I can&#x27;t tell you exactly when a book was written I can probably imagine where it is on the shelves and pin it down to &quot;after Fielding, before Dickens... after but very near Austen, I think&quot;.<p>Can&#x27;t really do that with e-books. Even if you set up your collection to be displayed that way, you&#x27;re not going to look at it several times every day as you move around your house. Won&#x27;t be effective—probably just annoying.<p>[EDIT] slackism for italicizing to HNism.