On a day like Day 25, where the skies were dark and it rained intermittently throughout the day, a lucky person would be curled up with a book.
I guess I’m lucky, because I was curled up with a book all right.
Several hundred of them, in fact. Over the last few years, I have slowly given away a good chunk of my books. What is left are these three bookshelves and a few hot spots in the house. My tv cabinet, for example, holds not one video. It’s all books in there.
I managed to clear my desk top on Day 16, but not much else thanks to a little boy with a tummy bug. A clear desktop was all I needed. I knew later in the month I would use that same desktop as a purged-book loading zone.
Those books go three rows deep…
and the bookshelves look bare.
I wasn’t sure what should go and what should stay. Of course, out went all the books I didn’t enjoy. I also put in the donate pile books that are out of date or no longer appropriate, like books on baby food or pregnancy. My struggle was with the middle of the road books. I love John Irving, but I barely remember The Fourth Hand. Should I keep it as part of my collection of his work? Should I donate it in the spirit of the William Morris quote?
In the end, I decided to keep it. My love of complete collections won over my need for space, a need that isn’t as pressing after purging a good deal of clunker books. My Unread Library books are still in the house, and I’m giving myself a few more months to see how far I get. I haven’t decided what to do with some coffee table books that are beautiful, but of no use to me. Damn you, quote, with your little loop holes.
What I do know is this: I don’t know if I can buy a book moving forward without first checking it out of the library. There was easily thousands of dollars in books sitting on my desk, and that’s money that could have been put to better use had I been more judicious about my buying habits. I guess we all have our avocado slicer.
But if my avocado slicer means that Mikey asks his brother every day after school if he can read him a story, then I’m okay.
New here? For the next 31 days Im living according to the famous William Morris quote. You can learn more about the project here.
Troy asks Zoe to read to him every single day after school too.
And I will hoard those board books until the day I die.
(OH GOD, I’M MY MOTHER)
Hush your mouth.
That last little bit is the sweetest thing ever!
And really, can you have too many books? Although, I keep waffling on whether or not to keep Robinson Crusoe. I read that book for the first time a couple years ago and I’m still bitter about it. So. Painful. I imagine, in the end, I’ll keep it, like you, to keep a set. That and it’s a Borders Classic. Memories. Sigh.
You can never have to many GOOD books. That’s what I keep reminding myself. I’m making room for books I LOVE. :)
Books would be sore spot. We have books in every room of the house including up the stairs. Do I think it’s cluttered? Never.
I have memories of reading them and happily merged my husbands collection with mine when we married. I will buy children’s books because I love them, even now that my guys are older.
I did a purge of the really, really outdated kids/pregnancy/junky/car ride books this summer and it almost killed me. I sat down and read every one.
Did I mention that my husband and I met while working in a bookstore?
I have thousands of of $$ sitting there too.
Sigh. I love the look of the minimal home, but I would never have that because my walls are filled with bookcases…
Remind me to tell you the story of how we funded our wedding with ephemera found in books : )
Tell me the story of how you funded your wedding with ephemera found in books. :)
I think decluttering books is an ongoing process since some books become dated, or interests change. A house without books would be sad, so keeping those that bring you joy is a good thing. Great job again, Jules!
Yes, it is an ongoing process! I think that is what is so great about checking books out of the library first. To have a library of books you adore would be a powerful thing.
Oh, that last photo is so, so sweet. I think I’ll consider myself okay as well if I can pass on a love of reading to my future children.
Much like your other commenters, books would be my Achilles heel, so I too am very impressed with your efforts. Interesting that you kept your law books, though. Those were the first ones to go from my collections (some, in fact, were sold as soon as the semester was over), even though I still practice…. Okay, that’s not 100% true – I still have to keep a set of the I.R.C. and regulations (eight volumes in all – oh, joy) for work, but enough about that. I’m getting grumpy just thinking about it. ;)
Can’t wait to see what projects the final days will bring!
I really should get rid of the law books. I just can’t let them go! I will probably pay my books another visit this year as I get more adept at passing things on to people who will appreciate them.
I really want to get rid of my master’s degree books/notebooks, and my husband’s college books, but I just. can’t seem to. I still have college texts too, though it’s not like I will ever read them again, since I haven’t in 14 years. We’re pretty good about not buying too many books, because I’m cheap and the library is free. However, I have a goal to own the complete collection of Newbery and Caldecott winner lists, and I’m nowhere near complete. So I feel no guilt in buying children’s lit.
Books are SO my sore spot Jules! I feel like I can purge SO much in my house, but I just hate giving up books. Even ones I don’t love! Is it weird that I just feel like my IQ jumps a few points by having them in my house? That I feel like they’re my friends? That if I let them go, I’m giving up on them? Seriously, where is the support group for people who have to purge their Barbara Kingsolver and John Irving collections?
Oh, books are definitely my weak spot. I’m a book reader and a book buyer and so is my husband, meaning are home is COVERED in books. I can get rid of some with time — particularly ones that I’ve read once and shoved to the side, or some of the chick lit that just doesn’t have sentimental value. But others I don’t see myself ever really parting with. They’re a part of me! I’m trying to decide if that’s okay, or if I really need to evaluate and keep only the books that meaningful and beautiful to me…
Oh … you’ve inspired me! I’ve been following your project and every day find myself staring wistfully around my house completely overwhelmed at the prospect of organizing. But, it definitely needs to be done. This post is something I can tackle … tonight! I don’t have a lot of books, but most of them are kids books that we haven’t looked at in years! Tonight’s the night! Wish me luck!
