Have you ever thrown a book in the bin?

[HopSpringsEternal]

I did yesterday for I think the 3rd time in my life.
The first was that book by Gina Ford when DS1 was about 2 weeks old. It was all the rage at the time but DS definitely didn't want to follow the rules. In fact it was DH that threw it out and I was definitely a lot more.content.
The second was when I got out my old Doctor Dolittle books to read the kids and I realised they were littered with the N word. In a sort patronising racist way "the nice n man". Didn't want that word seen or normalised by any other kids so in the recycling it went.
The last was yesterday. Lying in bed realised their was a Neil Gaiman book on my book shelf. Didn't not want a book of that vile bastard staring at me so into the bin he went.
Foot all other books if I don't want them anymore.I just take them to the charity shop. But I didn't want to inflict the above three on anybody else.
Has anyone else?

Sacrilege, even if you hate them, others might find them worth reading. The only time a book would ever go in the bin would be if it was so damaged it was unreadable

I do too. I don’t need other people trying to curate my reading based on their moral judgements. It’s very patronising to assume that other readers aren’t capable of making their own decisions or don’t have access to the same information that you do.

Also, if you don’t like an author, giving their book to a charity shop means someone will buy it from there rather than buying it new, so it’s equally possible that by binning a Gaiman book you’d generate a sale for him rather than preventing one.

@Philandbill I really didn't want anyone else to have to feel the way that book made me feel. When you're so vulnerable.

One I had on Kindle that I would have chucked in the bin had it been a physical book

Ooh, yes, this is a problem with e-books. There should be a 'get in the bin' tool -- more than just a 'remove' option. Something with an angry animation.

I've put quite a lot in the recycling. I don't live in an English speaking country so it's quite hard to get rid of them. I read Marie Kondo and realised that very few of the books on my shelf sparked joy, so I thanked them for their service and out they went. Including Shakespeare.

That Eleanor Oliphant shit. Can't remember what the full title was and it was hugely popular when it came out but it really was the most appalling crap and what people saw in it I am at a loss. I got halfway through and threw it in the bin. Appallingly written and just totally ridiculous.

I had to read The Road for book club. I hated it - I still wish I had never read it, it made me feel quite ill tbh. Anyway, I was three quarters through and somehow it got into the washing machine on a full wash! I found that quite healing. Mind you it shrunk all the clothes!

i really liked that, No, I loved it

Hundreds upon hundreds! As a constant reader in a time when I'm lucky enough to be able to access almost unlimited books, I don't understand the continued fetishism of them. They've always been part of my everyday life so I don't feel the need to treat them like special objects. If they're rubbish then dispose of them yourself instead of trying to clutter up charity shops with slop that won't sell anyway.

True. It was emotive rather than logical. Every time I see one if his books it made me feel a bit a bit sick and didn't want the woman at the charity shop to have to go through that if she felt the same.

I have given hundreds of books away over the years. And think these 3 are the only ones. I will stand by the Dr Dolittle as I can't abide normalisation of racism.
In charity shops, they quite often throw away books as they get so many shite ones or 800 copies of 50 shades of grey or The Da Vinci Code.

Not literally but I did curse Gina Ford and Eat Pray Love.

books do sell in charity shops surely

i did throw a book away, it was so awful, but i really cant remember what it was but it would have to be really awful for me to throw it away, rather than donate

Yes they do dispose of many books because of lack of space and having too many copies but that’s very different imo from someone like you placing your ideas of what people should and shouldn’t be allowed to read upon other readers. The attitude is far more unsettling than the actual binning of the books

people are welcome to buy any book they want, but not everyone needs to donate if they feel strongly about the book

Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy. I lent it to a friend and she returned it in a terrible state. God knows what she'd been doing with it. I made her buy me a new copy and asked her if she wanted to keep the mangled one. She didn't so out it went.
I work at a university so sometimes leave books lying around. They always go.

No they don’t have to but I hate wasting books that someone could enjoy and again it’s OP’s attitude that is far more telling than her actions. That her values are not only right but superior and that her values lead her to try dictate what others buy and read, even in some small way.

Throwing away books because the author is problematic is, well, problematic. Where does it end?

The past is another country and all that so we’d have to consign practically everything to the bin. And what makes us (or some of us) the judge and jury?

Anyway, I think this thread is about absolutely crappy books that can’t possibly be inflicted on another unsuspecting reader.

I remember trying to bin a book in India - it was because it had been mis bound and there were pages missing and another chunk that had been put in twice (no wonder it was in the charity shop!). Anyway the hotel housekeeping staff kept rescuing it from the bin and putting it carefully back on the table!!

I know of a guy that bought Fifty Shades of Grey in the airport for a business trip because it was number 1 and he’d vaguely heard some buzz about it. Assumed it was a thriller or some such. On realising quite quickly what it was he was horrified and left it in the seat back pocket on the plane, which is essentially the same thing as the bin

but there is no dictating,
no body knows
nobody misses the book because these books are available to buy

Sears and Sears baby book. Advocated carrying your children around for two years, or you would damage them irretriveably. As a single mother I didn't need the guilt.

I mean I dont think my values are that amazing. I'm pretty certain 90% of people hate the N word, Neil Gaiman's behaviour and GF (feel bad putting GF in the same category she is not on par of the other two).

I read it for my book club and was also mystified by it's popularity. Most of the others in the group quite liked it though

We have a large stack of hardback books in recycling at the minute.

DS's old Warhammer books - they can't go to a charity shop as they contain outdated sets of rules. DS worries that if they went to a charity shop someone would get them, but armies based on those rules and have completely wasted their money. (Warhammer is not cheap)

Actually, quite a few non-fiction that contain outdated information have gone in the bin over the years. Reference books that are wrong are no use except as a curio.

It was terrible and manipulative.