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Post by gggal on Jan 12, 2010 0:15:09 GMT -5
I sold a lot of my books on amazon on one point and made some money. I think it is important to look at the books you might actually reference and what ones you honestly will never really read again. When I was younger, I used to read like crazy and read and re-read all of my books inside and out. As I got older, I bought books on various topics, career building, leadership, mentoring, etc, as well as trashy beach reads, books on investing, fitness, etc etc. The truth is, while some of these books had some good insights, the main ideas stay with me, and I really am not going to go back and read them even if they were good. I know some of the books I "kept" I did for totally pretentious reasons - for what they say about me of course! Someone can see my bookcase and see I am interested in yoga, running marathons, taking myself to the top, making a million dollars before I'm 30 (Im 31 now, oops), planning on vacation to the maldives, etc etc. I am somewhat exaggerating, but it's almost like seeing the titles is a quick snapshot of me, my likes and interests, and probably not as much about what books I would actually go back to read. I'm now a big fan of the kindle. But i still like curling up with a good book too - I just try to keep one at a time and pass it on to someone when I'm through or sell it as a used book on amazon and get a few dollars back for it.
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Post by Evelyn on Jan 12, 2010 3:24:35 GMT -5
Two boxes of books, set to go!!! Hurrah!! Hurrah!! One Dancing Pink Elephant for each box, just for you!! (Too bad our smilies don't include Dancing White Elephants ) I think having someone else go into the used bookstore for you is a great idea: I'm not quite so strongly attached to my books as you are, but I always try to pretend that I'm someone else (or that these books I'm selling are someone else's) when I go to sell books, to make it easier when I hear their offered price. (Inspired by this thread, I've unpacked three boxes of my own books; and between them and the books that I already had on the shelves, have culled out a full box to sell. The grocery store sells a box of my favorite ice cream treats for $3.29, I'm promising myself that anything over that amount will/would be sheer gravy.) As far as your reference books go, I would *think* (although I could be wrong) that those would be the ones the libraries would go for. Certainly if I wanted to research something like "Alligator-Raising Techniques, circa 1950," the library would be where I'd look first. And your hallway shelves are be tall enough to keep the manga away from grasping little hands, right? If I were three years old and had a nice mixture greasy kid stuff and raspberry jam smeared all over my hands, manga would be the first books I'd go for. Yearning4order I couldn't help but laugh when I was reading your post about the wool and other craft supplies. It sounds so familiar... [...] I bet there are a lot of people on this board with craft-supply-issues. I've noticed a lot of people with squalor/hoarding issues tend to be interested in a wide range of creative/intellectual pursuits. Guilty! Right now, I'm sorting craft suppiles into boxes labeled: Plastic Bottle Caps, Plastic Bottle Tops (the threaded parts), Plastic Bottle Bottoms, Plastic Bottle-Top Rings, Plastic Bottle Bodies, Plastic Grocery Bags, Plastic Bread Bags, Other Artsy-Craftsy Plastic, Artsy-Crafty Paper, Magnets, and Other Artsy-Craftsy Materials. (This is, of course, while ruthlessly disposing of considerable amounts of other craft supplies.) That's not counting the boxes of art, photos, & frames; or the furniture-fixing & wood-treating stuff; or the odd little caches of hardware bits that I seem to have everywhere. And all the container/balcony gardening stuff is being boxed up and temporarily stashed in my car (the balcony is already full) to give me room to work on other stuff first. And then there's fabric... Fabric and sewing, embroidery, and quilting supplies are the boxes that are stacked to within 6" of the ceiling (and - gulp! - in front of the breaker box). I'm joking about modifying the bumper sticker that reads: "She Who Dies With The Most Fabric Wins" to: "She Who Dies With The Most Fabric... ...well, she's dead, isn't she?" (Is that too morbid?... I hope that's not too morbid... Where's the "Rueful Grin" smilie, anyway?)
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Post by zen on Jan 12, 2010 10:04:26 GMT -5
Great thread!
I have gotten rid of over a ton of books in 2009, literally. I had done a lot of research regarding all of the ways to go, reselling, trading, donating to charities and the library etc...finally just granted myself amnesty and got on a bi-monthly donation schedule, charity comes to pick up every other month or so.
