Beyond Kindle and Kondo: nuanced thoughts on downsizing books
December 7, 2021 6:41 AM Subscribe
I've decided to accept that I just love books and will have a lot of them. Nonetheless, I've gotten rid of about twenty boxes of books and would like to get rid of more. Help me with your nuanced thoughts and suggestions for letting go. Snowflakes within - if you don't have time to read them, maybe skip this one.
Suggestions for downsizing books seem to either run to "get rid of them and use a Kindle" or just "get rid of them." There has to be a more careful way to think of this.
I have a Paperwhite Kindle. It is great when I have to leave the house, but it's not a pleasant reading experience - for me, it's like taking caffeine pills as a substitute for drinking tea. I also don't want to pay for books I already own to have them electronically, and I generally don't like reading on screens. So "replace books with Kindle" or "many books are free online" is not a helpful answer. Nor is a generic "get rid of them because you know you aren't going to read them." I don't know that. I'm a writer, and ideas come from so many different places. And I go back through old books a lot to look at how they're written. I love the sense of discovery of browsing through shelves. Even Kondo says you don't need to keep books unless you're an author. But do share other ways you've come up with for thinking about getting rid of books.
Also, please don't suggest I donate them to my local library and then check them out. In my experience, local libraries sell donated books and use the money to purchase books they actually want.
I have gotten rid of some books that I'm pretty sure will be easily available at any library, but I'm immunocompromised and am on total lockdown due to the pandemic, so that's feeling like less of an option lately.
I've gotten rid of books that provide information that is easily found online and is better if it's recent (e.g., general medical information and household repairs), and I've ditched the cookbooks I just don't use. I've gotten rid of a lot of my grad school literary/theater theory books, but am struggling with whether to keep others. I'm probably not going to read "Political Shakespeare" again, but I'm still interested in theater and it's very possible I'll want to reread "The Empty Space." Other categories I have a lot of are history, religion/spirituality, nutrition, drama, fiction, and poetry (I know Jerry Seinfeld makes fun of rereading novels, but he's making a lot of money from people rewatching his sitcom).
I can't physically do the Kondo thing of putting every book in my house on a pile and going through them one by one, but maybe I could do that by category if people have found it helpful.
I'm sure that a lot of MeFites love books, so I'd love to hear thoughts on this that go beyond "get rid of all the books," which is a perfectly legitimate way to look at this, but is not going to work for me.
Suggestions for downsizing books seem to either run to "get rid of them and use a Kindle" or just "get rid of them." There has to be a more careful way to think of this.
I have a Paperwhite Kindle. It is great when I have to leave the house, but it's not a pleasant reading experience - for me, it's like taking caffeine pills as a substitute for drinking tea. I also don't want to pay for books I already own to have them electronically, and I generally don't like reading on screens. So "replace books with Kindle" or "many books are free online" is not a helpful answer. Nor is a generic "get rid of them because you know you aren't going to read them." I don't know that. I'm a writer, and ideas come from so many different places. And I go back through old books a lot to look at how they're written. I love the sense of discovery of browsing through shelves. Even Kondo says you don't need to keep books unless you're an author. But do share other ways you've come up with for thinking about getting rid of books.
Also, please don't suggest I donate them to my local library and then check them out. In my experience, local libraries sell donated books and use the money to purchase books they actually want.
I have gotten rid of some books that I'm pretty sure will be easily available at any library, but I'm immunocompromised and am on total lockdown due to the pandemic, so that's feeling like less of an option lately.
I've gotten rid of books that provide information that is easily found online and is better if it's recent (e.g., general medical information and household repairs), and I've ditched the cookbooks I just don't use. I've gotten rid of a lot of my grad school literary/theater theory books, but am struggling with whether to keep others. I'm probably not going to read "Political Shakespeare" again, but I'm still interested in theater and it's very possible I'll want to reread "The Empty Space." Other categories I have a lot of are history, religion/spirituality, nutrition, drama, fiction, and poetry (I know Jerry Seinfeld makes fun of rereading novels, but he's making a lot of money from people rewatching his sitcom).
I can't physically do the Kondo thing of putting every book in my house on a pile and going through them one by one, but maybe I could do that by category if people have found it helpful.
I'm sure that a lot of MeFites love books, so I'd love to hear thoughts on this that go beyond "get rid of all the books," which is a perfectly legitimate way to look at this, but is not going to work for me.
I have (and have had) lots of books, but probably less than you.
Some general criteria I think through when thinning:
Can this be easily replaced for a few bucks on short notice?
Is it a reference or art book that might not be heavily used but is super useful when you do need it?
Is it especially large or burdensome in some aspect?
Does it have sentimental value for any reason?
Can I lend it to someone who will like it and not mind if it never comes back?
Is it especially small and cute (and getting rid of it has hence almost no benefit)?
Don't try to do it all at once. Set a smaller goal (10 books or one box etc), and when you reach it, don't weed any more for a little while. One that seems like a keeper today may not in a month. I'd also think a bit about why you want to downsize more. Sure, maybe it's a good call, but maybe don't do it just because of some vague idea that you have too much. If they are getting in your way and you need space, that's another matter. But just think through why. Honestly I think this Kondoh/minimalism trend is often pushed a bit too much. It can be nice to have nice things, and having a collection doesn't make you a gross hoarder.
But I remind myself that what keeps a collection from becoming a hoard is curation, and that includes thinning as well as acquisition :)
Little free libraries and goodwill may be another way to donate books aside from libraries. Good luck!
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:01 AM on December 7, 2021 [8 favorites]
Some general criteria I think through when thinning:
Can this be easily replaced for a few bucks on short notice?
Is it a reference or art book that might not be heavily used but is super useful when you do need it?
Is it especially large or burdensome in some aspect?
Does it have sentimental value for any reason?
Can I lend it to someone who will like it and not mind if it never comes back?
Is it especially small and cute (and getting rid of it has hence almost no benefit)?
Don't try to do it all at once. Set a smaller goal (10 books or one box etc), and when you reach it, don't weed any more for a little while. One that seems like a keeper today may not in a month. I'd also think a bit about why you want to downsize more. Sure, maybe it's a good call, but maybe don't do it just because of some vague idea that you have too much. If they are getting in your way and you need space, that's another matter. But just think through why. Honestly I think this Kondoh/minimalism trend is often pushed a bit too much. It can be nice to have nice things, and having a collection doesn't make you a gross hoarder.
But I remind myself that what keeps a collection from becoming a hoard is curation, and that includes thinning as well as acquisition :)
Little free libraries and goodwill may be another way to donate books aside from libraries. Good luck!
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:01 AM on December 7, 2021 [8 favorites]
There was a comment here many years ago that has occasionally helped me. It was along the lines that the vast majority of things we own can be bought again. Not family heirlooms or extremely rare items, or those of particular sentimental value, but most of our things can be rebought. The post suggested that when you consider getting rid of something by selling it or giving it away, you actually think of it in terms of putting it into some kind of global storage.
If you ever want to withdraw it again from the global store of things, (ie. rebuy it), there’s a charge for that (the price of rebuying it), but you can look on the money you pay to rebuy it as being the fee you’ve paid for storage since you gave it away. If you buy it secondhand online it should be a modest fee, and odds are that a lot of the books you give away you won’t actually need to re-own.
It does depend how rare the books are that you’re talking about, and whether your original copies have your own annotations that you want to keep. But it can just help change your mindset from “I’m giving away my possessions and will never have them again,” to “I’m putting these into storage to free up some space until such a time as I might need them again.”
posted by penguin pie at 7:02 AM on December 7, 2021 [21 favorites]
If you ever want to withdraw it again from the global store of things, (ie. rebuy it), there’s a charge for that (the price of rebuying it), but you can look on the money you pay to rebuy it as being the fee you’ve paid for storage since you gave it away. If you buy it secondhand online it should be a modest fee, and odds are that a lot of the books you give away you won’t actually need to re-own.
