I think the books on our shelves evoke memories of where we were, who we were, and how we felt when we read a particular book. I also (and am somewhat embarrassed to admit this) judge visitors to my home based on how they respond to our bookshelves. Do they look stunned and horrified? If so, probably not a good fit for us. Do they peruse them and comment? Perhaps a potential new friendship and fellow reader is in the house. Do they share memories of having read the same book or exclaim when they find a favorite? Then a guaranteed invite to return and discuss books is imminent.
I struggle in very much the same way. Once, about 30 years ago, preceding a move, I gave away just about every book I owned and decided that I would never have more than would fit into a six foot bookcase. The bookcase is gone, replaced by many more, that are all taller.
“Beauty” is a reason I keep them all now. My walls would be pathetically ugly without them.
I am so with you, John. We currently have about 8-10 bookcases and boxes and boxes of books in storage because our condo is on the market and we had to "sterilize" our home of books and pictures and other artifacts of life. We can't wait to move so we can bring them all home. And, like you, this is on top of several boxes of books donated to Open Books before our last move.
I have a rather macabre bet with my son that I will read all my stacks of unread books before I die. To get rid of any unread book ( I do give away read books, except for my very favorites) would be to admit to my mortality
My books are my history, of equal importance as picture albums. They are my friends, and will accompany me and comfort me and make me smile to the end.
The most precious of my books are the ones I have already read, some of them are from long ago. I look at them and remember how I felt while reading them and even after I finished them. For example, The Hobbitt and The Lord of the Rings Triolgy, which thrilled me and moved me so that I was sad once I finished The Return of the King. There are so many others that I know I should donate so that someone else can have the same joy. Of course, I have many books waiting, begging to carry me away into joy and adventure as well as knowledge and understanding. I currently have two books going at once: Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward and How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States by Daniel Immerwahr. My books are my companions and I need to see them every day waiting for me.
I can't imagine living without my books. At one time I owned close to 10,000. I agree with L Evans that I enjoyed seeing the reaction of people when they came in the house. It's also fun to have people coming to me for suggestions and I start pulling books off the shelf and give them away with the admonishment to pass them on. I never ask if they like the book preferring they initiate their pleasure or dislike of the book. Now we are retired and live in an RV park. My kitchen cupboards, closets and floors are still covered with books. Some I've read and some I want to read and some I'll never read. But wouldn't change a thing.
Good question! I keep books around like my parents did. However, over the last few years, I have been weeding out the ones that I thought were so-so, or not too enthusiastic about. I weed out books to make room for more. I donate those books to my local library. But I keep my books around as I find them a comfort. I like the feel of them, the look of them on my bookshelves and tables and baskets on the floor. I rearrange them to make room for more and like to think about the knowledge I have I gained and the pleasure I have experienced in reading my favorites. I think it comes down to "I cannot live without books," supposedly said by Thomas Jefferson to John Adam's in 1815. Thomas, count me in.
Like Terri McCraken, I am quick to donate books that I thought were so-so or are timely and not likely to have a shelf-life. I give away best sellers that I have read, that I think are terrific. Friends are encouraged to read and pass along - not return. I'm left with my ever-increasing pile of to-be-read books and others that I loved but were not best sellers. Or authors I came upon after their heyday. I've only recently been introduced to Anita Brookner.
Oy, your question is timely. I have been in Seattle, away from my home in Portland, since October. My older brother took ill last year, and I came up to help. He has since died, sadly, and now I remain in his house, sorting it out to be sold.
Brother G had a PhD in English Literature, taught many years at university level and in his later years at a private high school in the Humanities department. I've been sorting through his library of 6000+ books, pulling some to add to my own library, looking for new homes for others (not easy in these days of Covid). And thinking about this question: of why I keep books, why my brother kept books, interminably. Still don't have the answer.
Michael Dirda tried Michael Dirda spoke of this... dilemma? disorder? here.
(I'm sending you a photo of my pet, Mario, helping with the book sorting...)
My teaching books are a record of who I was, my travel books reflect some of the places I have visited and loved, and my books about the natural world reflect some of my passions. Then there are many others. My books are a small snapshot of who I am. To give them away might be like losing a piece of the essence of me. Although, I do give some away, and I hereby vow to do that more often. They are also a kind of To Do list. Someday, when I am old and have no interest in traveling, biking, hiking, kayaking, or gardening, I may finish reading them.
