|
|
Post by CrimsonKat on Jan 20, 2010 4:48:35 GMT -5
books are a big deal for me too.
here's what we've done -
1) i started a reading contest between me and my DH. this way, we actually read the books and then i feel like i can get rid of them.
2) i have books listed on half.com. if they don't sell in a certain amount of time (which seems to be different for each book depending on how emotionally attached i am to it - weird). if they don't sell, i move to step 3.
3) i have given books to friends, my DH's co-wkers, freecycle, and goodwill (for those that aren't in the best condition).
4) only keep the real keepers. special editions and books i have read more than once already and know i love.
5) have not gotten any new books. we go to the library, or in a pinch, get them used on half.com (and then we promptly get rid of them again once they are read). we focus on reading what we have now, and not get what cool ones cross our paths. for future wants, i add them to a list. if we ever get to a place where that list can go into effect, then i will worry about it. but it doesn't take up room to put them on a spreadsheet.
6) we will someday have an electronic reader. i love real books, but i think i can be ok with only having very special ones on my shelves. i like the idea of having a kindle or something so the space is saved (no book clutter!) and the portability of having 200 books at my fingertips.
it has been easier to get rid of books once i read them (i think this is a version of needing to TOUCH each item i get rid of, which i understand is a common symptom for hoarders). also, knowing someone else will read them makes it seem all ok too.
good luck. i know this is a hard one for a lot of us.
|
|
|
|
Post by Butterfly on Jan 20, 2010 17:24:22 GMT -5
Very timely topic. Giving away/disposing of a lot of my books is on my to-do list. Although I must grimly admit that, for me, there are more pressing issues like cleaning up my remaining squalor that I have to tackle before I get to what I think of as "clean clutter" *grin*
"...I should get something like Kindle, the only thing that makes me hesitate with that is the electronic books seem to be more expensive than paperbacks..."
I have had my Kindle for a couple of years now and I LOVE it. I, too, own thousands of books and got to the point where I could hardly sleep in my own bed because of the books piled on it. I still can't get to the other side, but, I guess that's another topic. I read, on average, one book a day and I shudder to think how much worse off I'd be if I hadn't bought my Kindle two years ago. (I just wish I'd had it a couple of decades ago!)
Anyway, the Kindle allows me to read any current book, and have it available to me always, and yet NOT have to find a place to store it. Also, in response to your concern, no, Kindle books are cheaper than the new paper copies of the same book. (Of course, if you're comparing the cost to what you would spend on a used book, then, yes, they are more expensive.) So, having a Kindle has not only allowed me to continue reading without adding to my squalor but the savings have more than paid for the price of the Kindle. And, as someone else pointed out, there are lots of free books available for the Kindle.
I haven't had any trouble with Amazon "removing" books from my Kindle but I realize a few have. My understanding is that those were books (and I thought the problem was limited to a few of the free classics they offered for download) where Amazon's source had not obtained the proper copyrights and Amazon did the ethical, but unpopular, thing. In any case, that was a limited problem and I feel confident that Amazon has taken steps to ensure this won't happen again.
There are still a few books I've purchased in paper format. These include old paperbacks for authors that I've recently discovered and that aren't available on Kindle as well as a few craft books for beading and scrapbooking.
BTW, this is my first post on this forum so thank y'all for being here. My life really sucks right now and I'm living in fear about a lot of things. This forum is encouraging me to take steps that will help reduce some of my fear.
|
|
|
|
Post by success19 on Jan 20, 2010 23:24:28 GMT -5
A kindle is on my list of things to get when I get to the land of far far away - small to carry around and easy to download.
|
|
|
|
Post by Evelyn on Jan 21, 2010 0:13:27 GMT -5
This thread has inspired me to unpack some of my boxes of books from my last move (and the one before (and the one before that)). It's so nice to see my old "friends" again ("My thesaurus!!! Oh, man I've been missing that!"). But it's also been nice to cull out the books that I no longer choose too keep (I've read "Memoirs of a Geisha" three times: it's a good book, but I'm not sure it's so good that it justifies a fourth reading). Out of 12 boxes unpacked, I've filled 2 back up again with books to sell or donate. "Thinning the herd" of my books like this always makes me feel better about the ones I keep. They're the best, the select, the literally "chosen few" (well, okay, it's really more like the "chosen quite-a-few"  ). BTW, this is my first post on this forum so thank y'all for being here. My life really sucks right now and I'm living in fear about a lot of things. This forum is encouraging me to take steps that will help reduce some of my fear. Welcome, Gigi.  We're glad you're here. There's no need for fear here; so you can check it at the door, or keep it with you for the time being. All of us have lots of sucky stuff in our lives and plenty of our own fears, and we try to support and encourage each other as best we can. - Evelyn |
|
|
|
Post by Buried-in-books on Jan 21, 2010 7:32:52 GMT -5
Books are it for me as well. I do not remember a time when I did not read and it gave me comfort and solace growing up.
