Culling Books

Anne here. My book cull is continuing at a very s l o w  pace. It's nearly a year since I moved, and the new bookshelves were finished by Christmas — I know, disgraceful that I'm still not finished. But I have plenty of space and the boxes of books that are piled up are in a spare room that I don't particularly need. I mostly read on an e-reader now so there's no urgency to get at the books. As well, I've been busy writing. And partly it's because I injured my shoulder and find it difficult to lift anything. I'm undergoing physical therapy for that, so things should improve.

It's not as if I have no room for books. I have a new built-in bookshelf that covers the entire wall of my office. (see pic)  The little sticky notes you can see are to roughly sort them into alphabetical order.

I also have a 5 x 3 ft bookshelf in the guest room that I've filled with a selection of books that a guest might like to browse through. I have a 6 x 3ft bookshelf that contains my history references and my writing books — they were the first books I unpacked. I have several low and wide bookshelves for my larger coffee-table sized books and sundry other items (Scabble, anyone?), and a tall empty bookshelf  sitting in the hall that I might paint and keep. Even so, I have too many books.

A while back, when we were answering an AAW on rereading books, Wench Nicola asked "I wonder when I look at my bookshelves: Why do I keep books I have no intention of re-reading…?" And that got me thinking. Because I have this battle with myself every single time I unpack a box of books and look at the contents and try to decide whether to keep each book or cull it. It's ridiculously difficult.

There are books I haven't touched in years, and can't imagine ever rereading. They're good books, worthy books. I'm sure if I pass them on to charity shop or a second-hand bookshop — or even to the little street library down the street in a neighbor's front yard — there will be people who will want them. And yet I hesitate. Why?

Books are part of my history

Various books are from particular periods in my life, and I have trouble deciding whether I want to delete that part of the evidence of who I once was.

What sort of things? Novels, collections of poetry and plays that I studied at university. Childhood books. Periods of my life when I had a passion for this or that. Authors I used to follow who I don't read any more. Crafts books I no longer need. Books I used in my teaching career.

Sentimental keepers

 These include most of my childhood books, many of which are not the actual copies I read as a child — those generally belonged to my older siblings who were having kids of their own while I was starting high school, or else Mum gave them away to kids she thought might enjoy them. When I left home and I saw a beloved childhood book on sale second-hand, I bought it. I have several copies of the AA Milne books with the original Ernest Shephard illustrations.

But there are also books that evoke special times or places or events in my life, or books that really swept me away at the time, so even though I probably won't ever reread them, I can't cull them.

Books are part of my history

There's quite a collection of  books I used to use when I was teaching. There is no chance I'll need them again to teach, so I really ought to pass them on. Not history books — I'm keeping all of them — but other books I used when teaching a variety of humanities subjects, and lots of books about teaching English as a second (or third etc) language. However the world and academic approaches have changed and they might be irrelevant now — and can I bear them to be tossed in the recycle bin? 

A friend of mine dropped around recently and went through the current boxes of the books I planned to discard. She exclaimed over several literary novels, and others I studied at university.  She picked up Camus' The Plague, and said, "I've always felt I should have read this, so can I have it?" Of course I urged her to take whatever she wanted, and she took away a pile. Since then she's been reading The Plague and comparing it with our CoVid experience and commenting on the notes that I apparently left in the book when I studied it.

It felt a bit weird. I had no memory of those notes and only a hazy memory of the book, and for a minute or two felt I should have kept that book and others as a memory of "intelligent me" or "academic me." But then I thought, what for?  Did I think that I should do on-line events sitting in front of a bookcase filled with impressive-looking literary books? A lot of authors do. But no, I decided, that's past me, not current me, and I don't care if my bookshelves look impressive or deeply frivolous. Or are not in the picture at all.

Romance Keepers

I have one 6ft 6'' x 3 ft  bookshelf in which I'm storing all my keeper romance novels. Some are all-time favorites. These Ibbotson books I acquired through laborious and expensive on-line sales of secondhand books, because they were out of print at the time. And were shipped from the northern hemisphere. Of course, as soon as my collection was complete, they republished her.

Other books are written by friends — I have quite a collection of first novels by friends who are now bestsellers. But still, they don't all fit in that bookshelf, so I have to cull that collection. If I find a book I want to add, I'm trying to choose one to cull. It's so hard.

