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Getting Rid Of Books?
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Andrew
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Jun 13, 2013 11:34PM
What is everyone's opinion on this? What do you do with a book once you are done reading it? Pass it on? Keep it? Does it depend on of you like it or not? My friend thinks I'm crazy because I only keep books I really really like so I wanted to see how others felt.
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I'd say that I have pretty much every book I've bought here in my Library. I have a kids bookshelf in one room with all my Blyton, Dahl, CS Lewis, AA Milne etc then I have my fiction library as my main shelves and another set for nonfiction, cookery, biographies, text books and so on. I have had books 'borrowed' and not returned and a couple that are mostly stickytape! I also have a little bookshelf by my bed with the 40 or so books I have bought but am yet to read. I shipped them from the UK when I moved to Australia so yep I'm a Bibliophile rather than your average book freak. :)
I used to keep every book, this became a hassle when moving house so would thin out I only now keep favourites (that I will never even read again cos I never read twice, but I can lend to friends) and ones I haven't read and i keep mostly all of my reference books. I give any i thin out to salvos or do "book-crossing" - give it a number from bookcrossing.com and leave it somewhere (train, cafe, park bench) for someone to find and read and hopefully continue passing on.
Even now that I 99% read ebooks I will never get rid of those real books that I want to keep.
When I first met my husband (a National Book Critics Circle member), he was much more involved in frequent reviewing than he is now. So, we often had hundreds of books coming into the mail, only a few of which he reviewed and kept. The others, he gave away to senior centers and rest homes, creating several libraries.Now, we have far fewer books (though our personal library still consists of thousands). When we give away books, it's to our tiny local library who can either use them as part of their catalog or sell them to support the library.
N wrote: "I'd say that I have pretty much every book I've bought here in my Library. I have a kids bookshelf in one room with all my Blyton, Dahl, CS Lewis, AA Milne etc then I have my fiction library as my..."Ditto for me, N. I do the same things you do!
I save my books that are autographed, they mean the most because the author took the time to personalize it for me. The other books, I go to 2nd and Charles and exchange for new books to read.
I keep all my books if I enjoyed reading them. I tend to only get "rid of" (donate) the ones that I didn't particularly enjoy or like.
You can send them to Operation Paperback and they'll be sent to people serving in the military!Shelley
http://dustbowlstory.wordpress.com
Over the years I gave away/donated/sold probably a couple of thousand books. As I got older I grew reluctant to dispose of any books, so right now I keep them all. I only have a little over 300 paper books because I have a Kindle and I have slowed down buying paper books but I still buy four or five every month or so. The day I have to move I'm not sure what my thinking will be then but right now no book leaves the house.
Until recently I haven't had the budget to buy many books but people give me books, I have picked up a few second-hand, I won a few from book blogs and I have also inherited piles when people passed as a result my shelves are double stacked and I still don't have enough room.We have a limited amount of space in our apartment and the choice is either evicting one of the children or getting rid of my least favourite books.
Mod
Most of what I've read are packed away in the shed - due to space - and those that are waiting to be read (two full bookshelves, believe it or not) are here in the house with me. I'm a book addict. I want them all, I want to keep them all, I want to read them all.
I cannot wait to buy a bigger house, one with a room JUST for my books!!
Now that I have a Kindle, I don't buy very few physical books anymore, maybe 2 or 3 a year. I have started giving away my physical books because the old books are starting to fall apart, and I just don't have the room on my shelves. I feel really good about giving the books to Goodwill, because they take everything (including old computer books), and they sell them in their bookstores. Of course, I will always keep my most cherished books: War and Peace, To Kill a Mockingbird, Edgar Allan Poe.
I keep most of my books, but when I do decide to get rid of some (mostly books I did not like), I usually donate them to our library's used book sale. I have also sent some to troops overseas through Books For Soldiers. If there were a Little Free Library near me, I'd make a regular habit of stocking it as well. There are several throughout the city, just not any near me.
Getting older, I've decided to simplify and that means going through my books and keep only the ones I have a real reason to keep. After the first paring I offered them a really low prices during a garage sale and then just put up a sign saying free books and went back in the house. Several people left notes thanking me. Will do more of that this fall.
I keep the hardcover first editions (especially those that are signed) ... But if I really didn't care for the book, I will donate it to the library for their used book sale (or to add to their collection). The paperbacks get "recycled" - to friends, the library, Good Will (or Purple Heart). I also take paperbacks with me when I go on vacations ... as I finish them I leave them behind ... in an airport, in a hotel, in the cafeteria at the museum ... anywhere someone else might pick it up and read it.
I keep hardcovers and signed books too, and books I really like. If I know I'm unlikely to read a book a second time, however, and if it wasn't a present (I'm very wary of upsetting people), then I tend to donate books to charity shops. Trouble is, I also buy a lot of books in charity shops, so it pretty much evens out...
I don't normally keep my books, unless they were/are a classic or ones that I enjoyed immensely. I might start keeping them all though because I am afraid I am going to kick myself in the butt one day for not keeping them.
I cannot stand to part with any of my books. I used to sell the books I had already read to get money to buy new ones but I regret getting rid of them. It seems that time and time again I am dying to read a book only to remember that I sold it years ago. I usually end up buying it again anyway. Moral of the story...keep your books, bibliophiles are awesome!
Selling...no been buying and I no longer get rid of books unless someone forgets to return a book to me.
