Books on the Nightstand discussion

Just finished this episode about Ann and Michael culling their book collections. Like many of you, I have a problem. I have a lot of space for books but no one has unlimited space. I still can't bring myself to get rid of books I haven't read. I'm going to have to live a long time to read all these books.

My strategy has been to borrow more library books, acquire fewer physical books and buy more digital audiobooks. I especially love audiobooks because I can do so many other things while listening.

Anyone else have strategies they want to share?

I started a book loan/swap at work. Cleared out a cabinet and posted a sign inviting everyone to leave a book/take a book. It took some internal prodding because I had to accept the realization that I might not get them back, but I was able to release my death grip on some of the books that have been sitting unread in my stacks for months or (in some cases) years. I figure that while I'm waiting for the mood to strike me, somebody else can enjoy them. And in the meantime--they aren't stacked in my house! Which makes my husband happy. Win-win. :)

These days I often give away books after I've finished reading them. I keep the ones that are "literary canon" or personal favorite books or authors.

Note: As far as the "literary canon" stuff is concerned, it's not really showing off. I just get a sense of joy for myself, seeing people like Jane Austen, Saul Bellow, G.B. Shaw, etc. on my shelf. These are old friends; old explorations of mine.

I donate most to "little libraries" in my neighborhood, some get passed along to friends and I keep only the few I know I will want to reference or reread.

Okay, I've been trying to read more of what's on my shelves, then once I finish one of my books most of them will leave the house - it may be donated for my local library book sale, if I know someone would like it - I send it or give it to them, or I may donate it to my school/library. If it's new enough, I'll donate it to the library since we haven't had a book budget for years or I'll donate it to the Student Success center where the director is setting up a "take" a book selection. Just get it out of here.

I do library and eBook I have no space

I've filled all bookshelves in 2 layers and stacked books lying down on top - I'm now building piles on the floor in my home library, and my husband, while wise enough not to say anything, does lift his eyebrows from time to time... so this year I'm trying to read more of my own physical books, and get rid of more than I buy.

Louise wrote: "I've filled all bookshelves in 2 layers and stacked books lying down on top - I'm now building piles on the floor in my home library, and my husband, while wise enough not to say anything, does lif..."

Louise, do you live in my house? I think you must since that sounds exactly like my home study/library and my husband!

Since I have a very active Little Free Library in a park near my home, I like Sandy's answer in particular. I am always in need of books to keep the LFL fresh and full. I've received boxes of books from some of you, and when that happens, it feels like Christmas!

We've been purging books from our house for a several years now, and it's not really an issue regarding space. At least not physical space, as we have lots of that available. For me it is more a clearing of mental and emotional space - letting go so I can create space for something new. I used to buy armfuls of books every time I walked into a bookstore, and then did not get around to reading most of what I bought, as there was always new stuff coming in the door. So now I (mostly) only use the library, and since those books have to be returned, I need to touch them regularly, so they don't get buried and forgotten under other books on my bookshelves. Sometimes it turns out I do want to read a particular book, and other times I don't, and then I simply return it. There is something really freeing about this for me, and I find myself reading more of a varied selection of books this way as well. My current challenge is that I've got a big backlog of ebooks/audiobooks, and need to do some purging and organizing there as well.

Face it! Most of us are addicted to our books, the best kind of addiction to have. Though I'm kidding a bit, I know how hard it is to part with books. Working in a library for many years I became accustomed to weeding our collections. This made it easier for me to see the rationale of purging my own books and yet I managed to accumulate so many. When I retired I donated over 400 books to our Friends of the Library and other sources. Michael and Ann have sparked me to do it again. Most of the books I have on my shelves are ones I haven't read. I listened to Ann's thoughts on how some of these are purchased but then tastes or needs change and these are never read. It should be easy to get rid of some of these.

I really liked Elizabeth's response in regards to having the space (I do) but making a mental and emotional peace with that space. As I get older I really want to simplify and must (unless I want to leave the chore to my children - smile).

