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Post by dtesposito on Sept 29, 2014 17:01:55 GMT -5
Last week I got in two new books for me, one fiction and one series mystery. I had a credit of 5 books out so I still have a credit of 3 books out.
Trade books, not so good. I had 7 more trade books in than out, and I haven't been able to find any to get rid of yet, so I'm counting myself as minus 7 for right now. I'll have to find 7 to get rid of by the end of the week, I'm not going to carry negative numbers forward because that will be the same as just keeping everything! But I didn't want to delay this report any longer.
I seem to want to acquire more books in the fall--something to do with the cold weather and the idea of being on the couch snuggled under a blanket reading a good book, I guess. So I have to be on my guard now--EVERY book looks good at the moment!
Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Oct 6, 2014 16:47:33 GMT -5
Oh boy, since my last post I completely forgot that I was supposed to be getting rid of trade books. I see from my tally that I now have 6 more trade books, so I'm at minus 13--I have to work on getting out trade books, I really don't want to build up a negative number.
As far as my own books, I acquired 4 this week (I'm staying away from the thrift store, but the trade site and those little libraries...) 2 were series mysteries, and 2 are fiction. I had a credit of 3 from last week, and I'm happy to say that I decided to let 8 books go--3 from a series I wasn't all that interested in to start with, but 5 from a series in which I read the first two books and enjoyed them. They were light mysteries though, not my favorite, and there are many books along the same line if I'm in the mood for that kind of book in the future--so I'm getting rid of them. So I have a credit of 7 in my own books.
I'm making a reminder in my list software right now to work on getting rid of 13 trade books this week.
Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Oct 13, 2014 15:25:43 GMT -5
So I tried to get rid of trade books during the week, and only got rid of four. Then I added four. I'm really so surprised that I'm doing so poorly on the trade books and so (comparatively) well on my own books. I found two more series where I had four books each, and decided I could live without them--then I found four more individual books that I was able to let go. Four seems to be my magic number, because this week I added four books again--2 series mysteries, and 2 nonfiction--one psychology and one--the history of geology--which I never thought I'd be interested in but I'm going to give this book a try--it's written for a general audience, not geologists. That means I had four books in and twelve out, just this week--add the extra 8 to my credit of 7 from last week and I have a credit of 15 of my own books out. And I'm still behind 13 on the trade books. This has been fascinating so far, I'm thinking there's some kind of inverse psychology going on. I'm realizing that I don't need as many books for myself, I won't read them all, I can get some from the library, etc. But, somehow I have more of a need to get the books that I'm letting go, to other people who will read them. So it's okay that I won't read them, but since I'm not reading them, there must be the perfect reader out there somewhere else for them? To compensate for my not reading them? FASCINATING! I'm really enjoying this challenge. Diane
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Post by OnTheMend on Oct 13, 2014 15:32:41 GMT -5
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Post by dtesposito on Oct 16, 2014 16:06:25 GMT -5
I just wanted to report that since coming to that weird realization about why I was hanging on to the trade books, I've been able to collect over 30 of them that I'm willing to get rid of. Sometimes I get these light bulb insight moments and they don't do a thing to change my behavior. It looks like this one will be of some use to me! Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Oct 20, 2014 18:16:48 GMT -5
Total breakthrough, BIG! Last week I decided to get rid of 125 trade books. I was minus 13 so going forward I have a credit of 112.
Of course, this breakthrough means I don't feel like I have to save as many, so I don't really intend to build up the 112 again. But we'll see what happens and how I feel going forward.
As for my own books, I acquired 4, again. 2 nonfiction, 1 vintage fiction, 1 series mystery. I got rid of 4 of the books from my "old" bookcase that I had planned to keep. (My old bookcase is the next place I plan to purge.) I started with a credit of 15, and since the 4 went in and 4 went out, I'm still at a credit of 15.
Diane
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Post by lucie on Oct 21, 2014 3:49:16 GMT -5
Wow, more than 100 books to go. I wanted to ask you a long ago: what are these trade books? Something concerning your job?
