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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to give all my books to the charity shop?

245 replies

Boomba · 19/05/2013 22:31

I'm fed up with all my clutter. I'm not really a hoarder, but very short on time and want to streamline so I can keep clean and tidy.

Ove got loads of books. In the sitting room 2 bookcases stacked 4 deep on each shelf.

I don't have time for reading anyway ant more. I've got a kindle

I feel strangely attached though. And a bit sad, that I don't have time for reading

Do you keep your books??

OP posts:

Lweji · 20/05/2013 16:12

You never know.

I loved the old books I found at my grandparents. holding on to one in case it is worth millions

GeorginaWorsley · 20/05/2013 16:17

I agree with those who love houses full of books,we have 2 large floor to ceiling bookcases in the living room,one in the hall,one in the kitchen,plus DC'S have them in their bedrooms.
Occasionally cull books that I haven't particularlyliked,but I re read on a regular bases others.
I have a kindle,but really only read that on holiday or if it is a kindle only book,IFYSWIM

anklebitersmum · 20/05/2013 16:20

oh my..I am on a book ban at the moment as we have 4 big bookcases and all of them are 3 deep and bulging so I certainly haven't said 'yes' to 4 more boxes from my auction mad Mum

can't get on with a kindle has to be a big papery thing for me so I'd say 'No' to getting rid unless of course you're popping them round to my house

flow4 · 20/05/2013 16:27

I've done two massive book clear-outs. It has been liberating. :) The first time, I removed the bookcase in my bedroom because I realised the dust wasn't good for me and no, of course I couldn't just dust them! I got rid of about 400 books then. The second time was about a month ago, when I finally admitted to myself that, since I hadn't opened a single one of my undergraduate textbooks in over 25 years, I was fairly unlikely ever to read them again! I found a really good home for them, and a couple of hundred others, because a friend of mine has links with a university overseas which is building up its library.

SoniaGluck · 20/05/2013 16:38

It could also be said that people that overtly display their books are snobs, who want visitors to think how clever they are.

See now, I do really struggle with this because I am sure this is one of the reasons why I don't declutter my book shelves. I really am afraid that people will think I'm thick if I don't have book cases groaning with classics.

And I know it's ridiculous because, although no mastermind, I know that I'm reasonably bright and I have read most of the books that I own. Also, I don't know quite who I am trying to impress. I have no idea why I feel like this and I know it's daft but I still can't bring myself to cull the books.

I also agree, ubik that somehow a Kindle just isn't quite as good as an actual book. If you find a therapist, let me know.

KansasCityOctopus · 20/05/2013 16:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Lavenderhoney · 20/05/2013 17:05

Yes, I have all my books, except crappy ones which I give away. They are everywhere plus the dc seem to be book fans and they have loads as well. I can always be relied upon to say yes to buying more books:)

I use the library to see if i like a new author and love 2nd hand bookshop a and fetes with old books. 50p for ten! All lovely old books:) somerset Maugham etc.

I did pile up some duplicates and other ones I wasn't that keen on to appease dh who wanted room for his books but the charity shop wouldn't take them as they weren't brand new!!

So I gave them to the old people's home which was better as they can't get out and rummage anyway.

woozlebear · 20/05/2013 17:18

I rarely re-read books, and I have a Kindle, and a fairly minimalist house (very few pictures on walls, no ornaments other than candle holders), BUT, my instinct is to have as many books around as I reasonably have space for (which currently means two ceiling-height alcove units in the sitting room and a wall of shelves in the study). I hate getting rid of a book that I've really really enjoyed, even if I don't intend to re-read it. I like being reminded of them, and I feel phsically attached to them once I've read them. Plus I just love the look and atmosphere of books. I love having quite a lot of un-read books around, too - like having a library at home. To me a house without books wouldn't feel like home. It's odd because I am ruthless to the point of weirdness with everything else (photos, mementos etc).

Some of the best read people I know have no books around their house. It doesn't signify anything, it's just taste. DH and I are both the same (although he does re-read stuff a lot) and both of us grew up in houses covered in books, so a lot is probably conditioning, too.

Fillyjonk75 · 20/05/2013 17:40

We have loads of children's books and will have a clear out once they get too old for them, keeping a few favourites. My mum kept a few of my favourite books which DDs now read.

DH is a bit reluctant to clear out novels he has read and will not read again, but I am fairly ruthless with mine. I don't buy books that often now anyway. I get them from the library, buy e-books or buy them in a charity shop then take them back. I have kept all the classic novels I've/we've read for DDs to read when they are older though, but lots of bog standard paperbacks have been charity shopped. We also keep non-fiction books for reference, though I would like to cull a few more.

My next project is getting rid of CDs though. Then DVDs once it can all be digitised more easily.

Jux · 20/05/2013 17:45

Well, OliviaMMumsnet, I would say that you need to keep room in your life for more knowledge. You can always buy another bookcase, you know

JackieTheFart · 20/05/2013 17:47

I've kept some special books and some I haven't read. Anything else has been sent to the charity shop.

I have managed to duplicate a lot for nothing on my Kindle, so those books I think I 'might' read again I still have electronically.