It does depend how rare the books are that you’re talking about, and whether your original copies have your own annotations that you want to keep. But it can just help change your mindset from “I’m giving away my possessions and will never have them again,” to “I’m putting these into storage to free up some space until such a time as I might need them again.”
posted by penguin pie at 7:02 AM on December 7, 2021 [21 favorites]
I am somewhat of a minimalist when it comes to books, so my answer may not be helpful, but I try to only keep books that I am truly excited to read for the first time, re-read, pick up and browse through, or refer back to. Not books that I loved when I read (those I try to pass on to friends who I think may love them) or that shaped who I am now (I'll be that person even if I don't have the physical book in my home anymore) or that I might read if the world ends and I read every other book on my shelf first (let those go) but books I really honestly think I am excited to pick up off the shelf.
This might end up being most of your current books -- that's fine! For me, that's a pretty small number, about eight shelves worth.
posted by LeeLanded at 7:03 AM on December 7, 2021 [5 favorites]
This might end up being most of your current books -- that's fine! For me, that's a pretty small number, about eight shelves worth.
posted by LeeLanded at 7:03 AM on December 7, 2021 [5 favorites]
I think of the books that I keep as "my curated collection" - it's mainly things I have loved and want to keep near me, or things that I think will be useful. The bookshelf gets purged semi-regularly to remove recent pile-ups and remove anything I've changed my mind on.
posted by london explorer girl at 7:03 AM on December 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by london explorer girl at 7:03 AM on December 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
Why do you want to get rid of them- just a lack of space? If adding shelves and keeping books you want to keep is an option, I would start there. But if you physically can't keep them, my main criteria is how difficult/expensive it would be to replace the book if I want it in the future. If something's easy to find and I'm not sure I'll need it, I'll give it to a local little free library.
posted by pinochiette at 7:04 AM on December 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by pinochiette at 7:04 AM on December 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
I've been slowly going through my books by looking at each one (on the shelf, not in a big pile! One shelf every few days!) and kind-of thinking "if I was out and about and didn't have a bag with me, and I didn't own this book, would I buy it for a dollar and carry it home in my hand?" about each one. And if I wouldn't then I put it in the donations box. History of heraldry? Yeah, looks interesting, I'd buy that in a charity shop that for a dollar and carry it home! Locked room mystery I never got on with? Nah, probably I wouldn't! Wilkie Collins book I haven't read yet? I'd buy that for a dollar! Second book in a YA series that I don't really remember whether I've read or not? Nope, if I didn't own it I wouldn't buy it for a dollar!
Might not work for you, or might require calibration to a different number ("two dollars" felt like I was getting rid of too much, and "fifty cents" not enough). For me it helps me feel the decision anew, "is this something I actively want (at least a little)" as a different sort of relationship with the book to "is this something I can get rid of".
posted by severalbees at 7:05 AM on December 7, 2021 [14 favorites]
Might not work for you, or might require calibration to a different number ("two dollars" felt like I was getting rid of too much, and "fifty cents" not enough). For me it helps me feel the decision anew, "is this something I actively want (at least a little)" as a different sort of relationship with the book to "is this something I can get rid of".
posted by severalbees at 7:05 AM on December 7, 2021 [14 favorites]
Make a list of all your books, title and author. Then, when you’ve gotten rid of too many books and regret it, look at the list. Remember fondly the books you had. They have not gone away, because they are still in your memories, thanks to the list.
posted by Melismata at 7:13 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Melismata at 7:13 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
One thing that's helped me is defining what the actual goal of getting rid of some is, and flipping the narrative to "do I want to keep this particular book?" For me, a "container" approach has worked, as in "this is where I want to store books and there's only so much space here, so what do I want to prioritize fitting in?" My "book container" is, um, seven tall bookcases, so there is actually room for somewhat weak choices like "perhaps my child will enjoy finding this on the shelf when they're older," so this isn't a particularly painful thing. If your space is more limited, I feel for you! In any case, my initial curation process did go by genre, roughly. I wanted fiction on one side of the room and non-fiction on the other, so that told me how many cases I had to work with, and then I decided on a reasonable number of shelves for each sub category, like "histories" and "poems." I worked through each in alphabetical order by author last name but did it in multiple passes, so first went the easy ones I wouldn't much miss and/or would be easy to replace, then ones that annoyed me even if I thought I might read them again because who actually needs that energy in their home if they can help it, and so on, such that eventually they fit in my pre-defined "container" and I could stop if I wanted.
posted by teremala at 7:15 AM on December 7, 2021
posted by teremala at 7:15 AM on December 7, 2021
Response by poster: Why do you want to get rid of them- just a lack of space?
I'm planning a cross-country move to live nearer my children - though when I'll be able to do that depends on the pandemic.
Thanks for all the great answers so far. Keep 'em coming.
posted by FencingGal at 7:15 AM on December 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
I'm planning a cross-country move to live nearer my children - though when I'll be able to do that depends on the pandemic.
Thanks for all the great answers so far. Keep 'em coming.
posted by FencingGal at 7:15 AM on December 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
Do you know any young adult academic types? I would have been THRILLED to take some of your material off your hands when I was just building my collection. At the moment I've kind of scaled back because I am moving a lot (plus I am now old :)).
posted by 8603 at 7:23 AM on December 7, 2021
posted by 8603 at 7:23 AM on December 7, 2021
The question I try to ask myself when I finish reading a book is "If I had read this from a library, would I want to go out and buy my own copy?".
I am not always very good at following the thought to its conclusion and discarding the book if the answer is "probably not", but you may be better at it than I am.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 7:27 AM on December 7, 2021 [9 favorites]
I am not always very good at following the thought to its conclusion and discarding the book if the answer is "probably not", but you may be better at it than I am.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 7:27 AM on December 7, 2021 [9 favorites]
If you're not already cataloguing your books in some way, it may be helpful to start. There are plenty of online services that do this (LibraryThing is my choice), or you can go as simple as an excel file with only a few fields. If you wanted to tailor the excel file to "items I'm getting rid of but may still want to reference," you could have a column to describe "things from the work I'd probably want to reference/revisit" for comments like "banger of an anecdote about Darwin on pp 67" or "effervescent prose" or what have you. So if you don't have the book for easy reference any more, you still have a way to match "Darwin anecdote" to a piece of work you can search out again.
I remember Marie Kondo had an anecdote about saving articles or parts of books, and eventually she had to stop because of the imbalance between the work of saving and the value (to her) of the item being saved. This exercise may fall into that category, in which case you'll have refined your sense of books sparking joy. Or it may actually be worthwhile, in which case you'll have a kickass quasi-commonplace book.
I think something worth considering for your case is the value of moving books versus the value of how easy it would be to disperse your collection and begin again at your new place. I have some friends contemplating a cross-country move right now and the costs are staggering - even with them trimming their already small collection of belongings.
It's an interesting problem since, as you say, your value is in the aggregate collection, not necessarily any one or two volumes. If you know any library science types, they might have some useful advice for you on weeding. I'd actually recommend giving your local librarian a call with two questions: managing a collection, and also to find out what steps you could take to make accessing physical library resources safer for you. Regardless of library policy, I'm sure any librarian has done their research about what makes handling circulating materials safer (since they do on a daily basis) and will be able to advise you on risk mitigation.
My final thought here is wondering about how much you enjoy simply buying and collecting books. Not as a judgment thing (who doesn't love buying books, lol), but more in the sense of, will rebuilding your collection at [destination] be fun for you? Or will it be a hassle?
posted by snerson at 7:30 AM on December 7, 2021 [4 favorites]
I remember Marie Kondo had an anecdote about saving articles or parts of books, and eventually she had to stop because of the imbalance between the work of saving and the value (to her) of the item being saved. This exercise may fall into that category, in which case you'll have refined your sense of books sparking joy. Or it may actually be worthwhile, in which case you'll have a kickass quasi-commonplace book.
I think something worth considering for your case is the value of moving books versus the value of how easy it would be to disperse your collection and begin again at your new place. I have some friends contemplating a cross-country move right now and the costs are staggering - even with them trimming their already small collection of belongings.
