Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not want to get rid of any of my books?

65 replies

notremotelyintofootie · 11/04/2011 19:36

I love books, always have and always will....

Over the years I have built up a huge collection but when dh moved in about 4-5 years ago I packed up a load to make space for his crap stuff....

We moved house last year and had to put some bits into storage until we could declutter and sadly a load of my books were included, in this house I have a measly 2 book cases but I need to empty the storage unit so have been decluttering like mad, selling some bits on eBay and have given loads of stuff to charity, however not my books...

We don't really have room for any more bookcases and the shed isn't watertight so the only place for the boxes of books is my 'study' but dh is already trying to get me out of there for dsd (if I don't have a study we need full time child care at the cost of £1150 a month! And I wouldn't be able to do extra work like examining without it....), if and when dsd moves in dd will come in with us rather than share with dsd as there is a 14-15 year age gap....

Anyway, dh keeps saying I need to get rid of my books but I don't want to!!! They aren't trashy novels by the way, I have about 100-200 relevant to my work and lots of lovely sets of classics (for the kids in the future too!) and complete sets of stephen king and Terry pratchet which ds who is 11 will be into soon.... I have quite a few I havent read yet too!

So aibu to not want to give up my babies??? (dh has about 700-900 vinyl albums btw and I would never tell him to give up them!)

OP posts:
Firkytoodle · 14/04/2011 21:47

Another Librarything user here:)

waves to fellow users

I have a lot of books too and luckily have an understanding DH (my mothers day present was a new built in bookcase). I read 3-4 books a week and when we lived abroad had almost 4000, but we had a spare bedroom that became the library. When we moved back, we did it ourselves and after filling over 50 boxes I did do some filleting of the collection, which made it easier once we moved back to get rid of some more. There is nothing like 7 moves in 10 years to really focus the mind on what is important.

We live in a smaller space now and have one more child and I have steadily reduced my collection down to about 2000 which is the right amount for me (and our tiny house).I am a bit harsher now and if I am ambivalent about a book it goes straight into a charity bag in the hall. My tastes have changed a lot over the years and I had a lot of books I knew I would never ever read again. There were also lot of books that I hadnt read and they were sitting there looking at me and making me feel guilty so they have been passed on to people who will love them more than me.

I reread a lot and I grew up in a house with lots of books so I am eager to have the same for DD and DS.

Can you put shelves up anywhere? DH has promised to build me some more in a small alcove we have, plus some high up and out of the way. Big bookcases that you can double stack?

IWantToBeAFairyWhenIGrowUp · 14/04/2011 22:02

Don't get rid of them. I love books in my house too, we have 3 bookshelves so not 1000's of books but a lot.

If your DH is that set on you getting rid of them, could you ask him to part with his vinyl as a compromise?

takethisonehereforastart · 14/04/2011 22:04

bilblio I've said hello to you on LT now.

And yes, I also like to reread books. I can guarentee that if I get rid of a book I want/need it the very next week for something.

Books make a home IMO and I've been lucky with the new house. There's a storage cupboard in the dining room that the previous owner filled with bookshelves, floor to ceiling. It's not big enough for all the books but it has taken the pressure off the rest of the house for awhile.

And if I visit someone elses home and spot a bookshelf it's like a magnetic force, I can't resist going to take a look.

OP what about shelves above doorways?

MrsMellowDrummer · 14/04/2011 22:09

Me too! I'm a Librarythinger (I'm MellowYellow over there). It's a fantastic site. And I love it even more, now that I have a phone ap that lets you barcode scan your books in. Really wish I'd had one of those when I originally joined and spent weeks adding books.

I also have a Kindle now, so I don't add very often to my heaving book shelves.

exoticfruits · 14/04/2011 22:14

You can't have too many books!

moonbells · 14/04/2011 22:17

YANBU

my study became DS's bedroom as DH didn't want to get rid of his stuff out of his study so we moved everything up to ceiling height and so DS lives in a room full of books. No idea what will happen when he needs a wardrobe!

