When are you going to get rid of your books?

[AngryAmish]

Like most everyone here I have probably literally one or two tons of books. I tried not to accumulate the things over the years, but here I am. I have some in my office - they look good in the conference room but I have opened the vast majority (99%) of them in years. In bookshelves, in boxes in storage, etc.

I don't have a Kindle but I will soon. Then the great weeding will begin. I'll keep my old mysteries - Jim THompson, Ellroy, Stark. I still reread those every few years.

But it is hard to get rid of the things.

Books mean something to people who are older than twenty. They are useful signals that the owner is an educated person (how many copies of "A Brief History of Time" to this day sit in conspicuous places in people's homes, unread and un understood?) But for younger people all books will be kindled or read on a smartphone. Something else will serve as a social signaler.

Well, who else plans on getting rid of their books? (as you can tell, all this talk of book burning made me pensive)


on edit: I have 40-50 cookbooks I'll never get rid of. For example: New Basics by Russo and Lukins. Mrs. AA and I were talking about a 1990 party with all the food our of that book. I still use it about 2-3 times a year. Cookbook is more rugged in the kitchen.

[hobbit709]

1. When they pry them from my cold dead hands.

[cwydro]

9. Ditto.

My house is filled with books.

[blueamy66]

45. AMEN!

I love my office/library...I love the smell of the pages of my books...I love the bookshelves that my Uncle made for me.

Kindle Schmindle....

[mcollins]

2. I thought it was interesting

That in the TV series Star Trek they made a big deal about having a 'real' book and not just a digital copy. There were a few episodes with that comment in them. I am not a big trekkie but I did enjoy the show as I grew up.

[Tikki]

3. Please try to donate what you can of your..

books to your Friends of the Library or to local shelters or resource centers.

Once, when I visited a local homeless shelter, I saw a young girl (10 y.o. or so)
curled up in the corner reading a book with a stack of other books near by.

I have never gotten that picture out of my head and heart.

PS...my iPAD works as a reader...LOVE IT!!!



Tikki

[femmocrat]

39. I hate to part with books. I still have books from my childhood!

Every now and then I do give several bags to the YWCA. They hold a huge book sale at the local mall every September.

It's hard to get rid of like-new $25.00 hard back books, though. I have shelves full of them. I don't know what to do with them.

[EFerrari]

4. I got rid of all but about 250 in 2004.

It was like abandoning a pet but I've learned to really like traveling lighter. Once in a blue moon I miss looking something up easily but with few exceptions, what I need is on the net.

[LaurenG]

5. I go through them evey so often and decide which I can part with

I'd say I trade or donate 20 or so a year but bring in at least that many. I use most of them as reference material and some are antiques. I'm probably never going to be without books, at least for the foreseeable future.

[kentauros]

6. When I can get digital copies of all of them,

and on a true notebook-sized ('A' or 8.5x11) eReader.

There are a few "art books" I'd keep, but the rest could easily be all digital without me losing any sleep over it :)

It also depends heavily on being able to afford to convert them all.

By the way, I'm almost 50 and look forward to the day when most books aren't printed on paper.

[HopeHoops]

7. Absolutely, positively, no way, never, won't happen.

Books transcend generation, and even centuries. Electronic media is lucky to make it 10 years without being replaced. I've still got a shitload of 100MB ZIP disks and fortunately the capability to read them, but I'm making sure everything is on CD or DVD and frankly, CD won't last much longer as an external storage medium.

How about those old tape cartridges from the late 80's - does anyone have anything that will read those now?

[Chan790]

8. Never!!

I am a book person. I will never be a Kindle person or any other e-book reader.

Real books for real people.

[Redstone]

10. Not as long as I can breathe enough to say "NO!"

Redstone

[arbusto_baboso]

11. When things like Kindle can reproduce the olfactory and tactile satisfaction of books.

Then and only then.

[mnhtnbb]

12. No plans. In fact, I shipped 3 boxes of books from the collection

that belonged to my aunt (who died last May) from Pasadena, CA where she lived, to NC, where I am.