It's an interesting problem since, as you say, your value is in the aggregate collection, not necessarily any one or two volumes. If you know any library science types, they might have some useful advice for you on weeding. I'd actually recommend giving your local librarian a call with two questions: managing a collection, and also to find out what steps you could take to make accessing physical library resources safer for you. Regardless of library policy, I'm sure any librarian has done their research about what makes handling circulating materials safer (since they do on a daily basis) and will be able to advise you on risk mitigation.
My final thought here is wondering about how much you enjoy simply buying and collecting books. Not as a judgment thing (who doesn't love buying books, lol), but more in the sense of, will rebuilding your collection at [destination] be fun for you? Or will it be a hassle?
posted by snerson at 7:30 AM on December 7, 2021 [4 favorites]
Would it be helpful to pack all your books in boxes and not look at them for a week or so, and in the meantime write down the ones you remember having and would miss. Then dip back into those boxes and pull out the ones on the list. That would prioritize a subset of your books, at least.
It's similar to the Sell by date clutter reducing concept.
If you can't physically move your books you could hang a sheet over your bookshelves temporarily.
I'm with you on the joys of reading actual books. Reading on a device is not the same.
posted by olopua at 7:38 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
It's similar to the Sell by date clutter reducing concept.
If you can't physically move your books you could hang a sheet over your bookshelves temporarily.
I'm with you on the joys of reading actual books. Reading on a device is not the same.
posted by olopua at 7:38 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
I've been in your position, both wrt my own books and also when sorting through my parent's library after they passed away. For me, books are furniture and art as well as useful objects; they make me feel at home in a room. So sorting through them and deciding which to keep and which to donate is a tough job.
Unlike you, I like reading books in my Kindle, but you're right: the experience is simply not the same.
Here are some thoughts I've had when deciding which books to keep.
Will I read this book again?
Even if I won't reread this book, am I likely to recommend it to others/lend it to people?
Does it make me happy to keep this particular item near me? (e.g. my very battered copy of I Capture the Castle with stains on it which I first read in a single afternoon when I was fifteen)
Is this book easy to find and replace?
Is this a popular book by a popular author? Will people want to buy/borrow a copy? (A book by a well-known author that was popular on release has better chance of actually being bought/checked out than a super random book that a handful of people would be interested in. We all know the joy of finding an undiscovered gem in a dusty corner of a second hand bookshop, but when deciding on books to give away, I'd rather give away the books that actually stand a chance of being bought.)
Is there anything of sentimental value about this particular physical book, e.g. an inscription from a loved one
Is this book easy to read as a physical book, or is it easier to read via Kindle? (I gave away my copy of Infinite Jest because, love it though I do, it was simply too heavy and cumbersome for me to read comfortably. But there are some other books which are pleasurable to read in their physical form. I'd hang on to those.)
I love giving books to friends when I've finished reading them, if I think the friend would like them. It feels like the book is still in my family but is giving someone else pleasure.
posted by unicorn chaser at 7:48 AM on December 7, 2021 [4 favorites]
Unlike you, I like reading books in my Kindle, but you're right: the experience is simply not the same.
Here are some thoughts I've had when deciding which books to keep.
Will I read this book again?
Even if I won't reread this book, am I likely to recommend it to others/lend it to people?
Does it make me happy to keep this particular item near me? (e.g. my very battered copy of I Capture the Castle with stains on it which I first read in a single afternoon when I was fifteen)
Is this book easy to find and replace?
Is this a popular book by a popular author? Will people want to buy/borrow a copy? (A book by a well-known author that was popular on release has better chance of actually being bought/checked out than a super random book that a handful of people would be interested in. We all know the joy of finding an undiscovered gem in a dusty corner of a second hand bookshop, but when deciding on books to give away, I'd rather give away the books that actually stand a chance of being bought.)
Is there anything of sentimental value about this particular physical book, e.g. an inscription from a loved one
Is this book easy to read as a physical book, or is it easier to read via Kindle? (I gave away my copy of Infinite Jest because, love it though I do, it was simply too heavy and cumbersome for me to read comfortably. But there are some other books which are pleasurable to read in their physical form. I'd hang on to those.)
I love giving books to friends when I've finished reading them, if I think the friend would like them. It feels like the book is still in my family but is giving someone else pleasure.
posted by unicorn chaser at 7:48 AM on December 7, 2021 [4 favorites]
When I got rid of a bunch of books, I did it because I found them to be oppressive and upsetting and exhausting. I hated figuring out where in my small space I would store them. Piles of them made me feel uncomfortable in my own house. Disused physical items in general are an irritant for me, so physical items that I am not using and won't use again (generally speaking) are just a no-go for me.
I also had to disentangle my idea of being a "book person" from the physical reality of it being very impossible to keep so many books, especially if I wasn't going to read them again. I also had to come to terms that with the way I read: I read so much that if I physically had every book I read, I would literally live in a library. Shifting my consumption to library lending and eBooks prevents me from living in a giant dusty book graveyard. And honestly, for a lot of us who love reading, that is what our collections are: Book Graveyards. I had to admit I was creating a millstone, not curating a loved collection. YMMV.
I decided to keep books that are special to me. For me this means a few things:
1) Treasured Gifts from any point of my life
2) Beautiful books that I derive pleasure from seeing, no matter whether I will read them again
3) Books that hold personal meaning for me
4) Signed or otherwise important editions
I got rid of anything that was a mass-market paperback that wasn't in one of those four above categories. I was not, for example, going to re-read every Medieval Mystery Novel I'd ever read and acquired in physical format pre-Kindle.
This is just a complicated way of saying that as I packed, I looked at each book and determined whether it "Sparked Joy" in the above categories. If it didn't, it got donated, or I found a friend who wanted that particular cookbook, or whatever.
Good luck. Book culling can be an emotional business, but the last time I packed, I got rid of a few books that no longer "sparked joy" in the ways that mattered to me. I hope you can find some parameters that allow your move to go smoothly.
posted by Medieval Maven at 7:51 AM on December 7, 2021 [5 favorites]
I also had to disentangle my idea of being a "book person" from the physical reality of it being very impossible to keep so many books, especially if I wasn't going to read them again. I also had to come to terms that with the way I read: I read so much that if I physically had every book I read, I would literally live in a library. Shifting my consumption to library lending and eBooks prevents me from living in a giant dusty book graveyard. And honestly, for a lot of us who love reading, that is what our collections are: Book Graveyards. I had to admit I was creating a millstone, not curating a loved collection. YMMV.
I decided to keep books that are special to me. For me this means a few things:
1) Treasured Gifts from any point of my life
2) Beautiful books that I derive pleasure from seeing, no matter whether I will read them again
3) Books that hold personal meaning for me
4) Signed or otherwise important editions
I got rid of anything that was a mass-market paperback that wasn't in one of those four above categories. I was not, for example, going to re-read every Medieval Mystery Novel I'd ever read and acquired in physical format pre-Kindle.
This is just a complicated way of saying that as I packed, I looked at each book and determined whether it "Sparked Joy" in the above categories. If it didn't, it got donated, or I found a friend who wanted that particular cookbook, or whatever.
Good luck. Book culling can be an emotional business, but the last time I packed, I got rid of a few books that no longer "sparked joy" in the ways that mattered to me. I hope you can find some parameters that allow your move to go smoothly.
posted by Medieval Maven at 7:51 AM on December 7, 2021 [5 favorites]
I have gotten rid of some books that I'm pretty sure will be easily available at any library, but I'm immunocompromised and am on total lockdown due to the pandemic, so that's feeling like less of an option lately.
I'm not sure if your library has curbside service or if that would be accessible or convenient to you, but mine does and it's really been a wonderful option. Librarians seem to be particularly thoughtful in addressing medically vulnerable folks.
posted by mochapickle at 8:01 AM on December 7, 2021 [9 favorites]
I'm not sure if your library has curbside service or if that would be accessible or convenient to you, but mine does and it's really been a wonderful option. Librarians seem to be particularly thoughtful in addressing medically vulnerable folks.
posted by mochapickle at 8:01 AM on December 7, 2021 [9 favorites]
I'll just share my experience in the hopes it will be helpful, because I think it's really personal. I've gone from about 20 tall Billy bookcases to 6 in the last 15 years or so, with two big culls in there.