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Post by dtesposito on Oct 21, 2014 10:08:46 GMT -5
Hi lucie, no, trade books aren't my work books, they are any books that I don't want any more, but either want to find someone else who wants them either in real life or on an internet book trading site. Online I can trade books for others that I want to read, so I always want to have some trade books on hand for when I want books that are available through this system. So in my home I have MY books, TRADE books, and SALE books. But, obviously I don't need hundreds of trading books. It's due to the need to have things go to the right place, thinking that there are people who will appreciate these books--some are on unusual subjects, and I know that somewhere there's someone who would love them. BUT, as we say when discussing amnesty, it's sometimes too difficult or expensive to get things to the perfect place--or it might even be impossible--and in the meantime the stuff is clogging up our homes and preventing progress. I'm on a real mission now to get my apartment decluttered, so I'm glad I had this breakthrough--it helps a lot. Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Oct 27, 2014 9:16:17 GMT -5
I had another good week. Thanks to the Halloween challenge, I got rid of another 29 books that I had thought I wanted to keep--these are old books on my old bookcase. This bookcase now not only isn't stuffed with books, with overflow on top--but there is actually some extra space in it! I got in 3 books to keep--one a series mystery, and two that were in the "trade" category that I decided to keep instead of getting rid of (so, "takebacks" ) One is a novel about the 1906 earthquake, it looks interesting so I'll give it a try. The other is a nonfiction book with the title "Malled", and the photo on the front cover is a woman with a bunch of merchandise in her arms. I guess when I first looked at this book I thought it was about someone who loved to shop, so I had no desire to read it. When I actually read the cover flap though, it's about a woman who lost her professional job and decided to work part-time retail jobs for a while to support herself, and how difficult it was. This is a subject I've been reading a lot about here on this forum, so I decided to keep this one and give it a try. It sounds like it'll be similar to Nickel and Dimed, which I liked a lot. As for trade books, I had ZERO in and 9 out. So, now I have a credit of 41 of my own books, and a credit of 121 trade books. I really like how this is going! Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Oct 29, 2014 21:23:46 GMT -5
I just saw a statistic that during the first 6 months of 2014, 23% of book sales were ebooks, and 67% were print books (they didn't say what the other 10% was). Apparently the rise in ebook percentage of sales leveled off in 2013. Good news for those of us who prefer print books. Although maybe not so good for those of us still trying to reduce the number of books in our house? I'm happy to read this though, apparently the day when we will no longer be able to buy a print book is NOT just around the corner.
Diane
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Post by Irisheyes on Nov 1, 2014 15:05:06 GMT -5
I love books, too. Several years ago, I lost most of my lifetime collection of thousands of books to mildew and moisture. It's still really hard to think about such a staggering loss and how it happened. I had read each one of these at least a couple times, some over and over. I've given away lots of books through the years, and donated boxes for a fund raiser yard sale, traded some at the used book store, loaned out many knowing they probably wouldn't come back to me, and loaned many more knowing they would come home - with other friendly books! ;-)
I never had a "system" for managing their retention or relocation. I just love the books I love, and kept or shared them. The books I liked, I enjoyed while I had them, but I didn't worry about what would hasten to them when I found them a new home. The books I didn't like find themselves looking for a new home as fast as I could figure out a way to get them on the road. But, I never, ever damaged a book, never threw one away (I even repair the ones I don't like), and always treated them with respect.
I finally forgave the people responsible for the loss of my lifetime collection, but I always will feel hurt by their actions, and I always will miss those wonderful books that were such good company for me for so long.
The good thing is, I love the library, and I can visit and borrow many facsimiles of my own personal books. It's not exactly the same as having the exact same books (many with personal inscriptions) living with me, but it's nice to know the words are still there and I can read them if I want.
I've only managed to bring myself to borrow and re-read just a few beloved series, because I missed them so much. I felt the loss of my own books while reading them. It will get easier to borrow more of my old stash, but I don't think I'll ever stop feeling the pain of losing the ones I had.
Sheesh. I sound messed up. It's difficult to explain the distinction. I am "okay" about the loss now. I was "okay" when it happened, despite my anger, hurt, disappointment and grief. They were mine, and others treated something so important to me without regard for me or them. It's not as if they were as important as my children, or even photos and memorabilia of my children and family and friends, but they were some of my most personal and important possessions.
I think it shows great determination to treat your books with such care for their future, while ensuring you are not allowing them to completely consume the living space and important of your own future. Hugs to you for continuing to maintain this vigilance, and for posting these updates on your progress. It is very inspirational.
