Why do we keep so many books?
I have a respectable size book collection made up of mass market paperbacks, trade paperbacks, hardcovers, fiction, non-fiction, reference and so forth. Some of the reference books I refer to a lot, the mass markets on the other hand are usually read once and then shelved. I know there are a lot of people out there who have a much bigger collection of books than I do. And there are those that constantly purge their collection to make room for new books.
Why do a lot of us keep so many books, especially if there’s little chance we’ll read them again?
I view books like trophies. Since I was never into sports, I don’t have any ‘real’ trophies to show off. Books represent my literary accomplishments. At the same time, they take up a lot of space and can get very heavy when packed into boxes making them a pain to move.
I also must confess that I like to keep my first edition hardcovers with a tiny grain of hope that one day they might be worth something. Doubtful, but you never know. I also have a small collection of books autographed by their respective authors. By no means am I a serious book collector – one who seeks out rare and expensive books. Although if I were to collect something, books would be on the top of my list.
The Guardian posted this article How well do you know your own books. It’s not exactly on the subject I’m talking about, though it’s close enough to warrant some attention. The article is about all the books we own, some of which we haven’t even read:
The danger, of course, is that if you don’t read something in the first couple of weeks of ownership it can slide off your radar and end up being tidied to a high shelf where it sits gathering dust until the last trump sounds…
I’m guilty of having unread books on my shelf. Most of them are non-fiction, reference books that I bought, knowing they might come in handy one day. I also have a handful of fiction titles that I will get to sooner or later – probably at a time when my funds are dry and have to put off book buying for a while.
These unread books only add to the larger problem of keeping too many books in our collections. There are many solutions to this problem, many of which are obvious, but they are worth re-visiting as a reminder of how easy it is to purge our bookshelves and prevent the too-many-books syndrome from rearing its ugly head again:
- Donate your books to a library, school or literary charity.
- Sell your books on sites like eBay, Amazon or Craigslist. Don’t expect to get much for them though, especially old paperbacks, which might sell for a dollar or less.
- Only buy what you can realistically read. If you have a stack 3 feet high of unread books you ‘keep meaning to get to’, then buying even more books is going to be a waste.
- Start using your local library. The books are free and you are forced to return them after a length of time. You can still read and enjoy the book without having it clutter your shelves.
Why do you keep so many books? Do you try to do anything to prevent your bookshelves from collapsing under the weight of your collection? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on this guilty pleasure us book lovers indulge in! I look forward to your answers.
Picture credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/austinevan/ / CC BY 2.0
Related posts
- How big is your library of books?
- Books that sell vs. books with literary merit
- Trading books without leaving your house!
- Many CEOs shun business books
- Earning a living from used books!
Read More: Reading
I only keep the books I love, but I love so many! Fiction or non-fiction, literary, historical, mystery… genres become non-existent as I place them on the shelves. They are mine now.
I recommend tall bookshelves.
Well at least it keeps some poor lowly paid author in pens if you buy books – buggar libraries – buy more books….. I think I might just make that my campaign motto….
I finally had to get rid of books or find a bigger place to live. I use this yardstick: if I know I’ll want to reread the book, I keep it. And when I fall in love with a book, even though I know I won’t read it again, I just have to put it on the bookshelf for a few months so I can pat it when I go by. I’m getting more into the library thing and being stern with myself.
I think it is buying right choice of books which is important to me and then collecting them the right way. You can choose later if you want to sell any of those. A nice article though.
I’m so glad to know I’m not the only one. Even after moving twice since 2003, giving many away each time, I still have hundreds of books. Each book is a memory in the scrapbook of life; from fiction transporting me to another place and time, to the business reference books that help me navigate and thrive in the business world. They are one of the few constants in my life.