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Booking Through Thursday


When’s the last time you weeded out your library? Do you regularly keep it pared down to your reading essentials? Or does it blossom into something out of control the minute you turn your back, like a garden after a Spring rain?
Or do you simply not get rid of books? At all? (This would have described me for most of my life, by the way.)
And–when you DO weed out books from your collection (assuming that you do) …what do you do with them? Throw them away (gasp)? Donate them to a charity or used bookstore? SELL them to a used bookstore? Trade them on Paperback Book Swap or some other exchange program?


It’s been AGES since I last weeded out my library—in fact, I hardly ever give away books or sell them, even when I moved last year. I did sell back some books in college, but they were math textbooks that I didn’t much want to keep (yet all my books on medieval history and literature are displayed prominently!). I once tried to do one of those swap sites, but I just couldn’t bear to part with books, even the ones I didn’t like all that much!

And “reading essentials?” What are those? :). Atually, I think of all my books as essential, no matter how much I liked or disliked each one of them. My books definitely are getting out of control, so much so that I’ll soon need to buy more bookshelves—if I have room to put them in! I like to keep my “to be read” books separate from the read, so I keep piles of books in random places on the floor.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I'm starting to give away books now, but not my most beloved ones. I need to get a new case because I have piles of books all over the floor in my house. Even my writing desk has barely enough room for my laptop because of my piles of books. But it's a problem I live having :)
Glad to know that there are people out there like me... I can not get rid of a book that I have read. If I read I book that I dont own I then have to go out and buy the book to ass to my collection. I probably have close to 600 books... yikes and yesterday I realized that I have no more shelf room... double yikes!
I was just thinking the other day that I need to go through my books. I keep every book I buy, and there are books on my shelves that I probably have not read in 4 or more years.

I was thinking about selling them, but now I'm planning to give some to my local library, since state funding has been cut. This way I can clear out the clutter and the community can benefit from my mountain of books. Everyone wins!
Monica said…
I've been a squirrel with stored books for the winter. It's a little out of control right now, but I'm slowly downsizing. I'm impressed that "An attempt at life" has a rough estimate of her library count. Someday after I've released more of my "friends", I'd like to know the quantity. For now, I just catch my breath when my husband seems about to divulge my obsession. It is getting easier to let some books go and I'm trying not to accumulate more before donating a larger portion of what is in my possession.

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