I have a question about the online trading you do, but I don't want to offend you by overstepping propriety, so ignore this if you want and forgive me for being tacky. I've heard of local book exchanges, in-person swap meets, but it never occurred to me to look into online exchanges. It seemed cost prohibitive. I assume you must mail your trades. Isn't this somewhat expensive, even with media rates? Do you find it time consuming to package and ship? Or is it handled some other way?
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Post by dtesposito on Nov 1, 2014 18:05:20 GMT -5
Hi Irish, I totally understand how the loss of the books must have made you feel. Books represent so much to me, they are more than paper and ink because the ideas in them are what make me who I am. Anyone who loves books can point to specific ones that changed our lives--either a nonfiction that introduced ways of thinking that were new and liberating, or a fiction that transported us to places we could never have imagined otherwise. Talking about tactile memories, holding a book in your hand, feeling the texture of the paper, smelling the ink, even the typeface and the illustrations are part of the reading experience that bring back the feelings of when you first read it and you were changed is some way.
So books have been the main hoarding problem for me, and it's taken me many, many years to get to the point where I'm at now--still too many books, but a lot fewer than a few years ago, and with a finally changing attitude where I understand and accept that my space is limited, and that I can still have LOTS of books--just not so many that they make my life miserable.
I'm very thankful for the library system, because really getting to know it, and the interlibrary loan system too, has made it easier for me to let a lot of things go.
Yes, trading books is expensive, even with media mail, which has gone steadily up each year. Current cost to mail an average book is between $2.69 and $3.17, which is fine if you're mailing a few, but which adds up fast if you're mailing a lot--especially if you have limited income. When I was working full time instead of part time, I traded a lot more books, often just because I had something unusual and I knew someone else really wanted it. I can't do that now, now I trade only when I find something else available that I really want. I've had to just accept that my situation doesn't allow for my being able to get all my books to exactly the right person.
I'm still a work in progress on this issue, but I recently had mental breakthroughs that have helped tremendously. I've learned to be patient with myself, lifelong habits take a while to undo!
Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Dec 29, 2014 22:14:04 GMT -5
I wanted to come back and update this thread.
I stopped posting here every week when I could see that I had made enough of a breakthrough to get rid of a lot of the books I was saving to trade. That made a huge difference, and my mindset is still there, I haven't put any more books in the "trade" keep category since my last post.
I have still been jotting down my own books as they go in and out though, and I have a final report for the remainder of the year.
I got rid of 14 books I had planned to keep--2 textbooks, 2 nonfiction, 4 fiction, 3 series mysteries and 4 books I acquired just because they were really old and cool looking. (I still like books that are old and cool looking, I've just decided that a small bookcase full of them is enough).
I acquired 17 of my own books, 5 nonfiction, 3 fiction, and 9 series mysteries.
If I'm strict about categories (mine, trade) I would now have to get rid of three of my own books, but considering the fact that since my last post I got rid of 61 additional "trade" books, I'm counting it even!
Now, I'm very satisfied with the trade books, but I think I'm still going to continue recording the in/out in the notebook I started. It helps a lot to be aware of what's coming in--I really never paid attention to that. I still would like to remind myself that I should offset new books with ones going out--I won't worry so much about which are mine and which are trade, I just will do a weekly count of all books, and when I see that I'm acquiring more than letting go, it will be a reminder that I have to look through and cull some books.
So I won't continue to post here on a weekly basis, maybe once a month I'll come back an report just so I'm remaining accountable. This was a VERY helpful exercise, I strongly recommend to anyone who wants to bring attention to their acquiring habits.
Diane
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Post by Arid on Dec 30, 2014 1:25:20 GMT -5
"Santa Claus" just brought me 17 books for Christmas (+ there still is one more book on backorder!).
I received 4 cookbooks, 4 children's books, 1 book of poetry, 3 non-fiction books, and 5 that are fiction.
Am I going to "get rid of" 17 other books already in my possession? . . . not bloody likely!!
I admire your perseverance and your mindset, Diane, but *I'm* just not there yet.
Arid
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Post by lucie on Dec 30, 2014 5:58:27 GMT -5
I got just two books for christmas and just wanted to report, that I got 30 books in this year (mostly for free) and 29 books out and that it is nice and even. But right now someone brought here a load of books for free and I want at least 7 of them!
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