GON Reader Question
I Need to Decrease My Book Collection, But Books Are Difficult to Give Up. Any Suggestions?
Regarding your January 13th issue, I agree that I need to
decrease my book collection, but there are some that are difficult to give up because I reference them from time to time. I agree with the eReader, but it would be costly to repurchase the books. Any other suggestions?
-- Rhonda
Maria Gracia's Response
Hi
Rhonda,
Thank you for your question. My first recommendation is to part with those books you will definitely not be referencing. There is probably a good number of books in your collection that you haven't referenced in years and likely never will. That is a very
good place to start.
Then, over the course of the next six months or so, begin making two piles: a) those books you referenced in those six months and b) those books you did not. The books in the b pile are candidates for
donation.
If, by chance, you part with a book that you do want to reference after it's gone, you'll very likely be able to pick up that book from your local library. Many libraries also offer digital versions of books that you can access immediately on one of your
devices.
By the way, if any of the books that you are referencing are cookbooks, consider if you'll ever make a recipe from each one based on how long you've had the cookbook and how many times you've actually made one of the recipes in it. If there are any that
you're keeping just because they contain one or two recipes that you don't want to lose, you can always jot those few recipes down and then donate that cookbook. No sense keeping an entire cookbook for one or two recipes.
The actual physical books that I personally
keep in my home collection are my favorites...those I have read, and re-read from time to time. I only allow those to take up prime real estate in my home.
Something else you can do is give yourself a goal number, such as donate 10 books from my collection.
Most people can easily do this. And then you can come back to a similar goal in a few months. This is a more doable and effective goal for most people rather than trying to get rid of a ton of books at once.
I hope this gives you some ideas to ponder and
helps you reduce your current book collection a bit, while also ensuring you're happy with the quality and volume of the books you do decide to keep and enjoy in your home.
Happy reading! By the way, I'm currently reading The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore. I just started it and am enjoying it so far.