Very timely question, as my husband is now in assisted living, and I'm looking at downsizing and moving, but we have 500-600 linear feet of books, at least, not counting the 3 foot high stack from the library! Admittedly, we were collectors on various subjects - Washington DC, Chicago, Baedeckers, Judaica, museum exhibit books, labor history, US legal history, World War II (husband), WPA volumes, niche stuff, bibliophilia (!), modern political biographies, signed modern first editions (husband), etc. etc. Oh! and modern literature and biography that we just wanted to read. Ready availability of online library holds and ebooks and audiobooks eventually slowed the acquisition rate. But now looking at deaccessioning - it's tough. There are all those books I still want to read, having imagined I'd have time in my yet-to-begin retirement, and those that have stories attached about how they were acquired or why they caught our interest. I almost forgot: The 50 feet of my children's books that either they have said they want - one day - or I'm saving to read to the grandkids when they can finally get back here from Europe. I think you can tell that de-accessioning is mostly impossible right now - between the content of the books, and the context in which they were acquired, they all have a physical meaning for me. We even bought this house partly due to books: The living room came with a built-in 20+ foot long floor to ceiling bookcase, complete with one shelf that fits only Baedeckers and their ilk. The prior owner was also a collector, and he gifted us one of his at the housing closing! Moving will be very painful.
I keep books I’ve loved such as The Cider House Rules, South of Broad, A Man Called Ove. I also keep books that I read to my Children that they loved such as Bunnicula, Frog and Toad, If You give a Mouse a Cookie. I started reading on a Kindle to lessen the book collection. Every so often I try to lessen the amount but there are some I just can’t part with
One other thought - having gone through my parents' accumulation upon their death (this is a familial weakness for sure) and watching other friends do the same, I recognize that this excess of books can be a burden to the next generation, even if they too have the bibliophile gene. They'll pick out the few that resonate with them, and donate the rest - if anyone will still take them. And I'm okay with that.
I keep a few bookshelves of my absolute favorites, but I give the rest to friends or donate them to the library for the used book sale. I like to think of the many people who continue to enjoy my books. Give them away; it is liberating!
As an aside, I also read a lot of Leon Uris growing up in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
One aspect of book collecting that I like is adding books to an author's "section" on my shelves. Somehow the accumulation of books reinforces my fondness for authors like Anne Tyler, Margaret Atwood, Richard Russo, Richard Ford, Jane Smiley and Stewart O'Nan. It also saddens me when I know I won't be adding anything new to Larry McMurtry, for example.
And there are times when I will go back and reread a book. Last year I was in a mood to revisit some old favorites, and I read Russo's "Straight Man" and Smiley's "Moo" (great send-ups of higher education) and McMurtry's "Texasville." It was quite pleasant.
I think the books on our shelves evoke memories of where we were, who we were, and how we felt when we read a particular book. I also (and am somewhat embarrassed to admit this) judge visitors to my home based on how they respond to our bookshelves. Do they look stunned and horrified? If so, probably not a good fit for us. Do they peruse them and comment? Perhaps a potential new friendship and fellow reader is in the house. Do they share memories of having read the same book or exclaim when they find a favorite? Then a guaranteed invite to return and discuss books is imminent.
I struggle in very much the same way. Once, about 30 years ago, preceding a move, I gave away just about every book I owned and decided that I would never have more than would fit into a six foot bookcase. The bookcase is gone, replaced by many more, that are all taller.
“Beauty” is a reason I keep them all now. My walls would be pathetically ugly without them.
I am so with you, John. We currently have about 8-10 bookcases and boxes and boxes of books in storage because our condo is on the market and we had to "sterilize" our home of books and pictures and other artifacts of life. We can't wait to move so we can bring them all home. And, like you, this is on top of several boxes of books donated to Open Books before our last move.
I have a rather macabre bet with my son that I will read all my stacks of unread books before I die. To get rid of any unread book ( I do give away read books, except for my very favorites) would be to admit to my mortality
My books are my history, of equal importance as picture albums. They are my friends, and will accompany me and comfort me and make me smile to the end.
The most precious of my books are the ones I have already read, some of them are from long ago. I look at them and remember how I felt while reading them and even after I finished them. For example, The Hobbitt and The Lord of the Rings Triolgy, which thrilled me and moved me so that I was sad once I finished The Return of the King. There are so many others that I know I should donate so that someone else can have the same joy. Of course, I have many books waiting, begging to carry me away into joy and adventure as well as knowledge and understanding. I currently have two books going at once: Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward and How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States by Daniel Immerwahr. My books are my companions and I need to see them every day waiting for me.
I can't imagine living without my books. At one time I owned close to 10,000. I agree with L Evans that I enjoyed seeing the reaction of people when they came in the house. It's also fun to have people coming to me for suggestions and I start pulling books off the shelf and give them away with the admonishment to pass them on. I never ask if they like the book preferring they initiate their pleasure or dislike of the book. Now we are retired and live in an RV park. My kitchen cupboards, closets and floors are still covered with books. Some I've read and some I want to read and some I'll never read. But wouldn't change a thing.