Question for you all - I have a bookshelf in my new office for office stuff and a deep shelf that I used for cookbooks - not sure where I'm going to use that in new house. What I need is some fairly cheap bookshelves to use for my books that I am keeping but I know if I have open bookshelves - I will have the dog hair along the bottom again soon.
Suggestions?
|
|
|
|
Post by Butterfly on Jan 21, 2010 8:28:32 GMT -5
Thanks Evelyn!
|
|
|
|
Post by 60isolderthanithot on Jan 21, 2010 9:20:43 GMT -5
I've often wished for a reliable book exchange so that I could get rid of my HUGE collection of woodworking and home improvement books but it has not happened yet. Nobody lets go of these things until they die, it seems. The local woodworking club would sort of keep it but then I'd have to pay every year for membership to get access to four at a time. Basically, I'd never get my books back when I want them. I have many out of print books and some vintage stuff from authors who were dead by the time they became famous.
Nonfiction books keep their value and I have yet to find men who are willing to share their goods as freely as I'd be willing to share mine - if it were practical.
|
|
|
|
Post by 60isolderthanithot on Jan 21, 2010 9:23:50 GMT -5
It occurs to me as I read it again -- I'm with Y4 on this issue. I do NOT believe a benevolent universe will be efficient at supplying me with access to most of these books if I gave them up. The "benevolent universe" is mostly - pardon me for this in advance - women, and they are both generous and usually keepers of fiction. Fiction novels are easy to come by. What's not easy to come by is the $80 book on patination of metals I've kept for ten years in pristine condition. Or the $100 volume on jewelry technology. Those books aren't kept by local libraries either. And it's not hitting Kindle any time soon.
|
|
|
|
Post by 60isolderthanithot on Jan 21, 2010 9:46:05 GMT -5
By the way, I have tossed, burned, given away and shredded THOUSANDS of books in the last year. Almost all of it fiction, around half of it paperback. Bestsellers, as has been pointed out, are easy to replace. They are literally available all over for free or a dime or a quarter. Partisan political books too. Women's magazines are everywhere. National Geographics aren't worth buying, people have been known to pay to have you haul them away.
But there are entire categories that never make it to the Free boxes at any store or library. I've seen "woodworking collections" promised by used book stores on the phone - and when I arrive, there are 12 books, mostly overpriced, terrible condition, mixed up with DIY and decorate-your-room magazines. As long as only a few categories of books are truly easy to find, I suspect many people with more books than they need will hang onto them, even if they are not hoarding. I literally cannot buy the collection I have now. I've been selling the ONLY copies of certain books at a couple of online book sites for the last few years.
|
|
eternal
New Member
Joined: September 2008
Posts: 57 
|
Post by eternal on Jan 21, 2010 13:02:13 GMT -5
One way to get rid of a few is to take some work-related books to your workplace (if there's somewhere to put them). It means other people can get the benefit of them, and they're there for your own use too. I've managed to clear quite a few books this way. It's particularly good for those big, specialist tomes that you might need to refer to now and then.
|
|
|
|
Post by Buried-in-books on Jan 21, 2010 17:10:25 GMT -5
ahhhh National Geographics. One of the items strongly identified with my father and I fought to get his before my sisters threw them all away. I once dreamed of traveling to all these places and was in a degree program in Anthropology. Baring a winning lottery ticket - I will never be able to travel and only have those books now.
I will admit the ones from the 50s might be a bit old and worn from the silverfish in their attic.
