[For those of you recently joining me, here’s a link to the first post I made about a book moratorium, and another on the failure of said book moratorium.]
I dropped by the library after work tonight to check out a movie, and of course I couldn’t help but peruse the book-sale rack.
I’ve done this a couple of times in the last few months and have been relieved to find those shelves chock-full of stuff that didn’t interest me. (Which was good.)
But the librarians must have spent their time this week winnowing out the sci-fi and fantasy sections of the library and dropped it all on the shelf before I came in.
I can’t even tell you how many books I picked up (though I will say it had to be close to 40, because I spent over 10 bucks and the paperbacks are only a quarter a piece. I did score a few hard backs.
Sadly, this comes on the heels of a book-buying binge over the weekend.
In 2011, I “officially” purged 227 books from the house. This means they were boxed up and carried away from the premises. This doesn’t count all the books I gave away to relatives and friends.
There are literally hundreds more sitting in bags and boxes in a little room off my kitchen because they’ve (so far) been too much trouble to haul away.
(It’s funny how I find it no problem to bring, say… 40, books into the house one day, but I can’t be bothered to take that many out the next time I leave.)
I think a large part of the problem is the lack of venues for divesting myself of books. The local thrift stores will take them, but not in the quantity I have to give away. The library doesn’t want back the books they sold me – though they’ll take the ones I’ve recently bought. I don’t mind giving them away, but I’d rather not have it be at my expense. (See how complicated it’s getting?)
And I am completely against tossing them in the trash.
I’ve been known to take a box of books on vacation, and then leave them for the next renters…but you can only rid yourself of so many that way.
How do you get rid of your excess tomes?
There used to be a really great used book store on Route 1 right near the beltway. I shopped there often. I wonder if they’d like your book donations. Mine down here gives me credit for future purchases. I only ever pay tax for books. There is also BIG (Books for International Goodwill). They pick up our overstock from the thrift store which equals a van full each week. Good luck with your purging.
Hi Cori ~ I think the store you’re thinking of is long gone… but I’ll check out BIG. Many thanks!
I have far more books than I have room for:) I gave away some on an email list. Basically, I put them into stacks by author/trilogy what have you, and told people they could have the set cheap. I didn’t move all of them, esp. the non-fiction but mysteries, SF, I got rid of fairly easily.
Hi Gayle! This is a great idea. I have a few mailing lists I could make mention of books on. Thanks for the idea!
I feel your pain – I inherited 30 boxes (BIG BOXES) of classics – mainly authors I don’t read like Steinbeck, Hemingway, etc. – from my uncle, my husband recently decided to divest himself of all paperback books since he now has them all on his kindle, and I have quite a few books I bought and then didn’t like (my punishment for using B&N instead of my library). And like you, I refuse to just throw perfectly good books away! But how to get rid of them? It might actually be easier to get rid of plutonimum!
So far, what I’ve come up with: many libraries around me have an annual book sale where they will take donations of books – last summer my library got six boxes. There is a used bookstore near me that I keep meaning to ask if they buy books off people (or even will take donations!). The county nursing homes around me do a booksale, too, and I keep meaning to check out if they want them either for their residents or their book sale. And, finally, here’s a list of places that take book donations: <a href="http://www.ala.org/tools/libfactsheets/alalibraryfactsheet12"
Hi Terri! I think it IS easier to get rid of plutonium! 🙂
Wow! I am in awe of your husband for parting with all of his paperbacks. I don’t think I could do that… I am buying more new (and new to me) books electronically – which, strangely (or perhaps not so strangely) I don’t feel as much of an attachment to. (I wonder why that is?) In fact, I’ve been able to zap without a calm quite a few electronic ones I haven’t liked all that much.
But the old books… some of them I have more than one edition of … those are really hard to part with. For instance, it’s just too fun to show off all my (inherited) “Signet” paperbacks written by Heinlein. Who doesn’t love a paperback from the 1940s – with the “complete and unabridged” story with the retail value of 60 cents on the cover?
Thanks for the book sale ideas. I hadn’t considered nursing homes, either. The fact sheet is great! (I’ve just skimmed it, but it’s on my to-do to read further…) Thank you!