Crime, Mysteries & Thrillers discussion

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The Coffeehouse > What do you do with your books after you have read them?

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message 1: by Karl (new)

Karl | 1 comments I have a nice collection and was wondering how to sell them in one fell swoop locally (Not looking to sell here!) Has anyone done something similar? I think there are quite a few books that people would enjoy and I would hate to toss them.


message 2: by David (new)

David Freas (quillracer) | 2376 comments I had close to 1000 books at one time, but as I slowly closed in on the end of my life, I decided I did not want to saddle my kids with disposing of them.
So what I've been doing is once a week I take around 10 to the library and another 10 to the local senior citizen center for them to sell (along with just about anything else you could image) to generate money for their programs.


message 3: by Karen (new)

Karen (karen94066) | 364 comments I loan them out to members of my in person book groups.


message 4: by Loretta (new)

Loretta | 1 comments I donate some of my read books to my library. You can also donate books to Thriftbooks.com.


message 5: by Maria (new)

Maria Vae (bincosho) | 1 comments I keep some and give away the rest, ether to friends or at book swapping places.


message 6: by Nadine (new)

Nadine Vansant | 61 comments Up til now I try keeping them. But I try not to buy (as many) paper books anymore because I don't want to have to give them away... I already gave a number away to the reading box in our community (a box where everybody who wants to read a book can take one, and replace it with another)


message 7: by Lisa (new)

Lisa (lisanazario) | 1 comments I use the Libby app now to borrow kindle books, I have no room to store them anymore. Or if I want it sooner I will buy the e book.


message 8: by Tammy (new)

Tammy I either keep to reread or donate to the library and a local thrift store that uses profits on the community.


message 9: by Karen (new)

Karen (karen94066) | 364 comments Has anyone tried sellbackyourbook.com? I got a flyer in my last online order but I have not tried them. At one point Powells was taking back used books, but I never got enough of what they wanted to sell to them.


message 10: by Gary (new)

Gary (yosemitevalley) | 32 comments Hi Karen, I have used sellbackyourbook.com to get rid of old textbooks and some novels that I have no interest in reading again. You have to enter each ISBN number so if you have a large number of books, it might take some time. They do have a minimum dollar amount ($7.50) to qualify and don't take all books. Overall, I was happy with their service.


message 11: by Donne (new)

Donne | 34 comments Most of them, I return to KU or the library. Most of the rest are either NG books or books that I have purchased online and all of those sit in my Kindle library.

For many years (decades), hubby and I, who are both avid readers, had A LOT of hard cover and paperback books. However, when Covid hit and we both started working remote, we needed space for two separate working spaces (separate rooms). We donated most of our books to the library. These days, we each keep our own electronic book libraries.


message 12: by Carmen (new)

Carmen | 111 comments I donate them to the local library and charity.


message 13: by Erica (new)

Erica Nunn | 2 comments I read on a kindle and have an awful habit of deleting any books I disliked after I read them. Even if I read 3 pages and hate the writing style- delete..


message 14: by Nicole (new)

Nicole | 6 comments If they are from the library, I return them. Some I keep. Some I give away and some I sell, just depends on the book and how much room I have (if I want to keep it).


message 15: by George Stenger (last edited Jan 02, 2025 02:48PM) (new)

George Stenger | 20 comments I donate to the library or Goodwill.


message 16: by Dawn (new)

Dawn (dawnella77) | 80 comments I have sold many of my books because I had too many of them. I still have boxes of books. Now I only buy hardback books I want to keep -especially my favorites. I e-read most of my books. I love my kindle and the Libby app.


message 17: by Ayesha (new)

Ayesha | 1 comments I just borrow them from my library.


message 18: by Andrew (new)

Andrew  | 6 comments Put them back on the shelf or (mostly) take them back to the library.


message 19: by David (new)

David (davidkessler) | 9 comments Give them to friends.


message 20: by ᖰhiᖱeɭia (semi-ia) (last edited Jan 18, 2025 05:37AM) (new)

ᖰhiᖱeɭia (semi-ia) (did-you-say-phi) Delete them. 😂


message 21: by Pamela (new)

Pamela Mclaren | 193 comments I have a regular chain of transition — books I pick up (and most these days come from my local Friends of the Library bookstore where I volunteer) are forwarded to either my sister or my cousin. And they do the same. We box them up and ship them out media mail about every two-three months.

Anything thing I don't want to read or have read and feel that the others won't be interested in, I take either to the library or to my favorite used bookstore.


message 22: by B needs coffee (new)

B needs coffee | 694 comments I reread the ones I choose to keep and donate the others to our local used bookstore.


message 23: by Keisha (new)

Keisha Beal | 22 comments Started to sell them a couple times at the end of each year but decided to keep all my books! They are precious to me


message 24: by Gem , Moderator & Admin (new)

Gem  | 1706 comments Mod
I don't buy many books anymore, I get them from the library so they go back. I did recently see the Penguin Classics with fabric covers and one day when I'm rich 🤣I would love to have all of them.


message 25: by Sylvia (new)

Sylvia (forest_maiden) | 34 comments Occasionally I sell or try to sell some, but not often. My mom and I share books, so she ends up with some on her shelf and I end up with some others. Any that we have both read and don’t want to keep, I donate to my local, family-run used book store. They will buy certain books so, while I could take those ones in and ask if they would buy them from me, I usually just donate them instead. I do have many books though that I don’t want to get rid of. I am also part of a book club and we often lend out books to each other, especially because we all tend to like thrillers!