Duplicates

Quite a few books are duplicates of some of the books I 'own' on kindle. The inverted commas around 'own' are because I have no great faith that any e-book retailer will stay in business for my lifetime. I've had sad emails in the past from readers whose e-copies of my books disappeared when their e-tailer went out of business.

Or maybe changes in technology will make my e-books unreadable. I'm of the generation that first had vinyl records, then cassette tapes, then I replaced my favorite records with CDs and gave the records away, and now it's back to retro vinyl or music on wifi. So I don't trust that won't happen with books.

So it's hard, divesting myself of books that I've spent my whole life collecting. But as much as I don't want to do it, I also DO want to do it. But I'll probably be talking about culling my books for another year, at least. 

What about you— do you find it hard to get rid of "stuff", particularly books, or are you able to cull happily and efficiently? Do you keep books you know you won't read again? Why do you think you do?

Comments

[Deb Tait]

I have grown to appreciate culling. Nowadays I only keep books I know I’ll re-read; I have a strong emotional connection to or I haven’t read yet (and even some of those I culled). I find it very liberating. As I get older I get more intolerant of “stuff”.

[Nancy Mayer]

I do not like culling. It seems as soon as I get rid of something, that a need comes up for it. Recently,however, I have taken books and other things,long lost in storage, to Goodwill. Others will go to the public library. I still haven't recovered from getting rid of 65 boxes of books in 2006 when I moved from a large house to a condo.THe new BeauMonde / Regency Writers has an auction every year in which I can enter some duplicates of research books, or some no longer needed because my interests have changed.

[Mary T]

I started my de-cluttering mission when I retired almost 15 years ago and I am still working on it. That's because I'm not very good at it. I've still got some books, but I have replaced most of the ones I want to re-read with kindle versions.

I'm not really a hoarder but I tend to hold on to "things" if I have a place to store them. But I have gotten better at not holding on to everything. I feel your pain.

[Jeanne Behnke]

Well, first of all - Anne - good luck with your shoulder! As for culling, I’m terribly bad. We have moved a lot in our lives which is probably the only thing keeping me honest if you know what I mean. Also we downsized when we moved to California so that helped immensely. Now that we retired maybe I’ll have time to actually do some rereading- or - culling!

[Sheryl Davldson]

I gave away 95% of my books to a charity shop because I now have a kindle. I kept about 3 authors. It was very hard but I’m glad I did it. I moved from NZ to Australia and my books came too and they did save my sanity. My eyesight is not the best so I use a kindle all the time. I love books but have no space for them. I reread a lot and have all my favourites on that kindle. I love the little library idea. Might have to start one on my street.

[Cronshi]

For me, Covid was the ultimate excuse to avoid culling. Books were my comfort and neighbors borrowed when libraries were closed. Boxes of my kids' YA books were shipped to faraway grandkids. Moreover, the Luddite in me will never fully trust e-books, especially now when some of my favorites are being edited for the modern era. Cull? Maybe those books I never liked much in the first place. Share? Of course. I prefer to give the books to people who might love them as much as I did if at all possible.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Deb. I envy you your ability to cull. I have culled quite a lot of "stuff" before and after the move -- but I have so much more to do. One of my problems is the recurring "what if" thoughts -- what if I need this later? What if amazon gets bought by an irresponsible billionaire? And so on. I need to stop thinking like that.

I also hate waste, so if I can't pass on still-useful stuff, I hang onto it in the hope that I'll eventually find a source. That's my mother in me. I do think these attitudes get passed on. One of my aunts was famous (in our family) for having a house like a showroom. She regularly tossed stuff out that to our eyes seemed still perfectly good -- and just as regularly, Mum and Dad would cart it home and bring it to me in my student house. The dressing table in my bedroom is one of those cast-offs. And I still remember the lovely , slightly faded blue carpet I left behind in shared house in Carlton.

[Anne Gracie]

"It seems as soon as I get rid of something, that a need comes up for ."