I will treasure those books for the rest of my life because they will remind me of a vibrant,
caring, dynamic woman whom I dearly loved and admired.

[Fleshdancer]

13. a huge book collection is for people who don't move a lot

I resisted the electronic book concept until I moved over a year ago. Holy hell that was crazy! I donated an entire book case worth of books, but I still had over 20 boxes filled with books to move.

After that, I came up with a system that works for me:

- twice a year, I weed out the paper back novels that I know I won't read again. They go to Goodwill or friends.
- once a year I look through the hard backs to donate to the local library first, then Goodwill or friends
- bought my husband a Nook as a gift. He travels a lot and usually reads 2-3 paperbacks depending on the length of his trip.
- saving to get my own Nook
- all old books, first editions, and adored books are members of my family. They stay with me no matter how hard they are to move.

[rrneck]

14. Almost never.

I might let fiction go but never non fiction. And I almost always read non fiction.

[Brickbat]

15. Never. Having said that, there are very few books I would want to get rid of. Every book I have

has a story and meaning to me, and I love rereading books. Also, I collect antique books. I love them all.

[AngryAmish]

16. And for the never people: Have you seen an episode of "Hoarders"?

I fear becoming one of those people. I can get messy. I've had to clean up after a few hoarders, and it is not pretty. My wife still reads the newspaper and I get after her to get rid of them.

[seabeyond]

19. i send big trash bags out of the house. all the magazines are the hard ones. but trash bags

out, ... to charities, regularly. it is just my books. mine. mine mine mine.

[Odin2005]

36. I do have a bit of hording tendencies when it comes to books and magazines.

:yoiks:

[seabeyond]

17. hubby really wants to get me a kindle. still saying no. told library they can have them when i die

i told them they will be so happppy. the gal got serious and sad, telling me, we like you. we will be sad.

told her... you take death serious.

adn she did

finally i relented and told her i would live long.

[LostinVA]

18. I would get a Nook over a Kindle

[seabeyond]

20. would ya. i was going to have hubby research the two. i will probably inevitably cave.

i was wondering which is the best

but then by the time i do go tech, there might be something else out.

[LostinVA]

21. Yeah - I have researched it extensively

For real.

[TreasonousBastard]

31. I got a Nook, and am very happy. Probably more happy than if...

I got a kindle. For one thing, the Nook allows additrional memry (not that you really need more than 3500 books in the thing.) It also allows you to have a spare battery for emergencies. (WiFi uses up a LOT of juice)

Seems like B&N has more books you actually want to read, and cheaper. And they have sales all the time. It also uses the EPUB format, which the Kindle won't.

I've downloaded maybe a hundred free books from various places (including B&N) over the ones I bought, and loaded them with no problem.

[sammytko]

22. Got rid of most of them last year

I have a yard sale every year, but books I just give them away. I have couple of big boxes of free stuff.

I still have some cookbooks and Edith Wharton novels. I downloaded Kindle to Iphone and computers. It doens't bother me to read like this.

[bif]

23. I donated 20 bags to a church

It had to be done. I was totally ruthless. But we still have a library full of books. But it does look a little better.

[HughBeaumont]

24. Never.

For instance, House of Leaves cannot be experienced on a Kindle.

[Rosie1223]

25. Every few years I go through them and donate to the 'Friends of the Library' Book Sale

Then I go to said book sale and replenish!

:hi:

[Amaril]

26. NEVER!

Ok, won't say never -- I said I would never have an iPod but I eventually did -- but I love books - the way a book smells, the weight of it in my hand, the crinkle of the binding......all of it pure joy. I have the kindle reader on my iPhone, and it's great for previewing books while I'm languishing in a doctor's waiting room or some other time-sucking activity, but nothing will ever replace the visceral joy of opening a new book for the first time.

[seaglass]

27. I have a Nook but won't get rid of my DTBs because I re-read them and can't afford to replace them.

Maybe if my husband and I downsize to a smaller house when we retire I will have to downsize my DTB collection but I hope not.

