To think you can NEVER have too many books.

[hippoherostandinghere]

DH said today he would divorce me if I bought any more books. Joking I think but he was pretty serious he didn't want me to buy the DC's any more books. I'd say they have about 250, they are 3 and 1. I was looking at a few Julia Donaldson ones on amazon that we don't have but he doesn't understand how pleasant they are to read. I love adding to our collecting and see it as a good investment. He's being unreasonable isn't he?

DS keeps telling his teacher at story time that we have that book. I'm sure she's getting pretty fed up!

I dont own a single book....

I couldnt throw away the children's books. They love my old original ladybird tales. I want them to be able to read their kids the books they had as a child.

Sorry, I think you married the wrong guy. How could 250 children's books be too many? When the DCs were little I probably read them 10 picture books a day, so that's less than a month's supply. And picture books are so slim, 250 wouldn't actually take up much space.

But then again, I do pretty much live in a library (books in every room, built-in floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in three rooms) and although I have a kindle and do regularly go through and cull the ones I'm unlikely to read again (charity shop) I still have piles of books on tables etc because there isn't enough shelfspace. And I have a kindle.

We probably have about 600 of which about 100 belong to DD. My PIL regularly ask why we have so few books. I tend to buy anything recommended for DD as there are only so many times I can read each of her books without feeling like I am going to go mad.

I think you can have too many books at one time. DD always had dozens from us but at that age we were great library goers. We'd get 8-10 every week for her. Of course we'd allow her to keep favourites but generally we tried to keep her moving so she'd experience new things. I don't think buying hundreds of books is a particularly good way to spend your money when you could just visit a library.

Now she's at school she gets to bring home books from their library each week and she still has at least two on the go at any one time.

I used to have tons and tons of books but went on a decluttering spree and every time we move house we declutter some more. First the majority of the novels went, then the reference books we could reference online, then any book I hadn't touched in 2 years... etc. So we do regularly cull.

I try to use the library more and we go weekly to the library. The children get 10 books each week from the library so go through lots. We still have lots at home but I will be encouraging them to cull too as they get older!

I have thousands of books, so does my son. We are also a three kindle family (one each), which has helped in recent years, but doesn't help with the old books. As I am currently trying to pack to emigrate and most of the charity shops are full here and wont take paperbacks, you certainly can have too many of the buggers, but 250 doesn't sound like a lot to me really.

SingingBear Mon 31-Dec-12 21:44:44

Books which you think they have "grown out of" they now pick up to read by themselves. I know you're not asking this question specifically but don't get rid of any till the DCs are well past learning to read!

This is so silly. Of course you can have too many books. I'm a reader, English lit degree, all that jazz. But books were taking over my life. I had a big sort out and got rid of the ones we'll never read again. Still loads to go but when they're having a negative effect on your living space then you've got too many. There is no correlation between owning books and reading them. You can be just as well read by borrowing.

My husband just told me he gave eight boxes of books to my mum in law last week for her local charity shop, and they gave us a box of chocs to say thanks. I didn't even notice they had gone!

YANBU.

For kids' books:
www.thebookpeople.co.uk

HTH.

Yes, there is no need to keep books you don't plan to read again.

Which is why my bookshelf contains cookery books, self help books and half read novels.

I couldn't agree more mrsdevere. One funny thing I have realised is that most people who are virulently anti-kindle actually read much less than me. Yes, I know you love the smell and feel of books, yada yada, so do I. But I do think most people who read loads usually have both, if they can afford it.

You've reminded me of when me and my friend counted how many books were in each of our houses when were kids. Her family had 10,000 and I've always thought of that as quite a lot, if not exactly too many...

YANBU! We too have hundreds of books for our DDs (3 and1). I have the compulsion to buy one (or a few) every time I pass the book shop or charity shop.

DH is the same and wants me to stop.

To be fair, I did a cull of my own book collection when we moved (and am still upset of the loss of my books!).

You can if there is no room fo anything else in the house! Our shelves are groaning under the weight, DDs shelves are too. My DBro says never throw out any books as they tell a story about your life. Thing is, we just don't have any more room.

BUT, thenightsky - bookshelves up the staircases, this idea appeals! Do you have them?

*MN is obsessed with bloody books.

It doesn't make you a superior being because you have loads of books. *

I totally agree, people get really silly about books. Kids don't need hundreds of books. No one needs hundreds of books. Books are not sacred objects.

I am a big reader, always have been. As a teenager, I used to get 6 books from the library on a Saturday (the maximum allowed), read them during the week and get another 6 next week.

You don't need to OWN books to love them. Why don't you put the money you would have spent on books into savings for your kids and take them to the library instead?

YANBU it's fab for kids to have books. I do love books and couldn't imagine my house without any books, which wasn't very popular with estate agent, but that's another story...

Because our library is crap, frankly!

There is very little suitable for my 6yo there... the majority of stuff that was suitable last year was rainbow fairy type rubbish! Next to no classics, or fiction novels, not even Dick King Smith, Anne Fine, Horrid Henry, Jeremy Strong, or anything really. Loads of ORT books though or rainbow fairies

No Arthur Ransome either

DS1 gets books out of the school library and the local library and I still buy him loads. Usually newer stuff that isn't available in the library yet. I read many of them too (I am a sucker for 'young adult' literature). I like having them around, and they'll be useful when DS2 is old enough to read them. He's already benefitted from the large picturebook collection he inherited from DS1 (and it has grown too). I love picturebooks.

There are very few 'adult' books in our house. DH and I have bookcases full in our offices at work, but we don't tend to bring them home much. So if you come round you'll think we never read anything.