˜”*°•.˜”*°• Sheri  •°*”˜.•°*”˜ | 2050 comments Mod
Sylvia wrote: "Occasionally I sell or try to sell some, but not often. My mom and I share books, so she ends up with some on her shelf and I end up with some others. Any that we have both read and don’t want to k..."

I've sold a few books on sites but it's been a long time. My library won't take all books so I take them to a used book shop but sometimes they don't want them either.


˜”*°•.˜”*°• Sheri  •°*”˜.•°*”˜ | 2050 comments Mod
ᖰϦɨᖱ៩ɭɨ♬ wrote: "Delete them. 😂"

I need to work on my kindle.


message 28: by Carl (new)

Carl E | 1 comments I usually pass them on to another person.


˜”*°•.˜”*°• Sheri  •°*”˜.•°*”˜ | 2050 comments Mod
I just found this the other day - Books on the House - which takes books, new and used, and distributes them for free.

https://booksonthehouse.org/


message 30: by Donne (last edited Aug 17, 2025 10:07AM) (new)

Donne | 34 comments Well.....hubby and I donated all of our books, except for a few treasures ones, to the local library many years ago. Since then, other than a few on a shelf, all of our books are sitting in our Kindle library. We go through those about once a year and pare down the "read" library.


message 31: by ˜”*°•.˜”*°• Sheri •°*”˜.•°*”˜, Moderator (last edited Aug 19, 2025 07:39PM) (new)

˜”*°•.˜”*°• Sheri  •°*”˜.•°*”˜ | 2050 comments Mod
Donne wrote: "Well.....hubby and I donated all of our books, except for a few treasures ones, to the local library many years ago. Since then, other than a few on a shelf, all of our books are sitting in our Kin..."

Will your library take all your books? Mine has parameters about published dates and other things - they won't take older books even if they're considered classics.


message 32: by Charissa (new)

Charissa Wilkinson (lilmizflashythang) | 147 comments If I liked the book rather well, it goes into my personal library. If not, I pass it on to neighbors or ship it to the library.


message 33: by Carmen (new)

Carmen | 111 comments I donate them to the local library or to a charity shop!


message 34: by T.D. (new)

T.D. Severin | 6 comments I save the ones I really enjoy or ones that will be used as research for my own writing. The rest I donate. Lending libraries are great for this, as is the local library


message 35: by E.E. (new)

E.E. Williams | 4 comments I usually hang on to my books if they leave a mark on me especially the dark and twisty ones. Mysteries and thrillers tend to stick with me long after the last page.

Speaking of which, I just finished my own psychological thriller, Little Girl Lost, about a missing child and the secrets of a small town. Some readers told me they couldn’t put it down and some said they had to sleep with the lights on. 🔦

Little Girl Lost Do you keep books like that on your shelf forever, or pass them along once you’ve read them?


message 36: by Pippa (new)

Pippa Elliott | 11 comments I have a sudden yearning to go up in the loft and search out the books I read (maybe) 30 years ago. There are some well-worn Penguin classics up there, and although I now have most of them on Kindle, I'm hankering after that physical connection.


˜”*°•.˜”*°• Sheri  •°*”˜.•°*”˜ | 2050 comments Mod
Pippa wrote: "I have a sudden yearning to go up in the loft and search out the books I read (maybe) 30 years ago. There are some well-worn Penguin classics up there, and although I now have most of them on Kindl..."

I have friends who reread books but I usually don't. I have a few old ones on my shelf but I generally don't keep them. Sometimes I'll skim back over one if a group is reading it but once I know the ending it's just not fun anymore.


message 38: by Kevin (new)

Kevin Hwang | 3 comments I went through a few phases of donating or selling them to Half Price. Now I mostly keep them or lend them to friends and family.


message 39: by Gwen (new)

Gwen Kelly | 1 comments I am the volunteer director for Georgia SPOT Society. We help pet owners to spay and neuter their cats and dogs, who otherwise cannot afford to, so I sell my used books and donate the money to Georgia SPOT Society. I feel it is a double win. The book goes on to another owner to share the story, and we help the pet overpopulation. I also the proceeds of my owns written books and journals to SPOT. gwenkellyauthor.com or check out on Amazon.


message 40: by Reed (new)

Reed (reedster6) | 2 comments I give some of my books away or I keep the rest


message 41: by Јордан (new)

Јордан Kocevski) | 7 comments Lateley, to be more precise, since my shelves are out of space, I've started exchanging books and buying more digital.


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