I held onto a lot of books for sort of "writerly reasons," and in letting them go I feel like two things have happened. One is that I've reconnected with what's going on now in both literary fiction and my chosen genre, rather than falling into my habit of sinking into old favourites over and over - and for me, that's been exciting and inspiring. Two was that I found that most of the things I absorbed from reading really do inhabit me - I'm the library, in a sense - and my own voice has gotten stronger now that I don't go running to see how someone else handled something unless I really really need to.
I did take some time to take a few notes and pictures of pages about the craft-like surprises that I loved.
The tradeoff of lightness in my space and world has been really good for me.
posted by warriorqueen at 8:13 AM on December 7, 2021 [7 favorites]
I held onto a lot of books for sort of "writerly reasons," and in letting them go I feel like two things have happened. One is that I've reconnected with what's going on now in both literary fiction and my chosen genre, rather than falling into my habit of sinking into old favourites over and over - and for me, that's been exciting and inspiring. Two was that I found that most of the things I absorbed from reading really do inhabit me - I'm the library, in a sense - and my own voice has gotten stronger now that I don't go running to see how someone else handled something unless I really really need to.
I did take some time to take a few notes and pictures of pages about the craft-like surprises that I loved.
The tradeoff of lightness in my space and world has been really good for me.
posted by warriorqueen at 8:13 AM on December 7, 2021 [7 favorites]
I am someone who defaults to keeping something if it is still usable and books rarely become unusable, so I am in the same boat. For the non-ficton and reference type stuff, have you tried using a PDF on a computer instead of a tablet? For me, this is the best way to read cookbooks and most travel guides. You may find it is better for you to have things in PDF form. As for the cost, I'd compare it to the price you may be able to get for the book on the used market and replacing it in PDF form vs the cost of moving it across the country. The same calculation could be done for the physical book.
Also, I found having an electronic list (like on Library Thing) of books that I remember from childhood serves me just as well as having the real thing in most cases.
posted by soelo at 8:14 AM on December 7, 2021
Also, I found having an electronic list (like on Library Thing) of books that I remember from childhood serves me just as well as having the real thing in most cases.
posted by soelo at 8:14 AM on December 7, 2021
For each subject category or shelf subdivide it into
1. actually used (The Present)
2. reference or inspiration (A Tool)
3. sentimental (The Past)
4. aspirational (you never read that theory book you got in school but someday..) (The Future)
You can do this by taking a picture and using pen and paper before the physical work.
Once you've got a sense of how your percentages are falling between each subdivision it might weigh on you that you've got too much allotted to one subdivision or another.
This is kind of Kondo- lite.
There are also spatial realities. I'd think about what downsizing means in terms of bookshelves. That's calculatable in linear feet. Maybe you want to plan for at least 3-4 6 foot Billy bookcases (just a random number) in your future home. You can figure out how many feet of books you can pack from there. You can certainly take more than you plan, but its good to have the end in mind.
The subdivisions may shift. Maybe a useful Tool is also for the aspirational Future. That's fine, just adjust somewhere else.
I would do this for a few shelves periodically. After you choose your discards, let them them sit in the garage or by the door for a while before you get rid of them. You might want to reconsider some choices and save them. You might be surprised that you want to save nothing. That will help inform your decision making for the next round.
posted by jello at 8:15 AM on December 7, 2021 [4 favorites]
1. actually used (The Present)
2. reference or inspiration (A Tool)
3. sentimental (The Past)
4. aspirational (you never read that theory book you got in school but someday..) (The Future)
You can do this by taking a picture and using pen and paper before the physical work.
Once you've got a sense of how your percentages are falling between each subdivision it might weigh on you that you've got too much allotted to one subdivision or another.
This is kind of Kondo- lite.
There are also spatial realities. I'd think about what downsizing means in terms of bookshelves. That's calculatable in linear feet. Maybe you want to plan for at least 3-4 6 foot Billy bookcases (just a random number) in your future home. You can figure out how many feet of books you can pack from there. You can certainly take more than you plan, but its good to have the end in mind.
The subdivisions may shift. Maybe a useful Tool is also for the aspirational Future. That's fine, just adjust somewhere else.
I would do this for a few shelves periodically. After you choose your discards, let them them sit in the garage or by the door for a while before you get rid of them. You might want to reconsider some choices and save them. You might be surprised that you want to save nothing. That will help inform your decision making for the next round.
posted by jello at 8:15 AM on December 7, 2021 [4 favorites]
I've gotten rid of a lot of my grad school literary/theater theory books, but am struggling with whether to keep others. I'm probably not going to read "Political Shakespeare" again, but I'm still interested in theater and it's very possible I'll want to reread "The Empty Space." Other categories I have a lot of are history, religion/spirituality, nutrition, drama, fiction, and poetry (I know Jerry Seinfeld makes fun of rereading novels, but he's making a lot of money from people rewatching his sitcom).
I just moved and severely downsized offices and had to deal with this. I developed a few rules of thumb that helped me cull these kinds of books, especially the ones that I kept around because I might re-read them in the future:
(1) Have I opened this book since I read it for grad school? If no, then discard.
(2) Do I have a concrete project or well-formed idea now that might lead me to consult or re-read this book? If no, then discard.
(3) Did I purchase this book thinking it was something that someone in my field 'should' have on their shelf, but haven't read or consulted it since? If yes, then discard.
YMMV, but I found that keeping a lot of these types of books around was more about an imagined future for myself than about actual need. Like, "maybe someday I'll get around to writing my magnum opus on the spatiality in avant-garde theater, so I better hang onto my Henri Lefebvre books" or "any good writer worth their salt just has to have these books on their shelf." Letting go of the books means confronting the fact that you probably won't ever get around to those projects that require them, and that you are different person now than you were when you bought them, and will be a different person in the future. And that's OK!
Also, remember that getting rid of old books that you probably won't ever read or re-read means opening up more space for books that you will definitely read.
posted by googly at 8:21 AM on December 7, 2021 [6 favorites]
I just moved and severely downsized offices and had to deal with this. I developed a few rules of thumb that helped me cull these kinds of books, especially the ones that I kept around because I might re-read them in the future:
(1) Have I opened this book since I read it for grad school? If no, then discard.
(2) Do I have a concrete project or well-formed idea now that might lead me to consult or re-read this book? If no, then discard.
(3) Did I purchase this book thinking it was something that someone in my field 'should' have on their shelf, but haven't read or consulted it since? If yes, then discard.
YMMV, but I found that keeping a lot of these types of books around was more about an imagined future for myself than about actual need. Like, "maybe someday I'll get around to writing my magnum opus on the spatiality in avant-garde theater, so I better hang onto my Henri Lefebvre books" or "any good writer worth their salt just has to have these books on their shelf." Letting go of the books means confronting the fact that you probably won't ever get around to those projects that require them, and that you are different person now than you were when you bought them, and will be a different person in the future. And that's OK!
Also, remember that getting rid of old books that you probably won't ever read or re-read means opening up more space for books that you will definitely read.
posted by googly at 8:21 AM on December 7, 2021 [6 favorites]
I enjoyed using bookmooch when I lived in the US. Not sure how active it still is, or if you can send books without receiving ones in return, but it felt easier to let go of books when I knew they were going to someone who wanted them.
http://bookmooch.com/
posted by congen at 8:25 AM on December 7, 2021 [2 favorites]
http://bookmooch.com/
posted by congen at 8:25 AM on December 7, 2021 [2 favorites]
I'm planning a cross-country move to live nearer my children
This is harsh but it helps me so much because I'm a deeply practical person:
When I die, ALL of my books are going to be junked. Absolutely nobody is going to go through them and find special homes for them. I'd really rather save my executors the effort, which helps me to be very severe in my choices.