Nancy, that is a rule of the universe, I find. However it probably only applies in 5% of cases. I remember when I took a pile of shoes to the local op-shop (charity shop) including a nice, very comfortable pair of platform soles, which had long gone out of fashion. A few weeks later the band I was in we decided to call it the "Platform Souls." I went back to that op-shop but of course my nice comfy shoes were gone and I had to buy some not nearly as nice ones.

I am in awe of your getting rid of 65 boxes of books. I'm up to about 20 so far. And many more to go.

[Janice J.]

I'm at the point where if something new comes in, something else has to go. Also I'm older and shorter now and it's really hard reaching those top shelves.

I have mostly stopped buying hardbacks and picture books because of space limitations.

I will never let them all go, though. I enjoy looking around and seeing filled bookshelves everywhere, with their colorful covers and happy memories. And I like having shelves of reference books around; too much that one can google has no reliability (and crummy pictures).

These days I mostly buy new paperbacks and trade for older ones, or sell them on Ebay. I am gradually clearing out some of the keeper boxes in the closet.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Mary. On the subject of decluttering, I think the world falls into two kinds of people -- those like you and I, who find it hard, and the other kind, who is all, "what's your problem?"

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Jeanne, the shoulder will get better, s l o w l y. I think one of my problems is that we moved often when I was a kid, and being the baby of the family, my stuff was thrown out — without consultation. So many things I lost that way, so asa result I don't like to lose anything. But I'm getting better — s l o w l y.

[Anne Gracie]

Sheryl, part of my problem is that the libraries here, and also the op-shops are increasingly refusing book donations, and so I have to find some was of getting rid of mine that doesn't involve shredding them.

The little library is great. I often see women standing there browsing. I'm planning to take half a dozen books down there today. I'll be interested to see which ones go.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Cronshi — I'm with you in the Ludditeness (Luddidity? ) and getting my books into good hands. And yes, books are my comfort too, even the ones on my bookshelves that I probably won't read. Just looking at them still makes me smile. I can't imagine a house without shelves of books.

And I hate the way so many old books are being rewritten for various reasons. I say keep the originals and learn from them.

[Anne Gracie]

Janice I heartily concur.
"I enjoy looking around and seeing filled bookshelves everywhere, with their colorful covers and happy memories. And I like having shelves of reference books around; too much that one can google has no reliability (and crummy pictures)."

When I was browsing the web for bookshelves, and also just looking at house interiors (which I still do, even though my house needs nothing doing to it (except a dog door my Milly-dog reminds me) I so often see bookshelves filled with ornaments rather than books. To me, a house is not a home without at least one bookshelf filled with books.

[Kareni]

I sympathize, Anne, as I, too, have difficulty culling books. I figure that if there is an EMP, a zombie apocalypse, or all Kindle books disappear into the void, I will have no shortage of reading material.

Scrabble? Yes. Though Bananagrams is also a lot of fun. (And let's not discuss how the game cabinet also needs culling....)

[Kareni]

I love to visit people's homes and peruse their bookshelves, so a home without bookshelves would be sad indeed.

[Janice J.]

I live in a largish condominium complex and from time to time I've been in other residents' apartments, and when I have looked around I have seen no books. My God, I think, who are these people that they have no physical books? Are they wireheads? Space aliens? In a mostly literate country, how is this possible?

I even get twinges when others come into my place and remark on the number of books I have. A sort of "this is the end of civilization" moment :(

[Kareni]

I vote that they are space aliens, Janice. But as I am unfamiliar with the term wireheads, perhaps that is what they are!

[Karin]

I purged quite a bit of books and other stuff in the first year of the pandemic. Luckily I was able to find homes for all of them. Some of them I posted to paperbackswap.com, and the rest I donated. There is a Methodist church nearby that has a huge annual book sale, and last year I gave them 3 big boxes. Plus, there is always the option of donating to a local nursing home.
I am now keeping a limited number of books I've already read; if they are out of print and would be almost impossible to find again; if they have sentimental value, for instance they belonged to a family member; or if they are very old hardcover editions.
But I have to admit, I probably have a greater number of books on my shelves that I haven't read, than those I have read.

[Christina Courtenay]

I’m going through exactly the same thing Anne! I really want to do a cull but it’s so hard and I have to wrestle with myself about each and every one. I guess we just have to persevere!

[Janice J.]

