I've been debating getting rid of all the books that our public library has to clear space on our shelves and declutter a bit. I've already started not buying it if the library has it {unless it's an impulse buy at the thrift for .45 or less}.
OTOH what if we can't get it when we need it? What if the library gets rid of their copy? I can't afford to pay full price because I need it at the last minute.
I once had quite a large collection of books but we moved so I gave most of them away. I went from 8 large bookshelves full to 2 shelves on 1 bookcase.
I kept 3 of my anne rice books because they were the last gift i received from my grandma. I have my complete edgar allen poe collection(in 1 book yay), a few books on buddhism, cold mountain(my fave book), 2or 3 other non fiction books, 1 cookbook. My kids have 2 harry potter books, a few picture books and a few reference books. When he is done reading a book he sells it at half priced books and picks out a new one with the money he gets.
We have a huge amount of books in our house. I think we have 5 bookshelves in an 800 square foot home. Two of those are floor to ceiling. We keep mostly referance books in our house. We have audobon/ nature feild guides including weather, mineral, mushrooming books. Another shelf is referance books like dictionaries, atlases, language dictionaries. We have a section of Boy mechanic activity type books for the boys and a basic section of craft referance books. I have my own shelf of herbal, medical, anatomy stuff with encyclopedias for natural health remedies... oh, and a cookbook shelf! We have another of Country living, foxfire , survivalist stuff. My hubby has a bookcase of academic and religious texts as well as classic literature. These is our pared down collection of often used and referred to books. The boys have a shelf in thier room with thier own books that we go through every 6 months or so and give some to the thrift store and some to the consignment book store for credit. We have one shelf of books that we hardly use that is homelearning stuff... science experiments, fun ideas and games, curriculum ideas and art and craft ideas. We try to do a MAJOR household purge every year of books. Same theory as the kids room... thrift store for some, bookstore for credit for others.
Plus we have about 50 books out at a time from the library. Sigh. Talk about attachment!
Books are really one of the few things that I don't feel too guilty having too many of though!
I used to have books everywhere. Now I am down to 1 tiny shelf for me and 1 for my kids. DS LOVES reading so we mostly check books out at the library but there are a few that he loves so much that I just decided to buy a copy. My little DS has 3-4 board books. I have a few books that were gifts from my grandmother, My Dhammapada, a few green clean books and a copy of my 2 favorite books.
It was hard at first but then it got easier and now I regularly purge because even though I only have a few books.....nothing stops me from picking up more books at the thrift store for .50. lol
I have a lot of craft/Waldorf type books, herbals, a few textbooks and study materials (I still need to take another set of exams for my advanced credentials). We have a basket and 2 shelves of little kid books, and a larger bookshelf of bigger kid books. I've decluttered most novels except those I read again and again (Clan of the Cave Bear series, Outlander series, Eragon series). My opinion is similar to Village Mama's, I can get by with 3 pairs of pants, but I need something new to read all the time!
I've always been attached to turning paper pages and all, but I am really pondering more simplicity lately and I just gave away 50% of my books --- books like "The Scarlet Letter" that I know, realistically, that if I want to read again, I can get from the library (or free on the kindle). Also, if I hadn't read it in the past 6-7 years, out it went. If I hadn't used any recipes _ever_ from cookbooks...out they went.
I gave myself the 6-7 year mark on all my old classics, etc., since that included time before kids, when I had days and days to just simply spend reading.
It has really been liberating, and when I look at my shelves now, I see the books that I truly love and read over and over. It makes me happy.
I have too many books, according to DH. I have culled many, many books over the years. I used to buy books all the time, but now I only buy maybe one or two a year, and then I try to pass them on. I do have certain books that I read over and over again. There are some books that I have read over a hundred times, just because I enjoy the story so much. I just love books!!
But they do take up lots of space, and they really are a pain to move. We have moved several times in the past four years and every time, my book collection gets a bit smaller. My brother was going to get me a Kindle for Christmas, but I vetoed that idea. I like real books, maybe someday I will change my mind, but I like the paper!
I love books but they are something I've decided to de-clutter and have pretty much done so. I hate the look of bookshelves filled with books (and dust!) anywhere except for a designated reading room and since I don't have even a chance of having a house with enough space for that around here I just started de-cluttering them. One thing that helped is moving, and another thing that is helping me now is that I buy almost all of my books on Kindle (on my iphone), because it saves me $ and space. I don't really miss books as paper much.
I am the same, hate the look of bookshelves cluttered with dusty books. However I also hate to part with most of my art books. I love books about art, art history, and crafts.
I found it much easier recently to get rid of many of children's books, ones that they are no longer interested in, they are too old for, etc...
Since I got my Kindle, I love it, I have 80 books on there, and just imagine how much physical space those 80 books would take up, plus the paper comes from trees, so I feel better from a number of aspects about having a Kindle. I know that there are still many books one can't get for the Kindle, but at least it is helping me reduce clutter and it is making me read more than I used to!
