Friday Report

[adair]

I did some whining at [personal profile] fred_mouses post about resolutions, on managing the books in my house, which are probably my biggest space issue. I have no more available wall space for shelving, and 3,548 books in my LibraryThing list, and that's far from all of them. Letting go of books is Hard. I might want to re-read them some day, or just come across one and look into it again for the mental release it provided. I have a number of books that I picked up at Books to Prisoners, the best used bookstore in town, because they looked interesting, or were about something that was currently on my mind, or sometimes seemed like something I Ought to Read. Most of these are stacked about unread, because I can always find something to read, or re-read.

I have decided I need to get 500 books out of my house this year. That does not mean I will not bring more in, because I can't stop myself, but 500 need to leave. I took a 5-volume series to B2P and they are going to the jail library. So that's 5 this week. Removing them from the shelf revealed 2 hard-cover books in the row behind them -yes I have double-stacked shelves - that I really do not need to keep, so they are in the bag to go. That's 7 books. I need to look at the double-stacked shelves; things in the back may be ready to move on; I certainly have not seen them for a while.

This whole process of letting books go has been on my mind for a while - I think I am developing ways to convince myself that at least some of my reasons for keeping some books are no longer valid for me. And, of course, many of them can also be acquired as ebooks, which take space on my computer and my ereaders, but at least I won't knock over stacks of them when I open a window.
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Comments

[kalloway]

I'm also dealing with books, in general, and trying to pare down my references as much as I can. With non-fiction, it's been fairly easy to weed out things that are hilariously out-of-date or that I can easily borrow from the library or look up online. Fiction is definitely more difficult and it's so easy to bring home. I'm also trying to fill in series gaps and it's reminding me how many series I've read/followed over the years. (And how often I go back to them--)

[adair]

I think books are an issue for many of us. What series to keep becomes so personal. I decided the Parasol Protectorate series and it's related books are fun to read, but at this point I am unlikely to re-read them. On the other hand I keep everything C.J. Cherryh wrote, in hardcover if possible, including the Foreigner series, now at 19 volumes. I am giving thought to what to switch to ebooks - Nero Wolfe may come here. I do re-read them, especially when I am ill, or at loose ends, but don't need a row of paperbacks on the shelves. It's a difficult process to make choices.

[redsixwing]

Books are /hard./ Well done on the ones you've moved out already; I'm sure you'll find more.

My process revolves around "will I, given my time commitments aren't overly likely to open up any time soon, realistically read this again?"
And if I pick it up and sigh because it's something I used to enjoy? Bye. I've got no space for that.

[adair]

Yeah, my process is somewhat similar - I do have some authors I will keep, some I will convert to ebooks, and a lot I dither about. I think most of us on unclutter have books as a part of our over-abundance of stuff. I plan to keep posting about my issues with books, and maybe keeping count of what moves on. That may be a motivation for me - I need all the regular motivation I can get.