It has taken quite a few rounds to cull the library hard - and I still have hundreds and hundreds of books - it is definitely a process. Hard in our house because most of the reading material is non-fiction, reference, or history. Fiction is easy to let go of, big expensive, out of print monographs of artists are not.
I have been as honest as I could be, asking myself when is the last time this was accessed, will I ever read it again? Am I even still interested in this topic? What is the worst thing that would happen if I let it go, etc. Asking these types of questions has been helpful, as I feel that I am being honest with who I am today, not yesterday, or 15 years ago.
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Post by Chris on Jan 12, 2010 12:23:03 GMT -5
billsbabe -- Paperbackswap.com is great -- I'm a member over there - have been for a couple of years in fact. I love it! I'm = (Snowball7470) If not for my financial recovery (I overdid with postage spending) I'd still be trading books. It's excellent! I did recently trade one book that was wishlisted and that gave me the credit I needed to order a book. I just have to watch myself real close or I overspend with postage. I highly recommend the site for anyone who has books in good condition they are would like to get rid of who is an avid reader wanting new books - without a financial crisis. You can get really great books with the only cost being postage to mail yours out. You get to spend your point per book on any book in the system. It's fantastic. ************* One thing I know for sure is that wherever I am I will want books near me and some of mine are definite keepers. However, last year I sold, donated, and gave away quite a few books - keeping only my tried and true favorites in both fiction and non-fiction. The thing I learned is that whatever books I keep I want them to be on shelves - neatly and safely stored. In the past I had boxes of paperbacks and that just isn't wise for all the reasons we all know = they get ruined. I'm so much happier now that ever book I do own is nicely displayed. I'm all for keeping my "collection" within the shelving I have already. So time to time, I go thru and sell some more -- I find that my interests so shift and change. One thing that is for sure = this issue "books" is a hot topic for many people. The thread was just started Sunday and look at us all!!!!! It's good to know I'm not alone with the book issue.
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recovering
New Member
Joined: December 2009
Posts: 14
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Post by recovering on Jan 12, 2010 14:57:30 GMT -5
One thing to know about the Kindle and other ebook readers is that there are TONS of books for free online that you can upload them. So you can fill your Kindle with all sorts of great free books and only pay when, for instance, you start a series you really love or you hear about something you absolutely have to have. Here's a great list of free books you can load on a Kindle. I let go of books by donating them to charity. I don't feel as good about selling them because I always feel like I'm getting ripped off, but when I give to charity instead I feel warm fuzzies about someone in need being helped out. It's not easy and lord knows I have some RPG books I could afford to let go of. I haven't played since my good friend died 4 years ago.
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Post by dailystruggle on Jan 12, 2010 15:11:09 GMT -5
My husband said that several people had purchased George Orwell books that Amazon didn't have the rights to, on their Kindles. Amazon remotely removed those books off of the customers' Kindles without consulting the cutomers. They gave them credit to buy something else, but just the idea that they can at anytime take off anything that they want without the customer's consent bugs me. Not saying that it's a bad thing, but it helps to know information like that to begin with so that you can make a better decision about whether you should purchase it or not. There are other e-readers available. Might consider looking into them.
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Post by puppybox on Jan 12, 2010 17:44:34 GMT -5
I don't have time to read all the replies, so apologies if I repeat the obvious.
my experience- I spent so much money moving books with me when i changed countries 3 times! but now I'm so broke and try to sell my books for cash sometimes. I did manage to leave some books behind the last move, and this was my easy criteria, I think, for anyone to accept (maybe).
Keep books only if
1)you want to read it again AND
2)they can't be replaced (you can modify this to replaced easily) ANY bestseller can be donated/thrown away as you can just get it from the library.
If you don't plan to read it again in the next 2 years, it will be better off to have the space now. see, its not about getting rid, its about GAINING something more important to you NOW. you can get the book again when you do want to read it. feel free to take a photo or record all the title/author info from books you toss to be able to more easily get them again later.
why do you want to keep the doubles "except for very deserving people"? I suggest this is faulty thinking -you want to prevent people from gaining the benefit of reading those books you LOVED? maybe a crappy person will gain some insight from reading one. also, you don't gain financially from NOT giving things away for free, you know. giving things away doesn't cost you any money!
