It isn't easy and most people who love and collect books and practically worship them will be shocked, dismayed and disgusted with me. Verily, I might find myself shunned.
Yesterday, I threw away books. Some of them were starting to smell. Some had pages that were starting to brown. Some of them were perfectly good "gently used" books that are fairly current.
I know there are those of you with shelves and shelves of musty volumes and those with dustless tomes. My own father has a collection of thousands of books that date back to the 1920s. There browning pages sit on shelves my step-mother had built into the garage when he refused to let them go. He thinks he'll read them again.
As if.
He's 75 and he still works full time. It's much more likely that he will drop dead at his computer.
When he dies, we'll get a dumpster. Some of the volumes are rare, it's true. But the rarest book in poor condition really isn't good to anyone.
As long as libraries have books, as long as there are libraries, as long as I have a library card, there's no reason to keep 90 percent of the books that I own. I do have nature books for reference. But it's even time to buy a new dictionary. They've come up with new words since I was in college, "fer shizzle."
I know you're out there. I can hear you sniffling from the book dust. (It's the excretia of the mites that love book dust that makes your sinuses tickle.)
I know it's hard. You were taught reverence for the written word. You were taught to handle books with honor. That's a good thing.
Lugging tons of them with you through your life, letting them sit idle, being selfish with them... that's not.
I looked at the pile on my porch. Worth less than $50 in a library book sale. Our library is overburdened with donated books and other items. There is no room left. Every available space is full.
I did something startling. Cristy and I put them in bags and I put them out on the curb.
Librarians won't tell you, but your musty donations go into the dumpster. Get yourself free. Save them the trip.
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2 comments:
Well...shouldn't we save a few hundred books to make ourselves look intelligent when we have guests? ;)
I held on to my books for years, why I don't know. I never read the same book twice. There was nothing remotely intellectual in these books, just pure escapism in the form of fiction. So I Freecycled them. Put them up for free and got 12 requests for them in less than an hour. Now, I read one, put a Book Crossing label on it and leave it in a public place. NO more dust mites for me! well... at least on my bookshelves, the carpets are a whole different matter. lol ~Sie
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