He loves books. And at 3.5 is trying so very hard to read! Books are a great thing for children to grow up surrounded by.

Original poster
notremotelyintofootie · 14/04/2011 22:24

Mrsyellowdrummer -what ap is that??

OP posts:
gotolder · 14/04/2011 22:49

Like so many here I find it almost impossible to get rid of any books and have a couple of thousand. the trouble is, my DH is even worse and buys them like they are going out of fashion and, in addition can't (won't) get rid of any of his LARGE collections of vinyl,cassettes,CDs and DVDs. We can't row with each other over any of it!

TransatlanticCityGirl · 14/04/2011 22:57

Are having your books seriously worth the worry / headache it is clearly causing you? They are just material things. If your house caught fire, would you let that loss traumatise you?

I highly recommend the following two blogs:

Zen Habits
Stuck in Stuff - the 100 Thing Challenge

It is surprisingly liberating to free yourself of stuff. You save money, you create a calm and peaceful home environment, and you allow your mind to focus on what's important (e.g. family!)

I'd say keep the books you are likely to read again and again. Dump the rest. We're moving into the digital age now anyway - soon your books will all be on a kindle or ipad anyway (whether you like it or not!)

When in doubt I find this always works for me: put the books (or whatever other clutter you can't bear to part with) in a box, label it with the date and contents, and put it into storage somewhere (e.g. in the loft, in a storage unit that you rent etc) and if after 1 year you have not opened that box or even missed its contents, give it to charity.

MrsMellowDrummer · 15/04/2011 08:23

Notremotely it's called "LibraryThing Scanner". I have it for android, and I'm sure it exists for iPhone too.

Seriously, it works like dream. And I think it was free.

Parietal · 15/04/2011 08:51

We covered one wall of the living room behind the sofa with ikea bookshelves to fit in all the books. A single line of shelves just below the ceiling (even in the hall) can also be a good way to store extra books out of the way. Or boxes under the beds? You could also look at the books carefully and try to get rid of the worst 10%. Because not every book is worth keeping for ever.

bilblio · 15/04/2011 12:49

Yet another reason I need an iphone when my contract is due for renewal.

I would be traumatised if my books went up in smoke. I've got a lot of old books, quite a few which are out of print and I spent years tracking down, and a lot have sentimental value.

As for kindles [shudder] I can understand their use for text books or if you're travelling, but I really can't see myself curling up with a kindle at night.

jeckadeck · 15/04/2011 14:45

OP are you married to my husband? I've been having the exact same argument with my DH. He's been bullying me for months to get rid of some of my books. I'm reluctant to. The thing is on some level I know he's right -- it will be surprising if I re-read 5% of them. But at some really gut level I don't want to chuck them. Meanwhile he is into remote control cars, helicopters etc and has literally scores of the control panel things you use for them, mobile chargers, batteries, all kinds of crap, which I hate because a) there's no need for that many of them b) they are ugly c) it's almost impossible to store them tidy. Its a circular argument and I can't see any way to get him to cut down on these fecking toys unless I concede on the books.

SolosEggSpoonentiallyShrinking · 15/04/2011 14:52

YANBU! I never ever get rid of books even if I don't like them. Can you not put up some high wall shelves in your bedroom for them? and yes, actually I'd put the two children in a room together and keep the study.

pinkyonthebeach · 15/04/2011 15:14

I had a clear out of my books as my husband dosent get rid of his!

I took a pile of books and simply looked at each one and thought would I read this again? Did I love it?
Yes? Its a keeper, No its to charity. Super fun to do too! Memories and you find "new" things to read!
Always check online first though as it could be out of print and worth something. I have a book for sale online for £100.00

We had a book shelf made to fit a spare alcove, it was made so we could stack the books 2 deep.

Anyone else hide their embarrassing books out of guests view? Me, I put my vast collection of self-help books, Marilyn Monroe and Buffy books in my bedroom!

New posts on this thread. Refresh page