Alternatively: your house burns down tomorrow. Without looking, what books would you go out and re-buy?
posted by DarlingBri at 8:29 AM on December 7, 2021 [9 favorites]
This is harsh but it helps me so much because I'm a deeply practical person:
When I die, ALL of my books are going to be junked. Absolutely nobody is going to go through them and find special homes for them. I'd really rather save my executors the effort, which helps me to be very severe in my choices.
Alternatively: your house burns down tomorrow. Without looking, what books would you go out and re-buy?
posted by DarlingBri at 8:29 AM on December 7, 2021 [9 favorites]
I used to be a librarian and I used to own a lot more books than I do now. I devote only a very small section of my home to books now (approximately one tall case, maybe a bit less) which is a lot less than I had at my max*.
I think one key part part of book-management is accepting that the amount of space you can devote to books both finite and arbitrary. Finite because your living-space is only so large and that is the effective max for how much book storage space you have. Arbitrary because there's almost always more space in a home that could be used for book storage/more book storage space that could be devoted to some other purpose in the home. Basically any space occupied by a book could instead be occupied by a) a different book or b) some other thing that we enjoy having in our homes (empty space counts).
Once you recognize that you can't/don't want to keep EVERY book, you can start adjusting the slider on how many books you *do* want to keep. For me it turned out to be pretty low!
Another question I ask myself about books (and other things) is "Realistically, how likely is it that I'm going to enjoy/need this before I *HAVE* to get rid of it." When you "have" to get rid of something may vary - a move tends to require getting rid of lots of things, obviously. I also go to a lot of estate/downsizing sales (I don't buy books at these, but often there are LOTS of books). Eventually we give up all of our possessions, one way or another. And a lot of times books sit on the shelf untouched for years or decades before being sold off, and that kind of bums me out.
* I don't acquire a lot of new physical books any more because I do like reading on a Kindle. Maybe I will change my mind when I get reading glasses, but I love being able to adjust the font up as big as I want - normal print seems unreasonably small to me now.
posted by mskyle at 8:29 AM on December 7, 2021 [4 favorites]
I think one key part part of book-management is accepting that the amount of space you can devote to books both finite and arbitrary. Finite because your living-space is only so large and that is the effective max for how much book storage space you have. Arbitrary because there's almost always more space in a home that could be used for book storage/more book storage space that could be devoted to some other purpose in the home. Basically any space occupied by a book could instead be occupied by a) a different book or b) some other thing that we enjoy having in our homes (empty space counts).
Once you recognize that you can't/don't want to keep EVERY book, you can start adjusting the slider on how many books you *do* want to keep. For me it turned out to be pretty low!
Another question I ask myself about books (and other things) is "Realistically, how likely is it that I'm going to enjoy/need this before I *HAVE* to get rid of it." When you "have" to get rid of something may vary - a move tends to require getting rid of lots of things, obviously. I also go to a lot of estate/downsizing sales (I don't buy books at these, but often there are LOTS of books). Eventually we give up all of our possessions, one way or another. And a lot of times books sit on the shelf untouched for years or decades before being sold off, and that kind of bums me out.
* I don't acquire a lot of new physical books any more because I do like reading on a Kindle. Maybe I will change my mind when I get reading glasses, but I love being able to adjust the font up as big as I want - normal print seems unreasonably small to me now.
posted by mskyle at 8:29 AM on December 7, 2021 [4 favorites]
get rid of books as you determine they're not serving you anymore
This is what I do and it seems to be working ok. I just keep a box going and every time I look at my shelves I try to pull something off. I still have a shitload of books! But it's gradually becoming more manageable.
As an academic librarian in a large metro area I have more perpetual access possibilities than some people, which makes this easier. But really unless you are very rural this is far more true for most collections than collectors are willing to admit.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:30 AM on December 7, 2021 [2 favorites]
This is what I do and it seems to be working ok. I just keep a box going and every time I look at my shelves I try to pull something off. I still have a shitload of books! But it's gradually becoming more manageable.
As an academic librarian in a large metro area I have more perpetual access possibilities than some people, which makes this easier. But really unless you are very rural this is far more true for most collections than collectors are willing to admit.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:30 AM on December 7, 2021 [2 favorites]
Oh, I love books so much, and have moved too many books so many times. I still have (most of) my set of Little House books from the 1970s, handed down from my mom. Books really are friends, and I am a big re-reader. I have settled on mostly just trying not to buy more books. My discipline on this is poor. This is not fast and efficient advice, but it is what works for me, emotionally, to part with books
I didn't like the Kindle at first, but the immediate gratification of being able to check out e-books instantly eventually brought me around. But for physical books, I still try to check things out from the library first, then buy later if I think I'd like to keep it. I've limited myself to buying new books from authors I really want to support with a pre-order, or cooking/sewing/yoga books where I think I will use them for reference.
For getting rid of books, what has helped me is getting rid of a shelf and then trying to re-shelve all my books to fit in the smaller space. I shelve by genre/feeling, not by title, so when I re-shelve it takes a long time, but it lets me interact with all my books and really think about why I'm keeping them. Then, I usually distribute to Little Free Libraries in my neighborhood; I'm lucky that we have several within driving distance.
posted by assenav at 8:43 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
I didn't like the Kindle at first, but the immediate gratification of being able to check out e-books instantly eventually brought me around. But for physical books, I still try to check things out from the library first, then buy later if I think I'd like to keep it. I've limited myself to buying new books from authors I really want to support with a pre-order, or cooking/sewing/yoga books where I think I will use them for reference.
For getting rid of books, what has helped me is getting rid of a shelf and then trying to re-shelve all my books to fit in the smaller space. I shelve by genre/feeling, not by title, so when I re-shelve it takes a long time, but it lets me interact with all my books and really think about why I'm keeping them. Then, I usually distribute to Little Free Libraries in my neighborhood; I'm lucky that we have several within driving distance.
posted by assenav at 8:43 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
I also went through something like this recently for much the same reasons. I think the only way I got myself past the "but what if I need this for research" is to ask myself "how likely are you to use this particular book to that end really?" It's not really a One Weird Trick kind of approach, more like your stern practical self taking over.
This still let me keep a lot of books, happily - it's just that they are ones I'm a lot more emotionally invested in. Most of the books I ended up letting go were ones that other people had given me or that I had picked up myself as a "maybe someday"; I have a habit of picking up books from the "free, please take" boxes people put out on their stoops, and some of them sound interesting. But there are a lot of those that I took home and never read for years, and those I let go. Or - the friend who was cleaning out his own house and gave me some history books which I also never read - those I let go. Or the woman who worked in HR for Barnes and Noble and found some books on Ireland for me, those I let go.
But I still have all of the history/Irish/fiction books I bought my own self - some which I hadn't read yet, but which I knew I would read, and some which I'd read and knew I would re-read. I also kept some books I knew I probably won't re-read but am keeping for sentimental reasons (the two books from my Irish literature class in college, complete with all of my endearingly clueless notes in the margins - those I'm keeping forever).
It's kind of like how people advise paring through your clothes - if it's something you only feel kind of "meh" about, maybe let it go. If it's something that doesn't quite fit now but you are keeping it because you hope maybe it will fit someday if you begin that exercise plan you still haven't started for five years now, maybe it's time to let it go. But the things that you use again and again and again and love them, keep them - and the things that you can't fit into right now but you have huge emotional connections to it, definitely keep that, even if there isn't a chance in hell you will ever wear it again.
Ironically, that is what Marie Kondo is suggesting people do - the thing that slows people down is that she insists on you picking things up in order to connect with it and see if it sparks joy or whatever, but I didn't need to actually physically hold the old library edition of Lyndon B. Johnson's biography to realize "oh, right, I don't give two shits about that one, out it goes."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:50 AM on December 7, 2021
This still let me keep a lot of books, happily - it's just that they are ones I'm a lot more emotionally invested in. Most of the books I ended up letting go were ones that other people had given me or that I had picked up myself as a "maybe someday"; I have a habit of picking up books from the "free, please take" boxes people put out on their stoops, and some of them sound interesting. But there are a lot of those that I took home and never read for years, and those I let go. Or - the friend who was cleaning out his own house and gave me some history books which I also never read - those I let go. Or the woman who worked in HR for Barnes and Noble and found some books on Ireland for me, those I let go.