I just don't have the space.

Filly I spent hours the other evening sorting all my cds into alphabetical order. I have bought 5 folio things for them (from the 99p store!) and will eventually put them all in there. Some of them I just don't want to get rid of as they are from my yoof . I would so love to get rid of all the DVD boxes as well but DH won't let me touch his collection.

shufflehopstep · 20/05/2013 18:43

Books should be alive. They're only alive when they're being read so if you don't have the time, let them live with somebody else. I give away almost all of my books once I've read them. Just a small number that I loved so I keep in case I want to read them again. I also have a Kindle for when I go on holiday.

Pass them on to someone else who'll enjoy them or give them to a charity shop, they'll thank you.

ThenWeTakeBerlin · 20/05/2013 18:50

I'm minimalist in every area of my home except books. I still cull though and have about 200, which is probably the limit for my tiny flat.

I too feel a bit twitchy at homes with no books at all. You don't need heaving shelves, even half a dozen library books makes a house a home. May be unreasonable but that's how I feel :)

formicadinosaur · 20/05/2013 18:53

I have 'thinned mine out'. Use to have five book cases worth but now have three. Many well loved and used, the rest given away.

badguider · 20/05/2013 18:57

I keep about half the books I buy - anything I would go back to again or want to lend to a friend saying 'oh you should try this one...'
Many of my books are out on loan at any time.

Trashy crime fiction gets sent to the charity shop... as does anything I really didn't like.

So I still have a lot of bookcases full of books but they are not really out of control.

FairyPenguin · 20/05/2013 19:00

Ŵe used to have loads of books, but most of them we'd both read and knew we wouldn't read again (despite saying we would). So now they get passed on to friends/family/charity unless we really definitely will read again.

We have a new rule that if the bookcase is full (with all books stacked vertically, and only 1 book deep), then we are not allowed to buy any more books until we give some away. (shh, but DH doesn't know I've hidden some charity shop bargains in a drawer!).

The children's bookcases though, are overflowing. But I think it's good for them to have books, so hate clearing them out. They love reading.

Ilikethebreeze · 20/05/2013 19:02

Could the cost of downloading books go up massively in the future?
Are all books ever published available on kindle nowadays?

Tried my DDs kindle but didnt like it.

KatyDid02 · 20/05/2013 19:32

I am thinking about doing the same thing, I have about 5 bookcases in the dining room that have not been looked at for months, a lot are non-fiction books that a school somewhere would be glad of but my children have outgrown now.
We could have so much more space in the dining room, it's too cramped as it is at the moment and I know the books will never be read.

beatricequimby · 20/05/2013 19:35

My books are part of who I am, like pictures or ornaments. I give away ones I don't like or can't imagine rereading or lending but many of them remind me of of people who gave them to me or the place where I read them.

I love looking at other friends' books. You don't really browse what someone else has downloaded onto their Kindle. Its just not the same.

bigTillyMint · 20/05/2013 19:35

Norks I LOVE your colourbetising bookshelves - fabulous!

I have a few books around downstairs - mainly ones I have read and enjoyed and might possibly read again. I cull regularly, but now I have a Kindle, it's not so much of an issue!

However, we have loads of kids picturebooks - partly down to my career! DD will not part with any of her novels - they are like old friends - even though she never reads other than for schoolwork and FB now

Iaintdunnuffink · 20/05/2013 19:39

I got rid of nearly all of our adult books, I kept a few that looked good in my living room ;) I also scanned in all the CD's and DVD's, put them on a media server and sold them. It's so nice to have got rid of loads of clutter.

Lavenderhoney · 20/05/2013 20:11

I never loan out books anymore- I don't get them back. I've had to replace a few and they have been removed by guests and never return, old ones too, not new novels or anything.

If I ever feel tempted again, I'm going to ask for a deposit:)

I love all my books, I've even got all my children's books which the dc are showing interest in. Bit mouldy but still readable.

negrilbaby · 20/05/2013 20:14

Part of an article in Bloomberg Businessweek:

Around the world, the catch-all measure used to proxy for parental commitment to education is the number of books in a child?s household. This measure predicts student educational outcomes better than class sizes, or expenditures per student, the length of the school day or better class monitoring. Hanushek and Woessman have found that among 27 rich countries, the United States sees one of the strongest relationships between parental book ownership and child learning outcomes. In the U.S., kids from homes where there are more than two full bookcases score two and a half grade levels higher than kids from homes with very few books.

Have never been able to get rid of books. Most of mine get read and re-read!

pointythings · 20/05/2013 20:15

I've just given away about 170 books to our local hospital, who are opening a library in a refurbished mental health ward. But they were all books DH and I would not read again, and we only did it because 1) it was for a good purpose, and 2) we are now 'allowed' to buy more books.

I can't imagine our house without books. And we probably have about 3000 too.

crashdoll · 20/05/2013 20:55

I've never felt an emotional attachment to books as objects. I've felt emotional attachments to books as words because they saved me as a child, took me away from a bad, scary world into one where I felt safe. To be honest, if you'd judge me for not displaying books on every shelf and every surface, then I wouldn't really want you and your judgey pants in my home.

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