Book culling

Phew. What a day. And it ain't finished yet.

My Other Half is on a business trip to New York at the moment (boo-hoo, I couldn't go with him! I love New York!!) and because I didn't have to go into the office today, I thought it might be a good chance to reorganise our living room, which is still in much the same (very messy) state as it was left when we had our windows replaced back in October.

We live in a very poky one-bedroom flat, which means there's never enough room for all our possessions. Once-upon-a-time I would NEVER get rid of any of my books. I would even write my name on the endpapers (and sometimes the date and price!) as if committing them to my library forever. Now, I've learnt to let them go: I just don't have the space to keep them.

A few years ago, when I worked on a large magazine with a staff of some 20 women, most of whom were avid readers, I would bag my 'culled' books up and take them into the office. Several of my other colleagues would do the same. We'd dump all the books on a spare desk and let everyone help themselves. It was a great idea, although I had to refrain from taking away more books than I was trying to get rid of!

Now I work on a much smaller magazine and the staff are not "readers". So when I do my book culling sessions I have to employ a different approach. The books I no longer want (or have no space for) are sorted into piles:

• books that can be sold on Amazon.co.uk for a reasonable price
• books that can be swapped (on BookMooch, for instance) or given away via this blog
• books to be donated to my local Amnesty International used bookstore

At the moment I'm half-way through a major cull, which will probably stretch through into the weekend, because I just don't have the energy to finish it all today. But that's probably largely due to the fact I've worn myself out moving our sideboard and rearranging our TV/DVD/surround-sound system (I almost strangled myself in wires and electrical cords in the process! I honestly did not expect anything to work when I turned them back on.)

What do you do with your books when you've finished reading them? Keep them, sell them, swap them or give them away?

Comments

[Dorothy W.]

I used to keep them all. I don't tend to buy tons of books, so I managed to find shelf space for them. Because of Book mooch I've begun giving some away (in exchange for new ones), and it's quite hard for me to decide which ones to list there. Mostly I list contemporary fiction I felt so-so about or stuff I didn't like.

[Maxine]

Take them to the charity shop or local library. I must have taken skiploads, no exaggeration, over the years.
I don't sell them on Amazon -- I don't think it is worth it for the relatively small return, though if I had more time I might do it. I like to think if I give a book to a charity shop or a library, someone is more likely to read it than they would have done if they'd had to fork out £5.99. And that's a nice feeling.

[CW]

I keep them all, although with 2500+ books it's starting to get a little challenging!

[genevieve]

I have a lot of trouble giving away and don't do it very often - I'm more likely to give away CDs, I think I buy books fairly carefully so don't often want to get rid of them and with CDs I am a little more reckless.

However I've steadily bought more books in the last two years because of book blogging,really - so maybe there will be culling at some point soon. We do have a few law and chemistry texts leaving home next year with our eldest daughter, though - that's a fair bit of shelf opened up!!(sob.)

[Karmon]

Until recently I kept most of my books. Then I discovered Bookmooch. I feel like I'm sending my books to a good home if I give them away through this web site. I'm in the process of indexing my library on my computer, so it has been a good time to cull out duplicate and books I didn't care for the first time around. The upside -- I have room for more books.

[Lesley]

I do periodic purges of my books every so often as well so as to make room for what? More books! If it's a mass purge I usually donate to my library or charity shop. I used to go to used bookstores but don't usually bother with that route anymore. And I release a lot of books through BookCrossing (in fact, I've always got a couple hundred books set aside just for that purpose).

[Heather]

I sort into categories much like yours:

Sell or swap online
Give to certain friends
Donate to church library
Donate to local charity shop

[tamarika]

Mostly I keep mine but every now and again I like to hand one on to someone who is as dear to me as my books are. When I left Israel to come to America I gave away most of my books to friends, family and the local second hand book shop. Now, 18 years later I have a huge collection! Great post!

[patricia]

Oh dear. I really find it hard to give up books – even the ones I don't like very much! I get attached to books because they remind me of what was happening in my life at that time when I was reading said book, even if it was a bad time in my life. When we moved into our house in January of this year I did manage to give away some books I absolutely knew I could live without, and they went to various charitable organizations. But I gotta say....giving up books is often like cutting off a limb for me!

[Kinuk]

I keep those books that I think I will re-read and those that I just love too much. I've still got lots of books in my parents' house in Canada. We now also have books in our attic in the UK and in N's parents' attic in the UK. And our book collection here is growing.

Normally I would cull some everytime I moved (once a year or so) and give them to friends, colleagues and charity shops. I've tried selling them on Amazon, but the time and hassle was too bit for the small return. These days, I take any "unwanted" books into work. We have a special shelf in the staffroom (full of John Grisham and Patricia Cromwell, sadly) where people bring in books, others pick them up and read them, only to return them so others can read them, too. At least, that's the idea.

But getting rid of books is hard.

[Dean]

I just buy a new bookcase. I can't bear to part with read tomes.

[ainelivia]

Give away books!! Heartbreaking. But lack of space is the problem, much like yourself. Though this year I am tempted to ask my OH for Ikea booksheves as a Chrissie pressie, and for him to attach them to the wall.

I get so jealous when I see people on tele with those custom built shelving areas which cover an entire wall, I do....

I give to friends, and to the local charity shop, and after my last donation the manager has dubbed me the "Book Lady" which is suppose is better than the "Bag Lady"; mind you she hasn't seen my collection of bags!

I once made a scathing comment about Imelda Marcos to my OH, who replied, "For some it's cars (his fault line), for some it's shoes, and for some it's books".

[iliana]

I was the same way, couldn't bear to part with any of my books but I've made peace with that now :)

I kind of do the same thing you do: books to sell on amazon or at the used book store, books to donate to the library and books to trade on bookmooch.

[Julia]

I do a cull every time I move house, but can't bring myself to part with many. Friends get the pick of the cull and the rest go to goodwill shops. Now I now about them I'm thinking of trying book mooch and bookcrossing, when I've got time to get my head around how they work. So now I've got an untidy to be culled pile, alongside the growing tbr pile (you're a bad influence Kim).

[trish]

I try to cull every so often, *honest* I do but I end up just reshuffling my books. Trouble is I worry about what sort of home they would be going to.. would they be appreciated, cared for, disliked? And, on the rare occasions I have given books away I live with regret and pine to own them again so end up buying another copy to replace the one I just dispensed with. However, I do allow a certain clique to borrow books from me but I guess that doesn't count? Just didn't want you all to think I was totally obsessive. ; )

[kimbofo]

Wow. Thanks for all your comments. I won't reply to each one, but I think I can safely say that readers fall into two groups: keepers or cullers!

Oh, and ainelivia, I laughed out loud at your Other Half's comment about Imelda Marcos. Having just spent a day decluttering our living room, my OH has a weakness for gadgets, watches, wires, DVDs, management books and music magazines!!

[RD]

We are a small library of popular books that needs to cull about 30%. Does anyone know of an objective system or data base that will guide us? Thanks.