But I still have all of the history/Irish/fiction books I bought my own self - some which I hadn't read yet, but which I knew I would read, and some which I'd read and knew I would re-read. I also kept some books I knew I probably won't re-read but am keeping for sentimental reasons (the two books from my Irish literature class in college, complete with all of my endearingly clueless notes in the margins - those I'm keeping forever).
It's kind of like how people advise paring through your clothes - if it's something you only feel kind of "meh" about, maybe let it go. If it's something that doesn't quite fit now but you are keeping it because you hope maybe it will fit someday if you begin that exercise plan you still haven't started for five years now, maybe it's time to let it go. But the things that you use again and again and again and love them, keep them - and the things that you can't fit into right now but you have huge emotional connections to it, definitely keep that, even if there isn't a chance in hell you will ever wear it again.
Ironically, that is what Marie Kondo is suggesting people do - the thing that slows people down is that she insists on you picking things up in order to connect with it and see if it sparks joy or whatever, but I didn't need to actually physically hold the old library edition of Lyndon B. Johnson's biography to realize "oh, right, I don't give two shits about that one, out it goes."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:50 AM on December 7, 2021
I just did this recently. It is a huge challenge but very rewarding. Here are a couple of things that have helped, in tandem:
1. organizing them properly by category. (My library is mostly nonfiction, but even if yours are novels, there will still be divisions. Period, subject, etc. At a minimum there is alphabetizing by author.) This isn't always easy but is always rewarding. Once they're in piles on the floor by category, you've spent hours thinking about them, often glancing through them, spotting doubles, reminding yourself what's in them, etc. You also now have a visual of how big each pile is. Some of your piles will be small, and maybe spark a lot less joy than the others.
2. once you have done this, you're ready to organize your own curated collection and re-shelve it. At this point it's easier to think about priorities and jettison the books that don't speak to you directly. There will be some that you've noticed as you categorized, that you aren't proud of; that you aren't invested in. Those are the ones to release.
3. it is ok to do this by phase. Even if your first winnowing pass is hard and you don't release much, it makes it easier to do the next one. You will notice that not only do you not miss the ones that are gone, but you are increasingly pleased with the focus of what you're deliberately keeping.
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:57 AM on December 7, 2021
1. organizing them properly by category. (My library is mostly nonfiction, but even if yours are novels, there will still be divisions. Period, subject, etc. At a minimum there is alphabetizing by author.) This isn't always easy but is always rewarding. Once they're in piles on the floor by category, you've spent hours thinking about them, often glancing through them, spotting doubles, reminding yourself what's in them, etc. You also now have a visual of how big each pile is. Some of your piles will be small, and maybe spark a lot less joy than the others.
2. once you have done this, you're ready to organize your own curated collection and re-shelve it. At this point it's easier to think about priorities and jettison the books that don't speak to you directly. There will be some that you've noticed as you categorized, that you aren't proud of; that you aren't invested in. Those are the ones to release.
3. it is ok to do this by phase. Even if your first winnowing pass is hard and you don't release much, it makes it easier to do the next one. You will notice that not only do you not miss the ones that are gone, but you are increasingly pleased with the focus of what you're deliberately keeping.
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:57 AM on December 7, 2021
I have decluttered the vast majority of my (physical) collections over the past 15 years, thanks to moving a number of times. And I discovered that it's more comfortable for me to hold an ebook reader than a physical book, for the most part, so I now tend to buy digital for fiction and for nonfiction that doesn't require flipping back and forth in the book. (i.e. cookbooks, DIY books, and some nonfiction I use for reference while writing gets bought in physical form.)
That being said, the big thing that got me to declutter was moving to an apartment that had a storage space downstairs I shoved the majority of my book boxes into, intending to unpack them later. I never formally unpacked them, but I'd often go downstairs and fish out books I wanted to read. The books that made it upstairs a year later were Absolute Keepers. The rest, I went through and winnowed a lot by creating a category called "I read and loved this, but I highly doubt I will ever read it again." Those books got released back into the wild. I have not actually re-bought any of those, 10 years on.
That category has been a lifesaver in helping me get rid of books. I still have the "I want to read this one day" stack, and the "I think this may be useful" stack. "I read this and didn't like or find it useful" is an easy category to ret rid of, but realizing that there's a difference between books I'll re-read or use as reference for inspiration and books I read but won't re-read or flip through was the key for me. And giving myself complete permission to re-buy anything that I accidentally get rid of without berating myself over spending the money is extremely helpful.
posted by telophase at 8:59 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
That being said, the big thing that got me to declutter was moving to an apartment that had a storage space downstairs I shoved the majority of my book boxes into, intending to unpack them later. I never formally unpacked them, but I'd often go downstairs and fish out books I wanted to read. The books that made it upstairs a year later were Absolute Keepers. The rest, I went through and winnowed a lot by creating a category called "I read and loved this, but I highly doubt I will ever read it again." Those books got released back into the wild. I have not actually re-bought any of those, 10 years on.
That category has been a lifesaver in helping me get rid of books. I still have the "I want to read this one day" stack, and the "I think this may be useful" stack. "I read this and didn't like or find it useful" is an easy category to ret rid of, but realizing that there's a difference between books I'll re-read or use as reference for inspiration and books I read but won't re-read or flip through was the key for me. And giving myself complete permission to re-buy anything that I accidentally get rid of without berating myself over spending the money is extremely helpful.
posted by telophase at 8:59 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
If you haven’t already, be sure to download Libby and use it for ebook lending. When you get the urge to book browse, peruse the app first. My library network does curated lists and things, which helps. You can then painlessly download an ebook and if you find it great enough you can acquire a physical edition to keep. This will hopefully drastically cut down on the number of books you continue to acquire, which in my experience is half the battle.
I did a cross country move and culled our book collection in half, down from somewhere around 600 books. It was hard and took a long time. I think Kondo-esque big pile go through in a couple days things are just untenable for a lot of types of things and people, books and book people being a prime category. I think the halving of our collection took about two months? Then, actually getting the culled books out of my house took another couple weeks. So keep your expectations slow.
The best thing I did was organize things by topic. Not genre, but things like, books of folklore and books about folklore are two different but neighboring categories. History books got grouped into things like nutritional anthropology, biographies and collected stories about individuals, scientific developments which often coincided with crafting histories, art history divided up into reference vs pretty picture books vs good writing, etc etc.
This topical organizing helped me understand my own preferences and tendencies. I have phases of interests and hyperfixations - had a whole two years where I was obsessed with global bird lore - and I know now that I only ever want to keep one or two books on any given past fixation. I was able to find duplicates of topic and pick the best/most useful/nicest one, so for example I had many many cookbooks and kept one from each cuisine I actually cooked. I had a whole big chunk of pulpy sci-fi adventure novels that I treasured because they were childhood used bookstore acquisitions and each one was mentally associated with the road trip I’d read them on, but I ended up keeping just a few series that I’d recommended to others as being unique or particularly good, along with my all time favorites; I looked at the pile of them and realized they all served the same purpose of nostalgia, and was able to just keep the ones that provided the best and most nostalgia.
A significant part of the collection was RPG rulebooks, which were not my doing, and I tasked my co-collector with figuring out what to do about it. Turns out that the vast majority of them are available as searchable pdfs which you can imagine is much more convenient for actually using. So we went through and found all the ones that didn’t have pdfs available and ended up with a great little stack of short run indie published rpgs, some gorgeously illustrated manuals, and a couple lore books that read more like novels with strange formatting. You may have a topic like this, where the book would serve you better if it were searchable. Keep one or two that you know you like to read for pleasure, and then acquire the rest in more functional formats for working with.