[Moondog]

28. I did a few years ago.

I donated several hundred volumes to the Arlington, VA library. And then, a year or so later, probably fifteen hundred more to the Sarasota, FL library. Some they sold, some they shelved. The only ones I keep around any more are hard-to-find reference works. Otherwise, I get stuff on line, or check out hard copies from ... the library. All in all, a much simpler way to live.

[peacefreak]

29. I just donated 8 cartons of books

& a shopping bag of CD's to my local library sale. After nearly 20 years of bookselling it was time to let go of a lot of them. I will never give up my favorites or get a kindle. The printed page is still important to me.

[kimi]

30. I need to lose a few

OK, more than a few, maybe a few thousand. But some I just can't part with, the antiques, especially the antique cookbooks; the ones from my kids' childhoods; the ones associated with good memories and times.

Still, I'm moving next year, and have to cut down, drastically. So, why oh why did I go out yesterday and buy 4 more books? *sigh*

[TheCentepedeShoes]

32. I just did a sorting out last weekend

I have a bunch with potential to sell at the bookstore and those that don't make it will go with the rest already in the car trunk to donate to the library

[Redstone]

33. When they pry them from my cold, dead hands.

Redstone

[Pithlet]

34. I told myself I'd do that when I got a Kindle.

I put some in storage, and that's as close as I got. But a Kindle does keep you from acquiring a lot more book clutter.

[Odin2005]

35. NEVER!

[Avalux]

37. Never, and I don't want a Kindle or similar.

I like the feel of the book, turning the pages....one after the other. The smell. Going to the bookstore and browsing. Picking up a book I've had for years and re-reading it, rediscovering the story. WHAT will happen when people are reliant on electronic devices for reading and then those in control take it all away? I know that might sound silly, but it's something to think about.

Incidentally, my 18 year old daughter loves books and has many. They mean something to her too.

[Sisaruus]

38. My sister laughed at me when I tried to give her a book because I didn't have room for it.

I didn't want to give it to a stranger but I really didn't have room for it. Here's why:
http://www.librarything.com/profile/sisaruus

P.S. I also have a Kindle and I do donate books to the Friends of the Library book sale (but then I turn around and buy even more from said book sale).

[Flaxbee]

40. I've been able to thin out my collection quite a bit, since the local wonderful library has

almost all of the ones I want to re-read. The ones that are rare, or that I just love to death (like John Mortimer's Rumpole Omnibuses) I won't get rid of.

I tend to keep reference books. But many, many fiction ones were donated.

I have gotten to the point where I want to own as few possessions as possible, and that even includes books. The things I want in my house need to mean a lot to me - that's my husband, my cats, and some family heirlooms. And a *few* wonderful books.

[DebJ]

41. When the Library of Congress lets us move in and live there.

My husband and I are both history majors. At last count, we were up to a combined total of 1500 books, but that count was several years ago.
We accumulated all but about 200 of those books in the last 7 years.

I told him we should just move into the Library of Congress, enjoy it and die happy!

My eyes get tired of reading quickly on the internet. I would think Kindle et al would produce the same eye strain? Books don't do that to me; takes a lot longer.

Giving up the cozy feeling of crisp pages in exchange for a computer screen seems somehow like giving up going to dinner with friends in lieu of chatting by email, IM, or Facebook.

[Luciferous]

42. Never. Reading books on a Kindle just wouldn't be the same...

[JTG of the PRB]

43. Never. I will ALWAYS have paper books.

I may get some sort of e-reader someday, but nothing beats a good, solid book in your hands on a lazy, rainy day...

[cherokeeprogressive]

44. I do every time I move. Then I'll begin accumulating them again, as always. n/t

Good books should be shared.

[quakerboy]

46. When I am done reading them

I have no interest in a kindle, etc. Till they come up with something that has the durability and the battery life of a paper book, then I will make the switch.

In the mean time, I am not a book collector. Or at least not past a small set of favorites and references. I read them, then take em back to the store for trade. I would do the library, but the late fines would end up costing me more than the used books I get. I like to have a variety on hand for when I finish a book, But I also like to have the whole series(if applicable)available so that if it grabs me I can move from one to the next with minimal interruption.