Part of my goal this year, like many of you, is to read some of the books on my shelves. While deciding which I might be able to remove some others. Like Michael stated most are held in libraries (I'm a life-time heavy library user).

I think some of the reasons libraries weed work well for our home collections. On average it is suggested you weed 5% of your holdings. That's really a small amount. I can easily do that.

Culling out books will make the saved books look more appealing. You'll get rid of books that are no longer relevant to in your life. You will have an easier time finding that perfect book. Your books will reflect a truer sense of you. You'll have a cleaner, fresher space.

Besides Little Libraries (like Jo Ann's), Friends of Public Libraries, there are many other places to share your best books. I have donated to women's shelters, homeless family shelters, as well as Goodwill. I often offer an owned copy to my GoodReads friends or swap on paperback book swap though I send more than I request. Changes to that site find me using it less.

As I'm typing this I'm wondering if we could use our group to share some books. Books in good condition could be posted and requested. The owner would need to pay media postage to mail. Not a bad idea but not certain if this would work here.

Good luck to all...I'm enjoying this thread.

When I get rid of books I take them to my book club and pass them out, or give them away to others I think will appreciate them. If there are no takers, I take them to Goodwill.

Maybe the next purge will be in May and I'll take them to Vermont.

I have gotten to the point that even my most loved books won't be re-read. I have given my books to my local food pantry and they are much appreciated by the clients.

Eric wrote: "When I get rid of books I take them to my book club and pass them out, or give them away to others I think will appreciate them. If there are no takers, I take them to Goodwill.

Maybe the next pur..."

I thought about taking to Vermont also. Maybe we could make that part of what we do.

I came up with a process I call "book speed dating" (my rules are here). It is a good way to decide if I'm really interested in a book that has been sitting on my shelf, but doesn't result in a lot of weeding unless it is done frequently.

This year one of my goals is to do a speed-dating project of 10 books at least every two months, so by the end of the year I will have evaluated 60 books.

The upside is that often if I decide "heck no" I can get rid of that book right away. And those I read 50 pages of and like enough to keep, I'm more likely to finish sooner, which may also lead to removing from my house (I only really keep books I truly love around, once they are read.)

My house sounds worse than Louise's. If I need quiet, I come up to our bedroom and clear off the recliner. I put the stuff on our bed and settle in until Bill comes up to go to bed at which point I need to clear off the bed (his side). He noticed last night that I put two boxes in the recliner seat. "What's in those?" He was very nice, saying a genial, "Okay." after I answered, "Books."

My first goal is read the pile on top of my nightstand. So far, I'm making a good start. One down and about 10 to go.

I like the idea of bringing books to Vermont, but if I fly there...

And, Carol, maybe we could start another group on here that is just for exchanging books amongst ourselves. I know that I have sent books to people in this group who have a book that I'm getting rid of.

I got a gift certificate for B&N for Christmas. It is NOT burning a hole in my pocket as it might have once upon a time. It may be many months before there is a "must have."

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I came up with a process I call "book speed dating" (my rules are here). It is a good way to decide if I'm really interested in a book that has been sitting on my shelf, but doesn't result in a lot..."

As they say "Brilliant".

Linda wrote: "My house sounds worse than Louise's. If I need quiet, I come up to our bedroom and clear off the recliner. I put the stuff on our bed and settle in until Bill come up to go to bed at which point I ..."

Knowing that many of you fly in to Booktopias I have never brought books to share.

Starting a group here does have its appeal. Let's see if anyone else is interested. I love to share books with friends that really want to read them.

Carol wrote: "Linda wrote: "My house sounds worse than Louise's. If I need quiet, I come up to our bedroom and clear off the recliner. I put the stuff on our bed and settle in until Bill come up to go to bed at ..."

So, Ann and Michael, would it be o.k. if started a book swap on this site?

I would say that the donator knows that s/he is the one to pay postage and nothing is expected in return.

Linda wrote: "Carol wrote: "Linda wrote: "My house sounds worse than Louise's. If I need quiet, I come up to our bedroom and clear off the recliner. I put the stuff on our bed and settle in until Bill come up to..."

