Thinning the library

So I am doing my annual thinning of the library for donations. And it is a process. Because I LOVE ALL THE BOOKS.

But do I really? Every one of them?

In a sense, I am doing a larger purge than usual. And I do this from time to time with everything in the house. I am not a materialistic person. I do not really attach any extra meaning to most things. I only have an emotional attachment to a few select things. Therefore, what does it matter if you thin the clutter, eh?

But books are something I put a lot of value on. They are the only thing I really desire. Not purses, shoes, clothes, or any other stereotypical women’s obsessions. Not that those are bad obsessions, but not for me. I wouldn’t mind adding to my obsessions. One should have a few to get through mundane existence. No, my obsession is books. They are more than they appear to be. There is a world in there. Or there is information in there. So they hold a lot more value to me than any other possession I have.

And some books I adore. I re-read them all the time because they really hit me in some way. Those ones fuel me, in certain ways. If I get rid of those ones, well, I will just end up buying another copy. But it occurred to me I was hoarding books I will never read again. They satiated my excessive thirst for fantasy fiction but they were not so delicious I need to absorb them again. So the purge has begun.

So I ask myself this:

• Am I going to read this ever again, or do I just want to keep it because I love the look of books?
• Will someone else enjoy this book more than me just having it.
• How much space I want to create… for example I have several bookcases. And some of the shelves have two layers of books, stacked on top of each other. And some have Three layers, two stacked on top and one in the front. And this is too many since some shelves I cannot see the layer behind.
• I always want to donate one box at least a year. If not more. But minimum one box.

So this year I plan on getting it down to one layer per shelf. And that means keeping the ones I will read again and often series I will read again.

I love books. And I love keeping the ones that gave me a great experience. But seriously I could be a book hoarder so easily. So several bookshelves with one layer on them isn’t too much of an ask.

Update: One massive box filled. And still more to go. But now it is getting tricky. A little more… careful in my choices.