Wireheads are always plugged into something electronic; in the sf novels they have a wire thing going into the brain to hit the pleasure centers directly. We're not there yet but we're getting close :)

[Anne Gracie]

People sometimes say to me after exclaiming at all the books, "But have you read them all?" And when I say "Yes, all but a few I haven't got around to yet," I'm not sure they believe me. But it's true.

I don't understand people who have no books.

[Anne Gracie]

Kareni, I just read a novel that mentioned Bananagrams — the hero and heroine met playing it — and now, in the space of 24 hours, here's another mention. I clearly need to find out what it is.
OK I just looked it up, and it sounds a bit like a game I play with my card-playing gang sometimes, called Take One.
For Take One, you tip out all the scrabble tiles, and turn them face down, then each player takes 7 tiles. The first person who can make a word puts it out on the table, and from then on, players add to the words on the board, making words, but they have to join up. As soon as you've made a word, you say "take one" and every player has to take a tile. There's no order, it goes as fast as it takes anyone to make a word and the "take ones" can fly pretty fast. If somebody can't make a word, they say "Stuck" and if all the players are stuck, then it's take one, and on it goes. The winner is the person who uses up all their tiles first. It's fast and fun.

[Anne Gracie]

Karin most of the usual sources for passing on books dried up here, probably because of covid, so I'm still scratching to find places for mine. But I hadn't thought of nursing homes. I used to take my friends' Mills and Boon Polish translation to a Polish lady I knew in care who'd forgotten her English. Every time she saw me, she'd brighten up, saying, "Polish books?" with a huge smile. And she'd pass them on to her Polish friends afterward.

[Anne Gracie]

I know. And it takes forever, because when you take down one book, you read the back blurb or open it to check that you really don't need to keep it, and 9 times out of 10, you spend the next hour or two reading it., just to be sure.

[Julia Gasper]

I totally understand Anne's reluctance to cull books. I have far too many but still buy more, partly because it's nice to support new authors and partly because I hate to throw away something that's given me pleasure. From time to time I take a few to a local charity shop, and invariably come back with just as many, as even the charity shops round here are bursting with books. Walked into Oxfam to give some clothing away last weekend...came out with The Mistress of Spices.

Childhood books: keep them! I still regret getting rid of my childhood editions of Jane Austen and Shakespeare when I was a student because they weren't proper up-to-date "academic" editions. I loved them, and recently, naughtily, bought a replacement of my first Pride and Prejudice because the illustrations brought back such happy memories.

[Julia Gasper]

That's lovely.

[Julia Gasper]

You're totally right about that. Some people have re-written Jane Austen. Publishers are bringing out purged editions of Roald Dahl and P.G. Wodehouse!!!
No thanks...

[Cronshi]

You might consider operation paperback (operationpaperback.org) which provides military members with reading material.

[Barbara Bettis]

Oh my, getting rid of books is like tearing away a part of me. When I retired from teaching and decided to downsize, I had to get rid of several boxes. Thankfully, our library here still accepts donations. I've started replacing my re-reads (which are a Lot :) ) on Kindle. But it still hurts to turn loose of the physical items. I've held on to books of various kinds that have been dear to me thought the years. And I don't want to get rid of my research books, because, well, just in case...You know how that is! But I've benefitted from the encouragement here. I do need to re-evaluate a few more.

[Annette N]

I could have written this post, Anne. I am a book addict. I know why. As a child I had little connection to my parents or siblings, and books were my support system. I used a bookmobile library and carried home as many as I was allowed. I needed the books in my life.
Now, I still feel I need books around me.
Someone here said something about people who have no books. I do not understand those people. I believe that at the very least they have missed some of the best times in life.
I have culled, several times. I have taken boxes and boxes away. And I do try to do the right thing.
I fortunately have a daughter - in - law who loves books too. She has received some of mine and she appreciates books. We read different genres, but she has loved quite a few of mine.
I have shared, I need to cull many more, but I need to get myself in a better frame of mind. I have collections of some of my favorite authors. And I know what the right thing is....that does not mean I am ready to do the right thing.
Why do I feel like a criminal hiding my addiction?

[Constance]

Yep, that's me!

