Why so many books?

[Ben]

I am decorating the room in our house (Mary's and mine, that is) that I laughingly call my "study".

It is approx 3m by 4m, and, at a guess 4m high - not small. I built bookshelves, floor to ceiling on 3 of 4 walls. They were all overfull of books before I started decorating. As I boxed them up, I'm thinking, do I really, like, really want to keep all these? There must be several hundred of the bastards

True enough, some are references of various sorts, some are hardbacks I found in second-hand dealers shops, but most are paperback novels, which I doubt I shall ever read again.

THROW THEM OUT, says an inner voice.

Know what - I cannot. Kind of feels like "book burning" in a weird sort of way.

I suppose we are all queer in our own sort of way. Just that that my queerness is terribly space intensive. Anyone else likewise queer about books?

[Tormod]

I did it last year after years of procrastination. Over 1,000 books went out, mostly to charity flee markets etc. We kept some boxes with those books we simply "couldn't" throw out - they are still unopened.

It's a new life, highly recommended. Listen to that inner voice.

[freeztar]

My method is to keep all reference books that are not outdated and pass on the paperback novels that I will likely never read again. Books that are not worthy of being passed on to friends make their way to the local book trader for "recycling".

In this Age of Internet, book collections seem to have less and less priority, for me at least.

[Jay-qu]

My book collection is steadily growing, I have never thrown out or given away a book - but I am still young and the main motivation for keeping books it that I think I will read them again which I know just isnt going to happen.. But I can at least tell myself that I will give them to my kids one day

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by Ben

THROW THEM OUT, says an inner voice.

Know what - I cannot. Kind of feels like "book burning" in a weird sort of way.

I know the feeling. I’ve been through it several times, most recently with a collection of predominantly paperbacks that, pressed face to back on the floor, measured about 50 meters long.

My solution has always been donating my whole collection of unlikely-to-read-agains to a library. Decades ago, I managed to get my college library to set up a new “popular reading” section with my books as their core, which was very satisfying. Most recently, I just dumped a whole vanload of boxed books on my local public library, which tends to shunt such donations directly to a string of used book stores they have in donated shopping spaces, which generate revenue the library system uses for general expenses. In both cases, I got a nicely written receipt showing the value I estimated for the books as a charitable contribution, which US tax code allows to be spread over several years as a charitable contribution reduction to taxable income, which I recon exceeded what I’d have made selling them in a yard sale or similar.

The only caution I’d raise involves books with collectable value (or merely ones that demented congoers believe have collectable value, as most reading-worn paperbacks lose most of their collectable sales value) particularly whole series, as the aforementioned demented congoers will steal them, even at the expense of paying the library’s lost book fine, perhaps hoping to converting them to riches, or perhaps for personal collections. I was chagrinned to visit my college library collection and find whole series (eg: Moorcock’s Elric books, a couple of ERB series, etc) missing for this reason. If I had it to do over, I’d’ve sold or consigned my intact series to a used bookstore or dealer I trusted, with instructions to try to sell them only intact.

[Moontanman]

Oh WOW! Books, I get shaky and sweaty every time I even think of throwing out books. To me books are like open portals to other worlds I'll never get to visit any other way. It would be like having a real Star Gate and saying "hell I don't need this any more, I've been everywhere!" and burying it!

I almost never give away books to anyone, if I do they are very special people for sure. I once boxed up all my paper back books to sell them because I had run out of room. Must have been a small pick up truck load. Some of them were 25 cent novels if anyone can remember that far back. now a paper back can set you back $8 easy.
I couldn't sell them and "stored" them all in my attic where the heat destroyed them! BLASPHEMY!

Now days I do try to at least share my paper backs with others but i refuse to allow anyone to have my hard backs, never! Only from my cold dead hands! If I ever win the lottery the main difference to my life will be my own library!

Before the INTERNET there were only books and the books said let there be a new way to share the worlds we contain and the INTERNET was born!