Getting rid of the books was hard too. We ended up taking many boxes to half price books. Some awesome signed copies and rare editions and beautiful art books and delightful children’s books were taken to different used bookstores that had them as an inventory focus. My extra books on Jewish history and faith ended up dropped at a university Chabad group - maybe your theater books would be welcomed by a school club nearby. Eventually we had books that just needed to be removed and ended up including a couple piles in with the rest of our trash when we called a junk removal company to deal with things before the move. Since you have limited mobility and some other barriers, I would recommend trying to get rid of books as soon as you decide not to keep them, a few at a time. List them online in various places and pop them outside in a plastic tub labeled “free”, find little free libraries and ask neighbors if they will do drop offs, etc.
I have definitely grown to prefer reading fiction in ebook format, for whatever reason. Non fiction and poetry is not the same, nor are cookbooks or art books, so that’s mostly what all my newer books are about. I would suggest trying a few different ways of reading books electronically to see if other ones fit better than your kindle. Maybe you’d like to read on an iPad, which is weirdly my preference. Maybe a laptop for searching pdfs of cookbooks or finding quotes in religious texts. If you like to write on your books maybe get a stylus and a tablet that you can scribble on. It’s okay to want some things in one format and some in another.
As some have mentioned above, it helps me now to think of my books like a curated collection, and not something I use for working reference. It’s not an archive, and I am not my own librarian. If I get a new fixation and have found myself with a stack of books on a new topic, I have to either make room on my shelves for it or justify an all new shelf somewhere in my home, and justify the fixation’s longevity, at which point I have generally moved on and end up keeping only a couple relevant texts. The book collection is full of things I would be proud to recommend to other people interested in the same stuff, not an exhaustive history of my past self’s experiences.
posted by Mizu at 9:01 AM on December 7, 2021 [2 favorites]
I did a cross country move and culled our book collection in half, down from somewhere around 600 books. It was hard and took a long time. I think Kondo-esque big pile go through in a couple days things are just untenable for a lot of types of things and people, books and book people being a prime category. I think the halving of our collection took about two months? Then, actually getting the culled books out of my house took another couple weeks. So keep your expectations slow.
The best thing I did was organize things by topic. Not genre, but things like, books of folklore and books about folklore are two different but neighboring categories. History books got grouped into things like nutritional anthropology, biographies and collected stories about individuals, scientific developments which often coincided with crafting histories, art history divided up into reference vs pretty picture books vs good writing, etc etc.
This topical organizing helped me understand my own preferences and tendencies. I have phases of interests and hyperfixations - had a whole two years where I was obsessed with global bird lore - and I know now that I only ever want to keep one or two books on any given past fixation. I was able to find duplicates of topic and pick the best/most useful/nicest one, so for example I had many many cookbooks and kept one from each cuisine I actually cooked. I had a whole big chunk of pulpy sci-fi adventure novels that I treasured because they were childhood used bookstore acquisitions and each one was mentally associated with the road trip I’d read them on, but I ended up keeping just a few series that I’d recommended to others as being unique or particularly good, along with my all time favorites; I looked at the pile of them and realized they all served the same purpose of nostalgia, and was able to just keep the ones that provided the best and most nostalgia.
A significant part of the collection was RPG rulebooks, which were not my doing, and I tasked my co-collector with figuring out what to do about it. Turns out that the vast majority of them are available as searchable pdfs which you can imagine is much more convenient for actually using. So we went through and found all the ones that didn’t have pdfs available and ended up with a great little stack of short run indie published rpgs, some gorgeously illustrated manuals, and a couple lore books that read more like novels with strange formatting. You may have a topic like this, where the book would serve you better if it were searchable. Keep one or two that you know you like to read for pleasure, and then acquire the rest in more functional formats for working with.
Getting rid of the books was hard too. We ended up taking many boxes to half price books. Some awesome signed copies and rare editions and beautiful art books and delightful children’s books were taken to different used bookstores that had them as an inventory focus. My extra books on Jewish history and faith ended up dropped at a university Chabad group - maybe your theater books would be welcomed by a school club nearby. Eventually we had books that just needed to be removed and ended up including a couple piles in with the rest of our trash when we called a junk removal company to deal with things before the move. Since you have limited mobility and some other barriers, I would recommend trying to get rid of books as soon as you decide not to keep them, a few at a time. List them online in various places and pop them outside in a plastic tub labeled “free”, find little free libraries and ask neighbors if they will do drop offs, etc.
I have definitely grown to prefer reading fiction in ebook format, for whatever reason. Non fiction and poetry is not the same, nor are cookbooks or art books, so that’s mostly what all my newer books are about. I would suggest trying a few different ways of reading books electronically to see if other ones fit better than your kindle. Maybe you’d like to read on an iPad, which is weirdly my preference. Maybe a laptop for searching pdfs of cookbooks or finding quotes in religious texts. If you like to write on your books maybe get a stylus and a tablet that you can scribble on. It’s okay to want some things in one format and some in another.
As some have mentioned above, it helps me now to think of my books like a curated collection, and not something I use for working reference. It’s not an archive, and I am not my own librarian. If I get a new fixation and have found myself with a stack of books on a new topic, I have to either make room on my shelves for it or justify an all new shelf somewhere in my home, and justify the fixation’s longevity, at which point I have generally moved on and end up keeping only a couple relevant texts. The book collection is full of things I would be proud to recommend to other people interested in the same stuff, not an exhaustive history of my past self’s experiences.
posted by Mizu at 9:01 AM on December 7, 2021 [2 favorites]
The Marie Kondo Big Pile Up-method worked really well for me, but I get that it isn't doable for every time, and the bigger your collection is, the harder it is to do. Since I did that once, I now try to keep the number of books manageable by picking off one book every now and then. That goes into a designated box/stack/place, from where books get thrown out/given away/sold/etc.
If you're looking for a long-term approach, this might work well. Especially since you mention you browse your shelves quite frequently, you probably come across a book you forgot you had and hadn't missed/a book you don't care for anymore regularly, which can then go into the box/stack/place. It's not the fastest method, but mentally and physically it takes a lot less effort :)
posted by snusmumrik at 9:17 AM on December 7, 2021
If you're looking for a long-term approach, this might work well. Especially since you mention you browse your shelves quite frequently, you probably come across a book you forgot you had and hadn't missed/a book you don't care for anymore regularly, which can then go into the box/stack/place. It's not the fastest method, but mentally and physically it takes a lot less effort :)
posted by snusmumrik at 9:17 AM on December 7, 2021
I Konmari'd my books a few years ago and it was a big job, but ultimately very rewarding. I got rid of so many books; yet, I still have so many books. :) She got a lot of flack from "book loving" netizens, but I think her basic method of keeping what is most precious to you works really well for books.
No, you don't have to take all your books down at once--but you should take them off the shelves, in whatever order makes sense to you. I did mine by bookcase/shelf, because I already roughly category sort my books (poetry here, mysteries there). A whole row of books on a shelf has its own allure and gravity; but when you pick up each individual book, feel its vibes, it becomes a lot easier to say "oh yes" or "no, not this one."
Highly recommend you start with your most beloved books: tattered childhood favorites, comfort reads, the inscribed gift from your writing mentor, etc. Put those all on a shelf in pride of place; this is the standard to which you will hold all other books. Many books are lovely, but are they lovely enough to be worth the time and expense to pack up and move? If there were another person just like you in the town you're planning on moving to, which books would you like them to send to the used book shop or library sale for you to stumble across and buy? Send those off to be found and treasured by someone who moved to your town and left their own library behind. Good luck!
posted by radiogreentea at 9:19 AM on December 7, 2021
No, you don't have to take all your books down at once--but you should take them off the shelves, in whatever order makes sense to you. I did mine by bookcase/shelf, because I already roughly category sort my books (poetry here, mysteries there). A whole row of books on a shelf has its own allure and gravity; but when you pick up each individual book, feel its vibes, it becomes a lot easier to say "oh yes" or "no, not this one."