I could envision the donator posting the book, title, author, format, and the first requester responding messaging the donator their mailing address. Yes, the donator would pay postage with nothing but the thought of a happy reader getting a good book.

Maybe there should also be a little rule that the requestor needs to offer up a book to keep things going and "pay it forward" so that a handful of people are not doing all the donating.

I like the idea but I don't see it helping me cull books....I'll probably end up getting more....lol.

I have no problem culling books since I became a librarian. It makes me happy to think that books that would just be gathering dust on my shelves will find new people to read and love them, whether I take them to a used bookstore, the Friends of the Library, the local prison library project, or just give them to someone I am pretty sure will enjoy them. It seems selfish to me to hoard books! I do have two smallish bookcases in my home for cookbooks, reference works (bird guides etc.), art books, and a few favorites. These days I do almost entirely ebooks and library books so acquiring/housing new physical books isn't much of a problem.

I loved this episode it was very inspiring, so I went to my book cases and had a good look through and I took a bag of those I know I won't read again or ever read, to the local busy charity shop as I know there they will be useful, be good reads for someone and help st oswalds hospice charity too... Great episode thanks :)

Anmiryam wrote: "Louise wrote: "I've filled all bookshelves in 2 layers and stacked books lying down on top - I'm now building piles on the floor in my home library, and my husband, while wise enough not to say any..."

:-) :-)

Linda, I don't have a problem with a book swap for people on the group. What I wouldn't love is an influx of people joining just for the book swap (Hey! Free Books! Over here!!!). And of course, we are not liable or responsible for anything, blah blah blah. And maybe just keep it to one particular thread, which I'm sure you'd do.

Okay, people, keeping in mind, Ann's comments which I agree with, I could start a thread like "Book of the Day" which wouldn't shout to people "FREE BOOKS" but the rest of us would understand. Or some other moniker. What say you?

Have to read this thread to find out what's going on here.

Linda wrote: "Okay, people, keeping in mind, Ann's comments which I agree with, I could start a thread like "Book of the Day" which wouldn't shout to people "FREE BOOKS" but the rest of us would understand. Or s..."

I like the idea with the guidelines already suggested. Janet thought it might be a good idea for the requester to offer up one in return if requesting. This might be a good idea, perhaps not necessary, but would keep the offers going and discourage someone from requesting all. I wouldn't mind either way. I believe we are not thinking an actual swap but one in which a member offers a book, someone requests it and offers one of their own to the whole membership.

I haven't come up with any brilliant topic heading other than a play on Linda's
"A Book Your Way" or "From My House to Yours", "From My Shelf to Yours" (both which may shout free books) "Share the Wealth From Your Shelf" (long), "Read and Release" or Readit and Release. If I think of anything else I'll let you know. Gotta go move wood.

Ha Ha - I'm singing sorta to the tune of Let Me Go Lover
I don't want you, but someone else wants you, so let me go Booklover, Set Me Free from your spell and I'll say that we're through
So Let Me Go, Let Me Go to another Booklover.

I don't know why I didn't get an notification of this comment, Carol.

Now that I've read it, I like your poetic "From My Shelf to Yours" or we could simply call it "Rebooked".

Any other ideas out there?

I, personally think it would be easiest to not have a quid pro quo. I'm thinking, maybe naively, to keep it as simple as possible. My intent is to get volumes out of my house and hopefully into a new home where it would be appreciated.

What say the potential donators and receivers?

Linda wrote: "I don't know why I didn't get an notification of this comment, Carol.

Now that I've read it, I like your poetic "From My Shelf to Yours" or we could simply call it "Rebooked".

Any other ideas out..."

I like either of these names. It would be great to hear from other potential givers or receivers. I think you've got it right Linda. I have no problem sending a book to someone in this group. We could try it this way and if it becomes a problem, revisit it then.
In the spirit of keeping these posts to the group I will take a look at my preferences. I always uncheck the box marked "Add to my Update Feed" when posting here.

