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| One book I could never get rid of, especially since it's signed |
You guys all like to read, right? When you read, do you normally get books from the library or buy them? If you buy them, do you get rid of them after you're done reading?
I'm asking because right now I'm trying to pare down my book collection. I just have way. too. many. books. Everytime I move, which is often, it's a huge hassle to move my books. And now I'm moving to North Carolina in August, and I can only take what can fit in my car. True, I could leave some books behind at my parents house. But if I don't have them with me, is there any point in owning them? If I'm willing to leave them behind, why not just get rid of them? These are the kinds of things I'm asking myself.
But I'm SO bad at getting rid of books. I just hate doing it. So many of the ones I have, I haven't even had a chance to read yet (I get a lot at used book stores and thrift stores). If I get rid of them, I may never get around to reading them. Sure, I could get it from the library, but it's more convenient to own the book. You can't take library books on vacation, for example. Plus, I really like to re-read books, and I also like to underline things while I'm reading. Of the books I own that I have read, I don't want to get rid of a lot of those either, because I might want to re-read them someday. Also, I'm kind of attached to them.
What's a girl to do?
For now, I'm trying to ask myself - okay, do I really need this? Is it something I'd want to own and re-read, or could I read it once at the library and move on? Indeed, will I ever really want to read it at all? For example, I have a copy of The Red Tent, and I'm just not sure I'll ever get around to reading it. There's nothing wrong with it, but there are so many other books in the world. And that's another thing: More books come out all the time! When I think about what I actually read, most the books are ones that have just come out and that I've gotten from the library. And what if I want to read The Red Tent one day!? What if !?
Lastly, I just kind of like having books around. I like to pick them up, flip through them. I hope to one day have a big library in my house. But then, I would first have to move all those books into my house...ugh.
What do you guys think I should do?
i understand you so well. Could you not prepare a box with the one that can wait, let it t your mother house and ask her to send it to your new address when you are installed?
ReplyDeleteI think it would be very expensive to ship it...
DeleteI think you should separate everything into three piles: yes, no, and maybe. Keep the maybe pile at your house until you come home on a break and if you haven't thought about one of the books in that box while you were gone, get rid of it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough one for me, too! I really enjoy having my books around, they're cozy & comforting - BUT, I'm keeping too many that I've read once and likely won't read again. So, I think Laura's idea is probably the best way to go :)
ReplyDeleteI think the books that you absolutely love you should definitely keep, but if you really don't think you can take certain ones, give them away. Only keep the ones that you would save in a fire, you should definitely limit it to a certain number or how many you can fit into a box. You could donate the extras to a library, a blogger who doesn't have anything to review/read or you could do a book swap. I know people who would definitely want some new books and I can totally relate to where you're coming from. There are certain books that I would run into a burning building for. :)
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