Amanda Frederickson's Blog: Musings - Posts Tagged "hoarding"
Book Bingeing and Purging
I am a book hoarder.
I still have the first book I ever bought with my own money (The Cloak of Night and Daggers) and my collection of Baby-Sitters Club and Mandie books are boxed in a closet waiting for my nieces to be old enough to read them. Beauty and the Beast was one of my favorite Disney movies because of the epic library. I love the passages in Inkheart that describe Meggie's relationship with books, because that was my childhood. Books were my security blanket.
Yesterday, I cleared three boxes worth of books off my shelves with the intention of taking them in to our local used bookstore. This is a first for me. (I don't count selling back textbooks. Actually, I kept a bunch.) I came away from it feeling unexpectedly accomplished. Most of what I cleared are books that were given to me by well intentioned friends/family who didn't actually know what I read, others are books I've picked up over the years at various bag sales or library fundraisers (Hey, you can't beat ten cents a book!), but all they've done is gather dust.
When I moved into my apartment, I realized just how heavy they all were.
Not only do I have empty spaces on my shelves now, I've realized also just how many of my books I haven't read yet, especially since I picked up tons during Borders' going out of business. My sisters and I literally hunted down every Borders within driving distance and came home with boxes full. I even came away with one of their shopping baskets. It's now a mini bookshelf.
I've decided that the lightening of my shelves deserves an old-fashioned reading binge. And then I'll use the store credit for new books. ^_^
I still have the first book I ever bought with my own money (The Cloak of Night and Daggers) and my collection of Baby-Sitters Club and Mandie books are boxed in a closet waiting for my nieces to be old enough to read them. Beauty and the Beast was one of my favorite Disney movies because of the epic library. I love the passages in Inkheart that describe Meggie's relationship with books, because that was my childhood. Books were my security blanket.
Yesterday, I cleared three boxes worth of books off my shelves with the intention of taking them in to our local used bookstore. This is a first for me. (I don't count selling back textbooks. Actually, I kept a bunch.) I came away from it feeling unexpectedly accomplished. Most of what I cleared are books that were given to me by well intentioned friends/family who didn't actually know what I read, others are books I've picked up over the years at various bag sales or library fundraisers (Hey, you can't beat ten cents a book!), but all they've done is gather dust.
When I moved into my apartment, I realized just how heavy they all were.
Not only do I have empty spaces on my shelves now, I've realized also just how many of my books I haven't read yet, especially since I picked up tons during Borders' going out of business. My sisters and I literally hunted down every Borders within driving distance and came home with boxes full. I even came away with one of their shopping baskets. It's now a mini bookshelf.
I've decided that the lightening of my shelves deserves an old-fashioned reading binge. And then I'll use the store credit for new books. ^_^
