What do you do with your books?

[Armie3]

Posted: 9/18/18 at 9:29am

You read them, obviously, but after that...?

Do you give them away, or throw them out? Do you put them on your shelf to gather dust? How do you decide what is worth keeping? Are you really going to re-read all of the books you save?

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 9/18/18 at 9:44am

I have 2 used bookstores near me so if I decide not to keep it, I take it to one of those places and get credit to use on new used books. 

Updated On: 9/18/18 at 09:44 AM

[artscallion]

Posted: 9/18/18 at 10:29am

I have both a used bookstore and a public library near me. So I usually take half to each. This way I'm helping both folks who may not be able to afford books, as well as small business owners.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/18/18 at 11:03am

I read ebooks.  No need to decide.

[Armie3]

Posted: 9/18/18 at 11:05am

That is such a good idea. I need to get shot of boxes of books. They may be real pretty hardbacks, some even signed by the author, but do I really want to lug them around for the rest of my life? Spoiler : No!

I know some people take pride in displaying all their "impressive" library, but just the other day I was touring somebody's home who had shelves of beautiful books, but I would say two thirds of them looked pristine and unread. What is the point?

[BPfan81]

Posted: 9/18/18 at 10:36pm

As long as I can afford a space for them I keep them. I have donated very few to my local library, like some books on the music business that are now outdated. I'm sure the library recycled them. Most of my personal library consists of autobiographies, art history and architecture - books that weigh 10 pounds to say the least. I can't part with those. I also have started to collect children's books from various authors like Eric Carle, and children's books by singer/actors like Bernadette Peters. I am hoping to have kids one day soon and share it with them.

[dunebuddy]

Posted: 9/20/18 at 7:14pm

I am an avid reader and generally will save my books.  I have a four section book shelf in my office which is filled.  As I finish a new book I will go through the shelves and remove an older one that I wasn't too fond of or know I will not read again and replace it with the new book.  As I fill a box with the removed books I will donate them to our local library, senior center, or used book store.  I know that I will be moving to a smaller place within the next couple of years and will have to make some hard decisions about what I want to keep. No matter where I go, however, I will have book shelves.  Certain books will come with me no matter where I relocate - Roots. The Warmth of Other Suns, anything by my favorite author John Boyne.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 9/21/18 at 7:23pm

Kinda the same Dunebuggy. I see my books as old friends, some I visit w more often and others, well, they have given me what they had and it's time to move on. On both sides. I still buy occ hardcovers & paperbacks but most of my books are now on Kobo or Kindle. When I do winnow I usually donate to my old university which does a big fundraising 3 day book sale.

I was looking at Neil Gaiman's house in Wisconsin- that is a library!

https://io9.gizmodo.com/5352953/take-a-peek-inside-neil-gaimans-library/

[Dollypop]

Posted: 9/23/18 at 2:12pm

In our community we have "Little Free Libraries" which are larger than the average rural mailbox and placed In parks, playgrounds, beaches and bus stops. These are stocked with discarded books and the public is free to take what appeals to them. I just weeded out my bookshelves and put about a dozen books in some of the LFL's near my home.

Updated On: 9/23/18 at 02:12 PM

[yshielynn]

Posted: 11/4/18 at 2:26am

I keep all my books. Eventually I would like to have a library in my, currently nonexistent, house. I also reread books a lot, some more than others, but I'm never really really sure when the desire to read a certain book again will strike me so it works out for me to just keep them. I read e-books now with the availability and popularity of smartphones with larger screen sizes and much higher resolution (like Asus Zenfone 5 price), so that I can access them all at any time.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 11/4/18 at 5:26am

I donate them to the library.

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 11/8/18 at 12:58am

I’ve pretty much switched over to e-books. I’ve even purchased e-book editions of some of my favorite works...even if I own the hardcover or trade paperback editions.

I'm going to donate all of my books (with the exception of some art and coffee table books that don’t make the e-book transition all too well) to American Book Drive. They come to your residence, pack up all of your books and take them away. Google them.

I read e-books on my Kindle Oasis or on my iPad Pro with the Kindle app.

[SweetLips22]

Posted: 11/8/18 at 2:53am

What a marvellous idea Dollypop--obviously they are protected from the elements. Do the vandals leave them alone?

I buy mine from the charity shops and give them back when read--round and round.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 11/11/18 at 9:30am

I keep most of them but have donated others to charity organizations, schools, nursing homes, libraries etc.

[robskynyc]

Posted: 11/11/18 at 5:17pm

dramamama611 said: "I read ebooks. No need to decide."

drama mama which one do you use? I'm trying to make the switch (its SO hard to give up paper books)... But my biggest issue is price. Sometimes I'll see a physical book on sale for 6.99 on amazon, but when I look on Apple Books, or kindle, its 9.99

[Dollypop]

Posted: 11/18/18 at 10:48pm

SweetLips22 said: "What a marvellous idea Dollypop--obviously they are protected from the elements. Do the vandals leave them alone?

I buy mine from the charity shops and give them back when read--round and round."

 

Yes, these "Little Free Libraries" are weather proof and the local scouts have painted them with flowers and nautical motifs (we're a seaside community) and they've become quite popular. We're talking about putting one in our church parking lot.

We've had very few problems with vandals. In one instance where a door was ripped off, the community quickly repaired it.

 

Updated On: 11/18/18 at 10:48 PM

[Dallas Theatre Fan]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 1:54pm

It has been a dream of mine to own a huge personal library but, I do have to do some clean out the shelves from time to time and the books that I know I'll never read or didn't like I either give to friends or the used bookstores.  

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 11/29/18 at 7:52pm

In some very nice shelves in my bedroom.  But thinking of dumping all of them because the dust is killing me.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 12/13/18 at 10:50pm

robskynyc said: "I'm trying to make the switch (its SO hard to give up paper books)... But my biggest issue is price. Sometimes I'll see a physical book on sale for 6.99 on amazon, but when I look on Apple Books, or kindle, its 9.99"

The website BookBub can alert you when certain ebooks are on sale (and will also try to recommend you free books).  If you're not particularly specific about what you want to read, but just want a new book, Amazon has a Kindle First Reads program for prime members where you can pick a new book for free out of six options.  Along with a prime membership, you also get access to the Kindle prime library so there's that.

If you do have a particular book you want to read, there's https://ebook.bike/  The site goes down a lot but it does stock a lot of books both old and new in the epub format for free to download.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/14/18 at 1:31pm

 

I donate them to the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, where they find a nice home and help raise money for homeless people living with HIV/AIDS.

 

Housing Works Bookstore Cafe