[Constance]

When I retired about 18 months ago, I got rid of almost all my "business attire" and then I started on the house. Records (yes, LPs!), CDs, DVDs, vases, plant pots, Christmas decorations, old technology, pots and pans - all ditched, donated or swapped. But DO NOT TOUCH my books! I buy very few new books on paper these days, just a few authors whose works I prefer to hold in my hands, and try to limit my purchase of used books. But now you've all frightened me about the long-term viability of the 561 unread books on my Kindle! Of course, if they should disappear, there are still the 4 (or is it now 5? 6?) shelves of TBR treasures in one of our bookcases!

[Karen S. Clift]

oh most definitely, they do get passed on. My sister is like my mother was--they both cull stuff to a fare-thee-well; I'm like my father was--I have real trouble doing it--half an hour at max & then I question everything! He could barely do it at all!

Last spring/summer, I did a major cull of my books since I was moving them around anyway (painting job) and I hauled about 40 grocery bags (30 pbks or so ea) to a used book dealer & to a local garage sale. I weeded mostly based did I also have in ebk format & some that I accepted my tastes have changed.

But I still have about 800 pbks in there & that's not counting the NR's, JDR's, JAK's, AQ's and a variety of others that I still have in pbk but haven't entered on the spreadsheet. Easily over a thousand pbks sitting around. Like you said, I just can't give up the pbk format of some of my favorite books, even if the hands are having more trouble handling them these days.

Re: the ebk format--I'm going with the idea that I have purchased the rights to a copy of that book in the eformat--they have no right to delete it. But just in case someone else buys Amazon & doesn't respect the "space" for me to store them all there in the cloud, I've downloaded my favs & tried to keep them copied on a drive. But I'll admit, some days I do wonder because yes, I've seen a lot of format changes as well over the decades. And I don't really care for the new Kindle versions--they've tried to make them more laptops than book readers--takes forever to open a book! I greatly prefer my 2012 Kindle--it's not recharging easily these days--but oh, I can open a book so quickly!

[Karen S. Clift]

My mother commented several times that she had Wonder Woman #1 comic book & her mother threw it out when she felt like weeding one time. That bothered Mom--it was hers, not her mothers, plus think what it would be worth these days!

[Karen S. Clift]

Janice, you make me think of the male MC in Nora Robert's "Obsession". He had a solid wall of filled bookcases in his apartment living room--specially built. Plus bookcases in his bedroom & office. I got the feeling there was no bookcase in the kitchen because it was too small! And they were full of books, not artfully decorated instead. A decorator on tv loses me quickly when they stack books on their side & place stuff on them for display! Can't access the book that way! The female MC took pictures of the "Wall of Books" & I loved the idea of a framed print!

[Karen S. Clift]

"And yet I hesitate. Why?"
Because I might want to reread them again sometime--I might be trying to think--what was that book where... and go hunting for it and all kinds of reasons. And I know how books go out of print--may never get it again! Plus not all of our books are available in ebk format, and many may never be! Multiple reasons to keep the book...

[Kareni]

Ah, thank you, Janice, for the explanation!

[Kareni]

There are definitely similarities, Anne! With Bananagrams, all players are working independently and simultaneously on their own grids. And it's legal to revamp parts or the whole when new letter tiles enter the fray. And, yes, when a player uses all of his/her tiles, all players pick up a tile. And, hey, all of the tiles come in a fabric banana shaped pouch, so it looks like fun.

[Mary M.]

OF COURSE, my immediate reaction was, "Ooh, never heard of Bananagrams, got to look that up." Then, "ooh, that sounds like fun, got to have that" And "Ooh, look at all the variations, which to choose?"

Followed by, "Hold it! You [I] spend 32 hours a day on your iPad. WHAT are you [I] THINKING???"

[Mary M.]

Take it from an octogenarian, should you live so long with books et al, there will come a time when you regret clutching all your stuff. (And in a quandary how to let it go.)

Books have a right to life with someone who will actually read them! That's my story and I'm sticking to someday, possibly, maybe acting on it!

[Kareni]

Well, clearly you were thinking that Bananagrams would be a lot of fun, Mary M., and you were correct!

[Laura]

I'm a retired librarian. One of the first librarians I worked with said the world was made up of two kinds of people.................heavers and hoarders. And woe behold a heaver married to a hoarder. But that is a subject for another blog.

