Clay, I wonder if you, or anyone else knows the answer to the way the sim puts the book down "where ever" after use. With two floating about I have a job locating them when needed if I forget to ensure they are returned to the inventory after use. Any suggestions?
If you don't mind mods, you can use Scumbumbo's
Put Books Away Mod; it works for me.
You might also try to make a room better designed for reading, with comfy seating, a bookshelf on hand, and
absolutely no empty surface on any piece of furniture.
Otherwise, as the previous post said, "Clean Up Books" from a bookshelf is your friend.
The sims are, by default, programmed to put down books onto the first available surface; they will only try to place the books in bookshelves if they can't find any open surface nearby. If they also can't find a bookshelf, they will resort to putting the book on the floor.