The last post made me think about keeping books. I used to. But that was a long time ago, before the internet and the collapse of the net book agreement, and I was a teenager and couldn't afford to buy a lot of books. I was also a bit of a hoarder, like my parents were.
It's really easy to accumulate stuff and books among them and you easily get to a place where there are so many books the house starts to feel claustrophobic. Last time I was house-hunting I went to look at a place that had bookshelves everywhere. Even above the doors going into rooms. It felt very crowded. But by that time I'd unlearned my hoarding habits and regularly de-cluttered - including my bookshelves.
So now, I keep reference books that I think I'll need, non-fiction that I was particularly influenced by, a little poetry and the odd novel that I love (less than ten at this point). Everything else goes. I give books to local charity shops, to friends, and to the book dump at work. I think that if I enjoyed something I should let it go to give someone else the chance to enjoy it too.
What do you do with the books you've read? Do you keep them? If so, where? Do you buy books or use libraries?
It's really easy to accumulate stuff and books among them and you easily get to a place where there are so many books the house starts to feel claustrophobic. Last time I was house-hunting I went to look at a place that had bookshelves everywhere. Even above the doors going into rooms. It felt very crowded. But by that time I'd unlearned my hoarding habits and regularly de-cluttered - including my bookshelves.
So now, I keep reference books that I think I'll need, non-fiction that I was particularly influenced by, a little poetry and the odd novel that I love (less than ten at this point). Everything else goes. I give books to local charity shops, to friends, and to the book dump at work. I think that if I enjoyed something I should let it go to give someone else the chance to enjoy it too.
What do you do with the books you've read? Do you keep them? If so, where? Do you buy books or use libraries?
8 comments:
I keep books from my favourite authors, like stephen king and Anne Rice, and the ones I like. Those I don't I do give away, but I keep alot of them.
I keep 'em, except for those that really annoy me or are just not interesting in any way, shape or form.
Set them free! :-)
I'm a bit of a collector, so I keep the books I like. I still prefer real books to e-books even though I have, use, and enjoy my Kindle.
I used to use http://www.bookcrossing.com/ to "set books free" as they like to say on the site. It's a lot of fun. you get to track the books you set free, assuming the person who finds it registers.
Hi Victoria! Thanks for adding yourself to my follower list. I've come to repay the favor. :)
I keep a lot of reference books, but novels are few and far between. Once I've read them I usually give them to charity. The exception are those that I really loved or those that have been signed by the author.
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It was nice to meet you. BTW...love the title of your blog.
@Tony, thanks for the link. I'll have a look.
@Maria, likewise! I liked your post on Quitting. It's really hard to judge - I tend to get stuck on 'but if I just worked a bit harder it would work', especially when it's something I'm emotionally invested in.
Welcome both, thanks for stopping by to say hello :-)
I must admit that I'm still in my hoarding books stage. It's the only thing I hoard, but I hoard them well. This will sound an awful lot like rationalizing, but it's not really my fault, as most people I know constantly give me me books either as gifts, or just to pass on to someone. I do not keep any books I don't love--I just love a lot of books. I'm not nearly as bad as the home you described, but I have pretty large shelves.
It's nice to see that other people were like this at one point and grew out of it--makes me feel that, eventually, I will too.
Good post! :-)
I rarely part with my books. It was a big transition for me when I bought an e-reader (love it) but I still buy real books, being tactical and the walk up and down the isles of the bookstore.
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