MizSeeker
|
|
|
|
Post by spacehappy (was readilygrey) on Jan 28, 2010 23:20:42 GMT -5
Update: I managed to get a total of 4 boxes of books set aside to give away. I need to get rid of more, but this was a big step for me. I am actually starting to look at them differently thanks to all the advice I received on here. One thing I've been doing with the unread books is spending a little time before bed trying to read them. If they don't grab me then I put them in a give away box. It's slow, but it let's me give them away regret free. So far I've only actually read two of them, the rest I couldn't get more than a few pages into. The reference books I have been slowly parted with as well. So far 2 of the 4 boxes have been taken to a used bookstore. My mother took one and DH the other. We got $17 in trade credit for the 1st and $25 for the 2nd. Since these were mostly beat up old paper backs I'm completely happy with that. What they didn't want was left in a "free bin" they have in front. This enables me to buy the occasional book, which helps me feel like it's not necessary to hold onto all the unread books to ensure I have reading material. I actually feel confident that I can continue to get rid of books at a steady pace until I only have what will fit in my book shelves. One thing slowing me down is I do most of my De-cluttering while my son is napping or in bed and most of the books are in the room next to him. It's hard to work in there without waking him up... but I have been chipping away at it on the weekends when DH can watch him. Thank you all for the great advice and general "pep talk" it really helped. 4 boxes might not sound like a lot, but the ability to give so many away broke through a big barrier I had about it. Thank you! Gigi:After reading your info about the Kindle I went and looked into it more. You are right, most of the electronic books are cheaper than new paperbacks. I think what happened when I looked into it previously was that I was looking at the bestseller list that are all $9.99 and came to the wrong conclusion that all Kindle books were $9.99. I'm not likely to choose any of those books, so it would be cheaper for me. I was also surprised to see that they have mangas available, although I'm not sure how good they would look on the regular size screen... they might be better on the expensive version. I have a weakness for some fairly trashy manga  but am sometimes unwilling to buy them due to the embarrassing cover art... which is a definite advantage to the Kindle, no visible cover at all  . I'm probably going to do a little more research on it and then may possibly buy one with my tax return (DH and I each get one selfish gift a year with it, the rest goes to the house, bills and kids). Thank you for pointing all that out about it, or I would not have looked back into it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Butterfly on Jan 29, 2010 1:08:31 GMT -5
Readilygrey, you're welcome! I don't know how well manga would look on the Kindle. I have the original Kindle and pictures/graphics don't look great on it, although text is absolutely fine. However, the newer generation, especially the larger sized Kindle, might do a lot better job with pictures. I'm not trying to talk you out of it, on the contrary, as you know from my earlier post, I think it's great, especially for a book hoarder like me. But, I don't want to feel as if I've misled you, either. I guess, if the graphics is a deal breaker, you could always get a Kindle, try it with manga, and then, if you're not happy, send it back. I'm terrible about returning things but, for that price, even I'd probably return it if I wasn't happy. |
|
|
|
Post by Butterfly on Jan 29, 2010 8:10:47 GMT -5
Just got an email from Amazon. They now have a new feature that allows you to read your Kindle books on your PC. So, I guess this might solve the problem if you don't like the way manga looks on the Kindle. If you want more info, here's the link: www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=pe_70030_14091770_fe_txt_1/?ie=UTF8&docId=1000426311P.S. I hope no one thinks I'm pushing the Kindle too much. I, personally, have no stake in whether anyone else uses it or not. It's just been such a help to me in allowing me to drastically cut down on the number of paper books coming into my home. And, since I don't have those paper books, I don't have to suffer anxiety by getting rid of them (like I have to do for most of my existing paper library); I get to keep my Kindle books forever. So, I'm just passing along a tool that's helped me tremendously in the hopes it might help someone else, too. |
|
|
|
Post by spacehappy (was readilygrey) on Jan 29, 2010 8:36:19 GMT -5
I actually just finished reading that email myself. I had originally planned on getting one of those cheap 12" laptops to have for reading and writing only (because I get significantly less work done on my primary laptop that has games on it :  . But then I started thinking maybe a Kindle would be better because of how much I like to read... but this way I wouldn't have to choose  . The Kindle for the PC version is free... except for the cost of books of course, and would look much better on the larger screen. Most manga is in black and white, but I like the idea that the PC version is in color for the occasional color image. While I can't speak for everyone, I find suggestions of products that help me reduce clutter very useful. There's a big difference between making in discussion, on topic suggestions and randomly spamming threads with adds. I think your posts are just fine. |
|