I do know what you feel, I have felt it, I promise. but once you start to give thigns away, people start giving stuff to you, i have found to be the rule.
love, a former book hoarder.
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Post by limegreen on Jan 12, 2010 18:13:36 GMT -5
Ah, books, yeah I have a few... thousand! but now much much fewer.
Amazon - the only ones that sell well in my experience are popular science (self selecting amazon users are techy types) or very very recently released titles, so unless you have Godel Escher Bach to offer, or want to boomerang a bestseller back into the market, forget about it. Also, fixed postage charge penalises you selling hefty tomes.
Ebay might relieve you of some of your historical titles, but also, maybe not.
I give a lot of books yearly to My auntie Pat's church to sell in aid of Christian aid, there is a huge booksale each year, so I am happy to know they will fetch what they are worth, and benefit humanity.
In between times I donate to charity shops.
And still I have too many books.
My collecting interest, antiquarian childrens books are limited strictly to the hall, if I can't fit in a new aqusition, an old one has to go, no exceptions.
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Post by gggal on Jan 12, 2010 20:56:23 GMT -5
I work in a corporate office and we have a random "employee lending library" in one of the copy machine rooms....I have dropped off some of my books in there and also stop in to grab something for a flight or something. If you or someone in your family works and they don't have something like that, there's always the option to start one.
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Post by success19 on Jan 13, 2010 16:26:40 GMT -5
I think as Kindle prices go down more people will buy one - many people can't afford it now though - also - you can't read a kindle in the bathtub - - and can you snuggle up to a kindle in bed? I know I know - but there is nothing like the feel of a real book in your hands - and many of my books are from my childhood - my only friends in a very painful childhood. That being said - I have gotten rid of tons of textbooks and some books I have had for less length of time.
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Post by Rory on Jan 13, 2010 16:56:58 GMT -5
I've found it difficult. For me it depends on what particular books mean to me. I've studied four subjects at degree level (and completed two). For the studies I did not finish I felt that getting rid of the books was acknowledging that I was going to give up, while as long as I kept the books I might complete the course. These books were on my bookshelves reminding my of my failure and giving me a chance of feeling very bad about myself.
For the courses I did complete I used some science books in my work until they became out of date and the other books until I decided that I was not going to pursue the subject any further at higher degree level.
Currently I have just over 100 books and I could get replacements of most of them if I needed.
Rory
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Post by yearning4order on Jan 13, 2010 20:39:05 GMT -5
"She Who Dies With The Most Fabric Wins" to: "She Who Dies With The Most Fabric... ...well, she's dead, isn't she?" (Is that too morbid?... I hope that's not too morbid... Where's the "Rueful Grin" smilie, anyway?)Oh very funny!
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Post by success19 on Jan 13, 2010 20:48:32 GMT -5
I tossed bags and bags of textbooks and still have more to toss! they are so expensive = now you can sell them easier online - but when I was in college that was a new thing - so I got stuck with them. if there was a local place I would sell them - but it takes an immense amount of time to list and sell books online - people have to make a choice if it is even worth the time.
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Post by zen on Jan 14, 2010 14:08:50 GMT -5
I received a Kindle2 when the prices dropped this fall, and I love it so far - I have picked up best sellers and have uploaded PDF's to read on it as well, which is really handy. I don't read it in the tub - I get down to business in the bath and I wouldn't want to ruin my ebook - the most I'll do in the tub is a magazine, they all get recycled anyway. The Kindle is great for reading in bed - as long as you have a good light source. I have a book light that I use with it and it works great! With two semesters of graduate school left - most of my reading material is much too esoteric to be purchased in ebook form unfortunately - I can imagine that many more of the books that I read after I get my masters will be electronic - it has been great for cutting down on the volume of books around the house - the Kindle can hold 1,500 titles, and Amazon saves your stuff, so it is easily downloadable aqain - something I wish itunes would do honestly. All in all, the Kindle has been a great compliment to my voracious reading habit - I will always read paper books, but it sure is great to have the Kindle in my bag with a huge selection of reading at my fingertips wherever I go
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Post by creativechaos on Jan 15, 2010 5:12:10 GMT -5
y4o, this really spoke volumes to me!
books are one of the last frontiers of dehoarding for me. i am reading this thread with interest for some ideas to help me in this. good luck to all of us who have a hard time parting with books.
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