I’m so glad Harry Potter made the cut!
I’m pretty ruthless about banishing a book that I don’t like or have no use for. I have no qualms about it, one of my few purging strong suits. I have sort of the opposite problem sometimes — there are lots of books that I’ve read from the library multiple times that I love (I’m a big re-reader) and I’ll go looking for one in the house thinking that I own it, only to find that I’ve never actually bought it.
My husband, on the the other hand…he refuses to part with any of his college textbooks. And he kept ALL of them! Even for classes that he dropped or hated. Buy-backs, anyone? How did you not need that buy-back money back when you were a broke undergrad? I have no idea what that’s about, but I refuse to have them out on display on the bookshelves.
I need to do this, but I’m scared. It should be easy, in theory, because I’m a re-reader, so if I haven’t read something in the last few years, I could probably just get rid of it. But I have piles of books and textbooks (I’ve moved at least some textbooks to my work office, so that is good). And we have entire shelves full of coffee table books. I’m better at resisting them than D is.
Ok so true story. When I was born, my grandmother made a solemn vow to NEVER refuse to buy me a book. She showered me in books the way most grandmother’s use candy. When I was around 8, she had a double cornea transplant and didn’t feel comfortable driving long distances anymore. It fell to my mom to drive her around to doctor’s appointments, shopping and the standard wash, curl and set. Every Thursday rain or shine they made the trek to the beauty shop and grocery store and when I was off of school, I tagged along. We would drop her off for the blue hair special and she would dutifully hand me the credit card. Oh yah. Each week I would hit the bookstore in the mall and come out with no less than 8-10 new books. To say I have an addiction would be an understatement.
I literally have thousands of books boxed up at my mom and dad’s. Thank to budget restraints and threats from my husband, I no longer spend willy nilly on novels. Instead I drive my local librarian NUTS requesting handfuls of books a week. I’ve worn out a library card already this year. I do make sure I have the budget to buy the books I love (hello Outlander series, Twilight, and several unmentionable others). It saves me space and ensures that I have what I love instead of what I think I ‘need’.
What a lovely memory that you will always treasure about your grandmother.
Nice story…
I agree. :)
Oh books…I just can’t get rid of ones that were given as a gift (even though they’ll never be read for one reason or another). A few weekends ago, my husband and I decided to make room for books we only really love in our newly-done office. We promised no hard feelings and that any books we would get rid of we would sell to then use the money to buy more really great books. So we boxed up the books (all only 1-2 years old, perfect condition) in about 4 large bankers boxes and took the books to a large chain to do a sell-back. The total offered (for over 100 books)? $16.00. Yes, SIXTEEN DOLLARS. So yeah, back into the garage they went. I guess they’re at least out of the office, right?! So now I’m thinking well, maybe we’ll read them some day…
Oh, not my Michael Dell, Southwest Airlines story; Rick Patino: Success is a Choice; Andy Grove: Only the Paranoid Survive; Howard Schultz: Pour your Heart Into It; FISH; Who Moved My Chesse; or Jack Welch: The GE Way…and many more. I guess I got out of them what I was supposed to, so I say adios mi amigos, ADIOS. Thank you, wife.
As for coffee table books, the blog Playful Learning Spaces recently discussed the value of beautiful coffee table books for sparking conversation and creative exploration in children. Hop over there to see if that helps with the “usefulness” of those books – it is hard for me to resist a book that is beautiful!
Probably 15 years ago, I started reading Elizabeth George.
As a sucker for the good mystery, I’d been reading Ken Follett, Johnathan Kellerman, and Faye Kellerman novels. Meh, they were okay. Also a sucker for Emily Bronte, I was introduced to Elizabeth George by my aunt, and my eyes opened to a series of very well-crafted novels.
I started, one by one, collecting the paperbacks because it’s what I could afford at the time. I had collected the entire series. In early 2009, I donated the entire bunch to a local used book store. It was during a divorce, and I couldn’t take everything with me.
About 6 weeks ago, I decided to begin again reading the series. It has been such fun! I can’t recall most of the intricate plots, so it is as if I’ve never read them. And the development of the essential characters is intriguing to watch. My husband frequently reminds me that the characters are not real people…I’m THAT into the stories.
The reason for the post: I sure miss my paperback series. There was something about it–nostalgia maybe, is all. Still, I wish I hadn’t given it away. I am reading now on my Nook via a download loan from the public library–and I LOVE the Nook. But, my secret desire is to get the entire series in hardback. I found my first one at a used bookstore for $6. It’s all about priorities, isn’t it? !!
Ughhh, I desperately need to do this, too (along with all the other things you’ve done this month). I was an English major, and my husband was a History major, so combined we have a really hard time getting rid of books. I’ve been trying to do a better job of getting books out of the library, as you suggested, and I’ve found it is easier now that I have kids, since we go for story time once a week.
The Fourth Hand, blah. All I remember about that is that a lion eats the main character’s hand. And then does he get a new hand from the dead husband of his future love interest? I think so. I hate how John Irving’s really fabulous books trick you into reading his crappy ones.
I have no idea where you are, but if you are within 3-4 hours of Baltimore, you should check out TheBookThing of Baltimore via our website. We give away free books, about 25,000 a week. When we open to the public on Saturdays we usually have around 250,000 books stocked. After the weekend give away, we spend the rest of the week processing and filling for the next week.