It's hard to talk about, but gosh...sigh. I want to try.
I took picture, a sort of twisted sad reverse shelfie, so you can see what I mean:
Those are all books. Moreover, those are all books that I voluntarily got rid of.
I know what you're thinking: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?
I KNOW! I can't believe I did it, either. It was like a fit of madness came over me or something. One minute I'm a normal hoarder book-lover with lovely teetering stacks of books on all my shelves, and the next, I'm some kind of crazed clean-freak with an unreasoning vendetta against biblio-clutter, and a bloodthirsty drive for organization.
In all seriousness - wait, who am I kidding? I can't be serious; I'm too busy waxing melodramatic over the fate of my books.
Alas. It sort of did have to be done. We don't have a large space, and our shelves were so overcrowded something really terrible happened: we didn't have room for any new books.
I will admit, though, that it's possible I didn't deal so well with the culling process. I may or may not have cried a little. I also may or may not have had a last-minute panic attack and started grabbing books indiscriminately from the bags in an attempt to 'rescue' them.
In the end, though, the vast majority made it out of the house and into the donation piles of some local charities, so at least I can hope they're going to good, loving homes.
And now...we have room for new books.
I knew there was a silver lining in there, somewhere,
Do you ever clean out your book piles? Or do you keep every book forever? Have you taken a shelfie?
I've cleaned out our bookshelves several times. I've chucked almost all of our small paperbacks and quite a few hardbacks. I almost never read a book twice, so there is really no reason to keep most of them.
ReplyDeleteI've gotten rid of books before, but never that many at once! That must have been rough. But if you think about it, how many of those books will you actually read again? They're probably just taking up space.
ReplyDeleteAlways look at the bright side - room for new books.:) When I moved from the West coast to the East coast I had to do it too.
ReplyDeleteI do understand. We also have limited shelf space and I have given up books. I look at a book and think: do I really need this one here _in_ the house? Or can I jump to the library if I want to read it. That seems to help.
ReplyDeleteYeah...you're right. It's just not as fun as seeing them on the shelves. It's completely irrational, I know.
DeleteLOVE this line!! "One minute I'm a normal hoarder book-lover with lovely teetering stacks of books on all my shelves, and the next, I'm some kind of crazed clean-freak with an unreasoning vendetta against biblio-clutter, and a bloodthirsty drive for organization."
ReplyDeleteYes, it sometimes needs to be done, but you're right, they will go to loving homes, and that is definitely one damn shiny-assed silver lining. More books!!! :D
"one damn shiny-assed silver lining" - LOL!
DeleteI've had to clean out my book shelves before and it is a traumatic experience for sure LOL. I almost had a panic attack just looking at your photo. ;)
ReplyDeleteI've cleaned out my book shelves, but mostly what I got rid of were outdated technical texts on programming, A+ certification, and databases. Not much of a loss there. :)
ReplyDeleteOh wow-you are brave. I am a bookaholic and what's more, I am proud of that. I have books from when I was a kid and I reread them. Last year was the very first time I actually got rid of some books.....5 of them. That was hard. I felt like I was murdering them and I could not look at them for fear they would shame me. I felt better once I bought 10 more books. There is a bad place nearby called the Book Depot where one can buy books that were over stock or remainders and they often have huge sales. I bought a book I saw at Chapters for $29.95 and I got it at the Book Depot for $2.50. It was on sale for $5.00 because the sleeve was damaged plus they had a 50% off sale on all books. I feel for you and even though I admit I am an addict, I can not deny my addiction and try to lure others into my addiction...I am evil book lover and love it.
ReplyDeleteI know!!! I did feel like I was killing my poor books. It was terrible and totally traumatic.
DeleteWow - I love a good sale, but THAT beats any sale I know. 90% off? Not bad!
The reverse shelfie...that is great! I moved in April so I could've taken a picture like this. :D
ReplyDeleteoh, been there!!! And I feel so bad when I do it. But yes, donating is good b/c you know they get new life somewhere else. I've taken shelfies and I'm always amazed how disorganized my books look lol
ReplyDeleteRecently went through a similar process. I feel your pain! :(
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain. I do clean out my shelves once in a while. But think of all the people who adopt those books. They'll be loved again instead of gathering dust and dreaming of a day they'll be read again.
ReplyDeleteOh, how sad. I could never get rid of a book (unless I REALLY didn't like it). Good thing for digital. There's no worry about shelf space there.
ReplyDeleteI understand where you're coming from on this - I got rid of over 50 books when I recently moved, and about an equal amount the previous year, when I thought I'd be moving soon. I'm not really a book hoarder, though - I outright sell or donate books if I don't like them, and I can ask myself "Will I ever want to read this again?" if I'm thinking about getting rid of something.
ReplyDeleteBut I think if someone said "You have over 400 books, you need to cut out half of them", I'd probably cry. >_<
I have to get rid of books every year or so because our shelves go from stuffed to double-stuffed and we have even stored some in the basement . . . so, we do get rid of a few now and then, but we try to recirculate them through used bookstores so we can get credit to get more books. We have over 700 books in our house . . . and there is just only so much room.
ReplyDeleteBless you, hope you found my website? Would you mind adding yourself to my monthly newsletter, Liz? It is always very brief :0)
ReplyDeleteAw, there, there, my dear! You'll pull through this! I completely empathize with this situation--we had books stacked on the floor for lack of space (shelf or otherwise), and that's what finally got me using a Kindle after trying to hold off on joining the digital revolution as long as I could. Needless to say, I still read on the Kindle, but I'm back to buying physical books, too--I can't help it! They feel so good in my hands!--so I also need to part ways with a good number of them. *sigh* Very proud of you. You did what you had to do, and now I'm inspired.
ReplyDeleteI started getting rid of books 7 years ago. It was time. When I was young and couldn't get to a bookstore (this was before the internet), I'd just re-read everything over and over. Plus having an e-reader helps keep down the number of paper books coming in.
ReplyDeleteI started getting rid of books 7 years ago. It was time. When I was young and couldn't get to a bookstore (this was before the internet), I'd just re-read everything over and over. Plus having an e-reader helps keep down the number of paper books coming in.
ReplyDeleteI keep every book forever. Fudge-A-Mania was the first book I'd ever gotten as a gift and I kept it for years, even when it was coming apart at the binding and I had to tape the book cover back on it. The only way my books were rid of was if someone else did it. I was in high school when my aunt got rid of my books because we were moving. I was crying while searching the entire place for it even though I knew they were gone. But I understand about needing more space for new books. I have a few books on my shelf that I haven't read yet or probably won't in the future. Sigh, this is why my dream house has large, floor to ceiling, built-in shelves in every room.
ReplyDeleteYay for new books! Congratulations on getting the ole shelves cleaned up! :)
ReplyDeleteLOL@ grabbing books indiscriminately from the bags in an attempt to 'rescue' them. I've done that a time or two! I had to leave all my books behind (except for, like, 3) when my husband and I moved. I still worry about those books. But kudos to you for clearing up some space. You've almost given me the zeal I need to clear out my garage (almost).
ReplyDeleteI have done a major book culling one time, and that was enough. I've tried to be more discerning about what I decide to keep, but I'm not sure I'm doing so well. My shelves are way too full again. :/
ReplyDeleteI can relate. I know intellectually that I can always get a book again at the library, but I'm still sad about the Anne of Green Gables paperbacks I got rid of. I still don't have room for all the books I have.
ReplyDelete