Culling Books

[Mogandme]

So I want to sort the reading room which has piles of books everywhere and was thinking of culling some of the books. Where do I start... I have already put books into piles and then put them back

[noisytoys]

Start with the ones you have grown out of. Baby books, unwanted books, encyclopaedias (all info available on the net), and books that no one loves. Good luck.

We got rid of nearly all our books and got a library card it's great

[PandaG]

I culled my books a couple of years ago when we got rid of furniture before a move. What will you not read again? Are there any out of date reference books?

I found myself asking what would I pay to put into storage when decluttering helped make me a bit more ruthless.

I took a bootful to a second hand bookshop, and about half of them were accepted and I got about £40 I think. I now use a Kindle a lot of the time, as it saves on space! Maybe if you sold some books you could put the money towards an e-reader?

[MaterFacit]

If you have any non-fiction might be worth looking at Amazon Trade in, I made £100 last time I did it. No postage fees to send the books out and they pay you for the books in Amazon vouchers. It really focused my mind on what I wanted to keep or not.

Usually when I'm having a clear out I get rid of books that I

-don't have an emotional attachment to
-havent read in a year
-don't want to keep for my daughter
-are out of date
-I remember reading but don't remember the plot.



Then I get rid as soon as I can otherwise they find themselves back on the shelves. In the past I have used freecycle to get rid of books quickly or I leave them in the boot of the car and take them straight to charity.

I still have a lot of books but they are all ones I love.
I found it helped to think of ones I was wavering over as spacestealers, taking space that I could use for books that I would enjoy more.

[Keenoonvino]

A reading room. I'm so jealous :)

[MiddleAgeMiddleEngland]

Materfacit - sometimes I don't read a book for 10 or more years, but am still pleased to have it on the shelf waiting for its moment to arrive.

I wouldn't keep books I knew I'd never keep again, or thought nobody else in the house would read them, though.

[Frawli]

Start with the books you won't read again. Don't put them in a pile though, put them in a box, then put the box in your car and get them out of the house before they worm their way back onto your shelves.

I don't mind getting rid of books I won't read again, a book that will never be read again is a sad thing, I like to give it an opportunity to find somebody else who will appreciate it, and I have limited shelf space, so I have to only give room to books I will re-read.

This is partly why I am such an enthusiastic convert to reading on a kindle, not only can I often get free books but I can keep loads of them on my virtual shelves without the house getting more cluttered.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

We cull ours regularly and only keep ones we will want to re-read. I used to be v anti getting rid of books but I realised that we were probably only hanging on to some of them just to prove we'd read them and to others because of memories which we could retain without actually keeping the books.

I now only buy history books (which I re-read), charity shop books and new King books (as he is a god!).

[MaterFacit]

MiddleAge: All the top shelves of my bookcases are books I haven't read in years, the 'haven't read in a year' is merely one stage in the personal decision making process . In general a book needs to meet at least two of the criteria I listed before I will consider letting it go.

[PurpleStorm]

I only keep books that I think I'll want to re-read later.
Out of date reference books generally go out as well.

I have a special box where I put books that I'm not keeping, so that they can't sneak back onto the shelves.

[carlajean]

I love having lots of books, but have recently realised that I see them as an extension of myself i.e. theoretically, people will come into the house and think 'wow, what fantastically interesting books this woman has, she must be a really interesting person'. In reality nobody has ever given my bookshelves a second glance. I guess this shows me up as being shallow, but the realisation has freed me up to get rid of a lot of them, though I can't bring myself to get rid of a shelf of Norah Lofts.
www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/science-technology/battery-powered-book-a-surprise-hit-2012051427055.this says it all about kindles for me

[carlajean]

oh dear, it should have been THIS

[PandaG]

carlajean - I still have multiple hundreds of books, and I do still buy more, and use the library, but I find my Kindle invaluble as a space saver, both in the house and in my luggage when I go on holiday. Am seriously considering getting one for DD is she is a voracious reader too!