I'm good with that although I'd like to send more than one book at a time to save on postage. Are receivers OK with receiving a non-curated box of books?

I think this is great idea and would love to be both giver and occasionally receiver. I would like to post a picture of book and have someone want it. Stick it in an envelope and off it goes to a happy new home:)

I never know what to do with old books. I'd have no problem paying postage if I knew someone wanted them. As I receiver I wouldn't mind an extra couple but I don't think I'd want a lot of surprises! I'm trying to empty my stacks! But I suppose we could always ask the particular receiver at the time?

Decided that I wouldn't buy any books this year except using the credit I get from old books. So I'll mostly be reading those I can borrow from the library or friends or win/get approved for from Goodreads, Netgalley, etc. plus what's already on my shelf/in my iPad but unread. Any print book I find I don't want will either get traded at book club or taken to 2nd and Charles or another used shop.

Hi All!

I like the idea of giving/receiving books within a smaller community. Though... this thread reminds me of bookmooch.com. Have any of you ever tried it? It is a web site where you can post books that you are willing to give up, and where you can request books that you want or browse what others have to give away. Each person giving up a book is responsible for paying postage, and for every book that you send, you receive a 'credit' that you can use to request books. Somehow everything is tracked on the web site. So, this prevents people from just getting books without giving. I am not suggesting that this group do the exact same ( I would be happy to just send books, for example).

Occasionally I think about joining but then I think it is just easier to donate to the library or the used book store.

If any of you out there have experience with bookmooch I would be interested to know how well it works.

I haven't used bookmooch, but I have used paperbackswap.com for several years now, which is similar (you post books you want to give away and receive credit when you send one, which you use to request books from others, and the sender is responsible for postage). I really like it and always list my books there first for a few months before I donate them, just in case someone else has been looking for that book. Here's my referral link if you want to sign-up or see what it's all about: http://www.paperbackswap.com/landing/...

I used paperbackswap for years until they started charging. So I left in a huff before I saved my wishlists. (Dumb!) I really liked that setup because it didn't have to be a direct trade and you could just wait for books you really wanted became available.

Yeah, it does suck that they had to start charging, but it does give them more opportunities with the site. I viewed it kind of like the library charging me annually when I lived outside city limits--at least it's not a really hefty charge. Worth it if you use it regularly.

I have used PBS for years also and wasn't thrilled when they started charging as I had many credits to use. I finally decided to put add some cash and will use the credits. It is a good model but I would prefer to give some away here as it seems more personal to me.

Did we start this idea? I couldn't find it. No worries if we didn't.

No, Dianne, I/we didn't. I've been thinking about it - especially because I discovered a duplicate book. I'll do it when I'm on my laptop tonight. Promise.

No pressure Linda!

I'm ba-ack! (Meaning at Janet S.'s house in Phoenix.) I wanted to bring Stephan Pastis home with me. What a funny guy.

Here you go, Dianne, and others - I started the thread:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Linda wrote: "Here you go, Dianne, and others - I started the thread:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/..."

You are amazing Linda. I was just thinking about this morning and thought perhaps we leave too much up to you. Thank you. You did a great job setting this up. I've bookmarked the thread to find it easily. Let me go see what I have to offer one of our reading friends.

Linda wrote: "I'm ba-ack! (Meaning at Janet S.'s house in Phoenix.) I wanted to bring Stephan Pastis home with me. What a funny guy."

Glad you both had a good time...

Carol wrote: "Linda wrote: "I'm ba-ack! (Meaning at Janet S.'s house in Phoenix.) I wanted to bring Stephan Pastis home with me. What a funny guy."

Glad you both had a good time..."

Want to come with me next year, Carol? Jo Ann? Joanne? Bueller? Bueller?

P.S. Janet says, "Come one, come all! If you can sleep on an air mattress I have a place for ya."

Linda wrote: "Carol wrote: "Linda wrote: "I'm ba-ack! P.S. Janet says, "Come one, come all! If you can sleep on an air mattress I have a place for ya." "

Nice offer and very tempting...