I struggle with this issue as well. DH and I have pared down our collection considerably, but I'm the type to re-read favorite books again and again (and again!). My favorite series is 6 books, 600 - 900 pages each, and I think I've read the series at least 6 times. The books I know I will read again still live with us in an antique, leaded glass bookcase in the living room. It has 6 shelves and is nearly 5' tall by 3.5'' wide. I got rid of anything that was not an applicable reference book or magazine, but kept a 30 year collection of Mother Earth News magazines given to me by a friend. Those and my food/homesteading/gardening books are on a smallish 3-shelf unit in the spare room. We also have a collection of classics accumulated over the years. Those are in a small 3' by 3.5' antique shelf given to me by my aunt. DS's books are in a built-in bookshelf in his room. We don't have many yet for him, since he still mostly just wants to flip pages and chew them, but I'm sure we'll end up with quite a few. Right now, we probably have 250 books in our adult collection and 30 in DS's. We also use the library quite a bit, DH more than I.
DH got me a NookColor e-reader for my birthday/Christmas this year. I'm reading my first book on it now, and I don't really miss having an actual paper book in-hand. That said, I'm not going to toss my collection and buy the ebook versions to save space. I might donate some of the more obscure classics that I haven't yet read, since I know I can get the ebook versions for free if I should ever decide to read them. I doubt that ebooks will ever replace the paper ones completely, but I can say that I'm not going to miss hauling a bag full of books to keep my happy on road trip vacations! I'll probably buy most fiction on ebook now and reference/non-fiction books on paper.
Well, it would probably help if I'd been accurate; it's actually two trilogies, "Dragon Prince" and "Dragon Star" by Melanie Rawn. And then after I wrote that, I started to wonder if maybe the Sword of Truth books by Terry Goodkind were really my favorites... I think it's a toss-up between the two.
And thanks for reminding me that I wanted to read the Outlander books. I've heard a lot about them, but never read them. I'm adding them to my NookBook wishlist as I type this!
Oh, I'm so excited for you. The Outlander series is one of my favorites. Enjoy. They were books that I ignored my kids to read: Here kids, here are some new Legos! Mama is going to read for an hour.....play nicely.....
You didn't need to be accurate. I just always wonder which books people like to read & it was like you were giving me a clue...hmmm....6 book series....900 pages.... which one?
I have accepted the fact that I NEED a nook... 6 months ago I was totally against the idea of reading electronically, hated the idea of something like a Kindle, Nook, Sony E-reader etc but now I think I've finally turned the corner. I still dont like the Kindle because I can't download library books to it but Im slowly falling in love with the NOOK. NOOK will accept library books, NOOK is backlit so I can read in the dark and I spent tons of time playing with NOOK at barnes and noble (oh gosh that sound so dirty lol)
So I may be turning the technology corner and taking the plunge into the giant world of NOOK sometime soon.
As for books my son just got rid of 32 books via holiday helper. He has way more to go!
I have accepted the fact that I NEED a nook... 6 months ago I was totally against the idea of reading electronically, hated the idea of something like a Kindle, Nook, Sony E-reader etc but now I think I've finally turned the corner. I still dont like the Kindle because I can't download library books to it but Im slowly falling in love with the NOOK. NOOK will accept library books, NOOK is backlit so I can read in the dark and I spent tons of time playing with NOOK at barnes and noble (oh gosh that sound so dirty lol)
So I may be turning the technology corner and taking the plunge into the giant world of NOOK sometime soon.
I was against them, too, for a long time. I just thought they were silly and a gimmick. And then the NookColor came out. Since it's multifunction (internet and e-reader), I had an easier time justifying the price tag... If I'm going to spend $150 on a reading gadget, I will happily shell out another $100 for a backlit screen, Pandora radio/mp3 compatibility, Android apps, ability to load photos, and internet access. Plus, ebooks are generally cheaper, and I tend to buy a LOT of books. I can read in bed without turning on a bedside light and bothering DH. I can take my entire library with me in a device the size of my journal. And, I can buy or borrow books without ever leaving the house. I'm seriously in love with this thing!
The only downside is that I'm terrified to read in the tub now! I've never dropped a book in, but the fact that it's a $250 book... Eek!
I have to admit I think I have an emotional attachment to real books.. My husband is trying to convince me that I should get an electronic reader or an IPad but I LOVE to have the actual book in my hand. When Im upset/exhausted/just out of sorts my favorite thing to do is pick up a book and read. I don't think an electronic gadget (ok, I don't like electronics in general) will hold the same comfort to me as a real book. Oh and I like the smell of books
I love walking into a library or bookstore because I can smell the books, Im strange I know.
He is wearing me down a little though. Ill probably never give up my favorites. For me I dont' get as much out of things like scriptures if Im staring at a screen.. The Jane Austen set Ive had for years will probably always be here, the books that were my grandmas when she was a little girl will probably always stay.. Childrens books are my girls favorite "toy" they wouldn't be to happy if we got rid of them (although they regularly go through and tell me if they don't like/don't want to keep a certain book or set of books).
it's owned by eBay but it's not an auction - you list the item and the price you want. The price includes shipping automatically, and all transactions are paid using PayPal. My mom is a used book trader and she used Half quite a bit.
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