I have too many books and am going to pare down to only my favorites as I do like to re-read them. The rest will be donated to my library for their book sales. Eventually I'll move to ebooks and save the space.
I know a lady who's a shut in. I have been giving her books which come from my friend who's daughter buys them at the library. Excellent recycle system for all of us.
I rarely read something twice since there's so much out there to read...I keep a few favorites. I like the idea of paying it forward..some I bring to work and leave in a common area with a free sign...some to goodwill and some to a used book store that keeps a credits account for future purchases.
I used to have over 2000 print books that I shipped from the UK to New Zealand when I moved there, and then from NZ to Australia when I moved again ... but when we decided to move back to the UK, the moving costs were just crazy! So at that point, my husband and I decided to go 99% digital. Slowly, I'm replacing many of my old print books with digital versions, and some I buy in print as well. We gave away most of those print books in Australia, some sold but the market for 2nd hand print isn't so good at garage sales. I WISH I had had Goodreads at that point, so I could have scanned all the barcodes and kept a list. I still miss some of them :) Now I have a print shelf that has to justify its existence, so each book is carefully chosen. I'd like to have some kind of digital spine shelving that I could display my Kindle books on too ...
I keep all my books, but most stay downstairs for the whole family to read with just my favorites/mine up on my bookcase. I read most books more then once, so even if I don't like them I'll keep them in case someday I decide I want to read it.
Do you ever think that some of your books are lonely and bored?I do, and even though I have never sold a book, it'd be nice to give away the sad ones that I don't intend to re-read anymore. To somebody who can still enjoy them as they deserve... But how can I know they have found Just The Right Owner? Oh well.
P.S. Where did you guys set your 1000-2000 book libraries? It sounds nearly impossible :D
Adelfin said Where did you guys set your 1000-2000 book libraries?I know the problem, I just keep getting more shelves!
We just donated two boxes of advance reading copies of our book, Rabbit Hole, to OperationPaperback. This incredible volunteer organization provides books not only to military personnel posted abroad, but also to our wounded warriors at home, and to the families of deployed military.
They need all types of books, except romance which they receive more than they can use. At the moment, they are in special need of children's books.
Find them at http://operationpaperback.org.
I find it hard to give away my books if I don't think they are going to a good home.I live in a country where there is no culture of charity shops and English is not the mother-tongue. Most of the English readers I'm friendly with like thrillers or literary fiction not the genre fiction I'm into.
I keep promising myself that next time I visit England I will back my bag with books and donate them to the local charity shop.
Books are HEAVY, Esther. The airlines charge ridiculous prices for excess luggage.
The airlines I use give me 20kg baggage allowance. Then I would have an empty case to bring back full of clothes.
I register all of my books with Bookcrossing.com. Once my sister and husband have had a chance to read a book I really loved, I set it free. Sometimes I send it off to someone else I know will enjoy it, sometimes I donate it to the Friends of the Library store, and sometimes I leave it somewhere "in the wild" for someone to catch. (On occasion I keep the book because I just can't part with it.)
I love to keep all my books. Even if I enjoy or not, I feel attached to a book I have possessed and thats why I never feel like going to bookshops who claim to buy old books for half price or so.I feel connected to my books, so yeah the books I'v bought I'l keep and If borrowed, again u have to return them :'(
If anyone wants to get rid of their books, please contact me first :P
I find it so damn difficult to give away any books. Unless I know KNOW the person will enjoy and love the book the same way i have then i wouldnt mind. But in general, i just cant part with them. i may not remember all the little details but i feel as if they have a little part of me. i mean you are what you read right?
Sakshi wrote: "If anyone wants to get rid of their books, please contact me first :P"I use bookmooch.com
Bookcrossing I'm not so sure about. First if I just leave a book lying around I worry it will be reported as a suspicious object (ie possible bomb) and secondly there is enough litter on our streets I don't want to add to it especially when I am unsure if anyone would pick it up.
In my city not much people are active on Bookcrossing, so I dun get that option :(
We are moving, and so I have just got rid of my books from my university days. 10 years later. I sold those a secondhand shop would take and gave the rest to charity. It feels quite freeing, though I did hang on to one or two and I expect I will spend the cash on books for my toddler!
I also have a shelf of books I think friends / family might enjoy but I know I won't read again, and give those away when I see the person. I like the idea of having a good read on hand to offer when people come to stay.
I have a bookcase that contains books I have yet to read but also ones I loved and cant bear to part with! I will even buy the series again in print if I loved the electronic version. I love my kindle but nothing beats the smell and feel of a new book. Every now and then I have to take a huge bagful to the charity shop but love the idea of bookcrossing had never heard of it before.
I keep the good ones lol What can you do with unpopular books that weren't very good? Can't resell them. Toss them out I guess
Rachelle: Don't toss them out, donate them to a library or charity shop. Does anyone have a Little Free Library near them? We recently got one in my neighborhood, and I've already contributed several books. It's a cool concept that started in a small town in Wisconsin and has expanded across the country and throughout the world.
Anyone can set one up, and the concept is simple: take a book, leave a book. I've seen some really neat designs people have come up with for their libraries. Here are pics of the one near me:
That's a brilliant idea Heather, that would be great in the staffroom where I work as well :)
Just looked at the link now, what a fantastic idea. I wish we had one of these in our area.
OMG I NEVER throw away books!!!! I collect them forever! I can't let my babies leave me lol.