Highly recommend you start with your most beloved books: tattered childhood favorites, comfort reads, the inscribed gift from your writing mentor, etc. Put those all on a shelf in pride of place; this is the standard to which you will hold all other books. Many books are lovely, but are they lovely enough to be worth the time and expense to pack up and move? If there were another person just like you in the town you're planning on moving to, which books would you like them to send to the used book shop or library sale for you to stumble across and buy? Send those off to be found and treasured by someone who moved to your town and left their own library behind. Good luck!
posted by radiogreentea at 9:19 AM on December 7, 2021
I asked this question on the Green in 2006 and got a lot of nuanced answers.
posted by matildaben at 9:47 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by matildaben at 9:47 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
I would find out (or assign) a moving cost to every banker box. As you pack and fill them up ask yourself “would I pay $40 (or whatever amount) to keep these books?” and then donate or keep depending on the answer. You can rearrange the boxes as you’d like. If there’s one prized book in there and the rest are duds, move the prized book to a “keep” box.
It sounds like other than the move and generally feeling “bad”(?) about owning so many books, it isn’t actually a problem for you. So don’t create problems where there aren’t any, just make the decision based off of moving costs. You could keep them all and that may be fine as well!
posted by raccoon409 at 9:47 AM on December 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
It sounds like other than the move and generally feeling “bad”(?) about owning so many books, it isn’t actually a problem for you. So don’t create problems where there aren’t any, just make the decision based off of moving costs. You could keep them all and that may be fine as well!
posted by raccoon409 at 9:47 AM on December 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
If I were in your specific situation, I’d obtain an empty bookcase. (Whether additional or by emptying one I already had.) Then I’d come up with a category that I want to keep in my permanent collection, and peruse my books to find the ones worthy of “permanent collection” for that category. I’d keep coming up with categories and repeating until I’ve filled up that bookcase. Then condense the rest to empty another, and start over. Eventually, you’ll run out of categories that you actually want in your permanent collection, and what’s left are the books that will leave.
I like this for you because it focuses on what you actually want, because you’re just moving a few books at a time, and because it doesn’t have to be done in one fell swoop.
posted by ocherdraco at 10:10 AM on December 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
I like this for you because it focuses on what you actually want, because you’re just moving a few books at a time, and because it doesn’t have to be done in one fell swoop.
posted by ocherdraco at 10:10 AM on December 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
Something that has worked well for me - I imagine a friend coming over - not one of my best friends I see all the time, but a kind of casual friend, but someone I'm fond of (I have a certain friend in mind!) and they are looking at my books, and they say "can I borrow this?" about every single book.
Now, I've lent out a lot of books in my life, and I have gotten zero of them back.
So I imagine my friend asking to borrow the book, and then, if I would say yes, I get rid of that book! If I want to say no, then I keep that book.
I try to give my books to a specific second-hand book place that gives you a credit for your books. then I can spend my credit on new-to-me books (or once or twice, my own book I wanted back, I'm a nightmare) and I feel like they're going to a place where someone else who loves books will find them and spend their own credit on them! I don't know if you have that type of book store, but if you do, it's great!
posted by euphoria066 at 11:11 AM on December 7, 2021 [2 favorites]
Now, I've lent out a lot of books in my life, and I have gotten zero of them back.
So I imagine my friend asking to borrow the book, and then, if I would say yes, I get rid of that book! If I want to say no, then I keep that book.
I try to give my books to a specific second-hand book place that gives you a credit for your books. then I can spend my credit on new-to-me books (or once or twice, my own book I wanted back, I'm a nightmare) and I feel like they're going to a place where someone else who loves books will find them and spend their own credit on them! I don't know if you have that type of book store, but if you do, it's great!
posted by euphoria066 at 11:11 AM on December 7, 2021 [2 favorites]
It isn't any sort of moral failing to own physical books, despite the current cultural misinterpretation of Marie Kondo to mean that minimalism is somehow paramount to living a "good" life (whatever that means). I'd keep any book that you want to keep, and only downsize the ones that you don't, with that criteria being entirely up to you. In your shoes, I'd probably cull reference books with info easily available online or that contain info you don't use, books that don't have sentimental value that you know you'll never reread, that sort of thing.
posted by Aleyn at 11:13 AM on December 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Aleyn at 11:13 AM on December 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
If the goal is to have less books for a future move, and you currently have access to (affordable) storage i would pack those books you consider you could do without into boxes (small boxes so they are not to heavy) and stick a list on it. Keep a copy of the list. See what happens, what you miss in the coming year.
I used to have thousands of books. However, twice in the last 14 years i had to reduce that to half, for space reasons/no more shelf space and moving to a smaller apartment. The first time i reduced too much, i was in a hurry and felt pressured by circumstances. I ended up re-buying quite a lot. So the second time i sorted (slowly, and deliberatly over a few weeks) and kept what i thought i wanted to give away for several months, until i was sure and did not end up re-buying anything so far. Also i realised that i only feel at home if at least one wall is entirely covered in books. It is to me simply a feature of being at Home.
So i would say take it slowly.
posted by 15L06 at 12:08 PM on December 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
I used to have thousands of books. However, twice in the last 14 years i had to reduce that to half, for space reasons/no more shelf space and moving to a smaller apartment. The first time i reduced too much, i was in a hurry and felt pressured by circumstances. I ended up re-buying quite a lot. So the second time i sorted (slowly, and deliberatly over a few weeks) and kept what i thought i wanted to give away for several months, until i was sure and did not end up re-buying anything so far. Also i realised that i only feel at home if at least one wall is entirely covered in books. It is to me simply a feature of being at Home.
So i would say take it slowly.
posted by 15L06 at 12:08 PM on December 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
One thing you may want to consider is shifting ereaders. I have an Onyx Boox Note 2, and the larger screen (11") makes it easier to read than a Kindle, in my experience. Also, plenty of books I wanted are not available in ereader formats like epub and azw. With the Note 2, I can easily read most PDFs, which has the added advantage of preserving the original fonts, formatting, etc.
posted by matkline at 2:09 AM on December 8, 2021
posted by matkline at 2:09 AM on December 8, 2021
I did find it quite helpful to physically get the books out of the shelves and only put back the ones I wanted to keep. For some sections, like fiction or poetry, I'm not even sure you need to pull a specific genre or subgenre at a time, but maybe pull all of an author at once. That way you can find out if for instance, you like Dorothy Sayers, but The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club will suffice, rather than the complete works. For years, I had occasionally pulled books I was done with off of shelves. Pulling everything off (a little at a time) and putting back on what I wanted to keep resulted in giving away dramatically more of it. Including some sections I had forgotten I had. So do it physically if possible, but no need for speed or all at once.
It sounds like you already have a good sense of what you might want to reread or use as a reference again, I think just trust in that. Maybe err slightly on the side of getting rid of more, since moves aren't easy, but only stuff you don't have a use for, maybe in the next five years. (My mom has all sorts of stuff saved for potential projects and at one point I was just like, okay, but what do you need for the next three projects and can you let the rest go? And no, of course not, but they are considering that maybe they don't want five or more years of planned projects and all the accumulated stuff and no leeway for no interests.)
And in regards to Seinfeld, I reread novels constantly; it's way more fun than watching sitcoms. I actually only buy new books if I've read it at least twice and know I'll want to continue rereading it.
posted by blueberry monster at 5:19 PM on December 8, 2021
It sounds like you already have a good sense of what you might want to reread or use as a reference again, I think just trust in that. Maybe err slightly on the side of getting rid of more, since moves aren't easy, but only stuff you don't have a use for, maybe in the next five years. (My mom has all sorts of stuff saved for potential projects and at one point I was just like, okay, but what do you need for the next three projects and can you let the rest go? And no, of course not, but they are considering that maybe they don't want five or more years of planned projects and all the accumulated stuff and no leeway for no interests.)
And in regards to Seinfeld, I reread novels constantly; it's way more fun than watching sitcoms. I actually only buy new books if I've read it at least twice and know I'll want to continue rereading it.
posted by blueberry monster at 5:19 PM on December 8, 2021
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posted by XtineHutch at 7:01 AM on December 7, 2021 [25 favorites]