[Anne Gracie]

Karen, I'm also not a fan of the new kindle, especially since they now include adverts! Apparently you can pay extra not to have ads but I think that's extortion!

As for inherited hoarding or tossing tendencies, I'm afraid both my parents hated to toss things out — although my mother seemingly had no trouble getting rid of MY stuff . LOL

[Anne Gracie]

LOL, Laura, yes, some friends of mine had to do a big cull when they moved house after many years in the same place. She wanted to keep everything, he wanted to toss most things. When he visited my new house recently he looked all through it and said "Well, Anne, I can see you've made this place your home again." And I said "You mean I still have a lot of stuff?" and he laughed and said "Yep."

[Anne Gracie]

Karen my mother found it much easier to get rid of my stuff than her own. It's a mother thing, I suspect.

[Anne Gracie]

Julia I knew about the Roald Dahl rewriting — and was appalled by it — but I hadn't heard about any rewriting of PG Wodehouse. It's so wrong, I think! That decides me, I'm keeping all my old PGW books too!

[Anne Gracie]

Karen, I had at least one bookshelf in every room in my old house, two in most, and two and a half walls of shelving in my office. And though my kitchen was tiny, I had a free-standing shelf over the bench, filled with cookbooks. I culled some before the move, but I need to cull more.

[Anne Gracie]

Mary, that made me laugh out loud. So true.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Cronshi — I'll check it out.

[Anne Gracie]

Julia, I'm very much like that, too.

[Anne Gracie]

Barbara, I think I need constant reminders about how good it feels to get rid of stuff and pass it on to someone who will enjoy it. It's probably a neverending process.

[Anne Gracie]

Annette, I think books were my friend too when I was a kid — as well as my dog. We moved often, and generally lived out of town so there were mostly no neighboring kids to play with. My siblings were much older and I was still in primary school when they'd all left home. And we didn't have TV. So my local libraries kept me "fed."

I sometimes wonder whether, after so many people have rid themselves of paper books, they might come back into fashion — in the same way as vinyl records are now. And people will be in search of hard to find titles — and WE will have them! ;)

[Anne Gracie]

Constance I also gave away several boxes of Christmas decorations, and will do another cull in the lead-up to Christmas. For a start, this house has such high ceilings in the living area, I'll never be able to put up some of them. So that will be a November plan (so that others can use the decorations). I'm about to do a big re-sort of my pot-plants, too. I don't have as much space now for them as in the old house.
Good luck with getting through your kindle TBR pile. What a lovely "chore" to have.

[Anne Gracie]

Karen, I do that all the time — think of a book and go hunting for it. A friend of mine was reminiscing about a book she'd loved at high school, which was out of print and hard to find. And I was able to go to my old bookshelves and grab it for her. I foresee a lot of frustration for me in the future when I can't find a book I knew I had. LOL

[Anne Gracie]

Mary this is excellent advice and I will use it to remind myself to keep culling my books. Thank you.

[Vicki L]

Its that existential question...To Be (cull) or not to Be (cull). I go in spurts, usually when I run out of space. Then I look around and see what I can part with today. Sometimes it takes me years to go through a shelf.

The interesting thing is I've never regretted moving on any non-fiction books. I have regretted moving on some fiction books that I then have gone and rebought which I hated doing!

It sounds like I need to copy all my Kindle books, or at least my most favorite ones that I paid for to my computer just in case.

It is interesting how my tastes have changed over the years. My favorite authors, even if I haven't read some of their books in 10, 15 years, I'll keep them. Other authors, if I haven't re-read them for that long, I obviously won't.

Luckily I have free libraries I can donate to. Some of the best places to take books to are the little free libraries in campgrounds. Luckily my library system has a huge book sale twice a year so when I cull lots of non-fiction, that is where I take it.

Holding on to a strategic few books from different time periods and phases of your life might be the way to go. You don't need all of them, just some of them that show who you were. What you did. I've kind of done that for some categories of books. Which is why it took me 15 years to cull some shelves!

Good luck! There really isn't a deadline except in your head as to when it should be done. Culling should be done slow enough you don't make regrettable mistakes because you feel you MUST be done by a certain point.

By the way, I've really enjoyed all the discussion how hard it is to cull/purge books.