Good question! I keep books around like my parents did. However, over the last few years, I have been weeding out the ones that I thought were so-so, or not too enthusiastic about. I weed out books to make room for more. I donate those books to my local library. But I keep my books around as I find them a comfort. I like the feel of them, the look of them on my bookshelves and tables and baskets on the floor. I rearrange them to make room for more and like to think about the knowledge I have I gained and the pleasure I have experienced in reading my favorites. I think it comes down to "I cannot live without books," supposedly said by Thomas Jefferson to John Adam's in 1815. Thomas, count me in.
Like Terri McCraken, I am quick to donate books that I thought were so-so or are timely and not likely to have a shelf-life. I give away best sellers that I have read, that I think are terrific. Friends are encouraged to read and pass along - not return. I'm left with my ever-increasing pile of to-be-read books and others that I loved but were not best sellers. Or authors I came upon after their heyday. I've only recently been introduced to Anita Brookner.
Oy, your question is timely. I have been in Seattle, away from my home in Portland, since October. My older brother took ill last year, and I came up to help. He has since died, sadly, and now I remain in his house, sorting it out to be sold.
Brother G had a PhD in English Literature, taught many years at university level and in his later years at a private high school in the Humanities department. I've been sorting through his library of 6000+ books, pulling some to add to my own library, looking for new homes for others (not easy in these days of Covid). And thinking about this question: of why I keep books, why my brother kept books, interminably. Still don't have the answer.
Michael Dirda tried Michael Dirda spoke of this... dilemma? disorder? here.
(I'm sending you a photo of my pet, Mario, helping with the book sorting...)
My teaching books are a record of who I was, my travel books reflect some of the places I have visited and loved, and my books about the natural world reflect some of my passions. Then there are many others. My books are a small snapshot of who I am. To give them away might be like losing a piece of the essence of me. Although, I do give some away, and I hereby vow to do that more often. They are also a kind of To Do list. Someday, when I am old and have no interest in traveling, biking, hiking, kayaking, or gardening, I may finish reading them.
Very timely question, as my husband is now in assisted living, and I'm looking at downsizing and moving, but we have 500-600 linear feet of books, at least, not counting the 3 foot high stack from the library! Admittedly, we were collectors on various subjects - Washington DC, Chicago, Baedeckers, Judaica, museum exhibit books, labor history, US legal history, World War II (husband), WPA volumes, niche stuff, bibliophilia (!), modern political biographies, signed modern first editions (husband), etc. etc. Oh! and modern literature and biography that we just wanted to read. Ready availability of online library holds and ebooks and audiobooks eventually slowed the acquisition rate. But now looking at deaccessioning - it's tough. There are all those books I still want to read, having imagined I'd have time in my yet-to-begin retirement, and those that have stories attached about how they were acquired or why they caught our interest. I almost forgot: The 50 feet of my children's books that either they have said they want - one day - or I'm saving to read to the grandkids when they can finally get back here from Europe. I think you can tell that de-accessioning is mostly impossible right now - between the content of the books, and the context in which they were acquired, they all have a physical meaning for me. We even bought this house partly due to books: The living room came with a built-in 20+ foot long floor to ceiling bookcase, complete with one shelf that fits only Baedeckers and their ilk. The prior owner was also a collector, and he gifted us one of his at the housing closing! Moving will be very painful.
I keep books I’ve loved such as The Cider House Rules, South of Broad, A Man Called Ove. I also keep books that I read to my Children that they loved such as Bunnicula, Frog and Toad, If You give a Mouse a Cookie. I started reading on a Kindle to lessen the book collection. Every so often I try to lessen the amount but there are some I just can’t part with
One other thought - having gone through my parents' accumulation upon their death (this is a familial weakness for sure) and watching other friends do the same, I recognize that this excess of books can be a burden to the next generation, even if they too have the bibliophile gene. They'll pick out the few that resonate with them, and donate the rest - if anyone will still take them. And I'm okay with that.
I keep a few bookshelves of my absolute favorites, but I give the rest to friends or donate them to the library for the used book sale. I like to think of the many people who continue to enjoy my books. Give them away; it is liberating!
As an aside, I also read a lot of Leon Uris growing up in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
One aspect of book collecting that I like is adding books to an author's "section" on my shelves. Somehow the accumulation of books reinforces my fondness for authors like Anne Tyler, Margaret Atwood, Richard Russo, Richard Ford, Jane Smiley and Stewart O'Nan. It also saddens me when I know I won't be adding anything new to Larry McMurtry, for example.
And there are times when I will go back and reread a book. Last year I was in a mood to revisit some old favorites, and I read Russo's "Straight Man" and Smiley's "Moo" (great send-ups of higher education) and McMurtry's "Texasville." It was quite pleasant.