To keep or not to keep
By DCMerkle
@DCMerkle (1281)
United States
February 28, 2010 11:53am CST
One of the things that I do as a reader, and it's really a bad habit, is that if I see a book that sounds good or something that I intend to read, I add it to my already over flowing stack of books to read. What I have been doing the last couple of years is that I will go through my shelves and the stacks on the floor to clear it all out. I do this on a 3-4 month time basis. It's helped me to reclaim my space and I don't feel so bad about giving them away. The books that I haven't read as well go out. I figure if I hadn't gotten to that book in a month's time then I'm not going to get to it in the near future.
Are you like me when it comes to books? Do you clear them out or do you hold onto them until there's more dust than pages to the book?
1 person likes this
10 responses
@tcup345 (358)
• United States
2 Mar 10
Ohhh, I am guilty of the same affliction. I've given away books that I'm no longer interested in reading or have already read. Some I've sold at amazon.com and some I've sold at a yard sale last summer. I am worse at collecting crochet patterns and magazines, soon my craft room will be overwhelmed. I can't help it, I love to read and I love to crochet.
@DCMerkle (1281)
• United States
4 Mar 10
Oh tcup,
Now now why did you have to go and talk about crochet patterns? I collect those as well. I not only collect patterns, I save the labels from the yarn that has patterns on them. I have folders and folders of labels.
3honor,
I can read and crochet or watch television at the same time. I can talk on the phone and crochet, but the crochet addiction is another topic.
@tcup345 (358)
• United States
4 Mar 10
I also keep the labels from yarn, I keep them in page protectors in binders. I copy patterns from the internet and they also are in binders.
How do you hold a book and crochet at the same time? I can talk on the phone, watch tv, hold a one to one conversation and be on the computer while crocheting but I haven't figured out how to read a book (while crocheting)
You want to talk about crochet addiction? I have a whole room dedicated to yarn and patterns. It looks like a store. My husband think I need help.lolol
@tigerdragon (4297)
• Philippines
1 Mar 10
I use to read books a lot when i was younger and still have time to do it, unlike now, i seldom read. I use to buy and keep all those books that i have finished and kept on buying books that i want to read until a disaster have hit me, everything went underwater and there is nothing i can do to recover them and i got use to the fact that it's gone.So, now, I only choose the ones i really NEED to keep. I use the internet to scour some ebooks. It's easy to find and most of them are free if you know where to look for them. I would suggest that you borrow them books instead of buying and restrain yourself from collecting books which you don't have time to read for now. Make a list and read them one at a time, you have the whole liftime to do that. you can never get enough. Happy thoughts!
@tigerdragon (4297)
• Philippines
4 Mar 10
Hi, my dear old friend! Yup, that's the one. last sept.28,2009. It was neck deep and most parts of manila are two stories high. Funny, i didn't even missed them books, i thought i would. I guess it's because i have read most of them and internalized and digested it on my mind. Most of them are trade and reference books. I can still find them in the net, one way or the other. share me the site,please. oh, by the way, send the link on to my profile. Mylot doesn't like it when we put in links here or mention another website. ssshhhh...they might hear us.hihihi...
@ElicBxn (63567)
• United States
1 Mar 10
I have some paperbacks that had one printing and I love them (tho they are packed at this time)
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/roy-meyers/dolphin-boy.htm
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/roy-meyers/daughters-of-dolphin.htm
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/roy-meyers/destiny-and-dolphins.htm
@DCMerkle (1281)
• United States
2 Mar 10
Elic,
Somehow I kind of remember them. I probably remember them from my days in elementary school going through the school library book shelves. I was trying to find a copy of Johnny Tremain. It was the story of a teenager during the american revolution. Haven't found a copy of that yet.
1 person likes this
@DCMerkle (1281)
• United States
1 Mar 10
ElicBxn,
I've had dust so thick on some of the books that when I went to wipe them off the dust would go flying. I was better off leaving them alone. If there is a book that is really hard to find for me, then at that point I know that it is out of circulation or it's become an antique for collectors. That's where I draw the line.
1 person likes this
@mzz663 (2772)
• United States
1 Mar 10
I used to save everything from books I wanted to read to magazines that I'd seen something I wanted to read. If I don't have any time to read this stuff, I give it away now but I used to have so much stuff that it would take up four or five big boxes in my closet. I look on the back of books or the front of an old magazine and if can't remember why I thought it was something I would be interested in, I give it away or leave it in the Dr. office or stop at a laundry mat and drop it off there.
@DCMerkle (1281)
• United States
4 Mar 10
mzz663,
If i was to be really honest here, I guess that I will have to admit that I have stacks of magazines that I have here. I usually save them because there was an article or a great reciepe that I had wanted. If I go back to the magazine and can't remember just what I wanted, I'll toss the magazine, leave it for someone else.
@kukaisiton (702)
• Philippines
4 Mar 10
hi there. im like you, i also buy books that sound great although it may take me a while to read them bec i get to read other books first. pus there are also a lot of great book sales in my area. anyway, i actually dont clear them out. sometimes, i just organize them . after im done with a book and i feel that i dont want to keep it, i sell it in the internet. but if i havent read them yet, i dont throw them away. i keep them until i find time to read .
but youre right about when you said that if you cant give time to read abook in a month then you wont have time for it in the future. that's true. i'll think about that.,
@lindsiko (355)
• United States
1 Mar 10
I've gotten a lot better about not buying books unless I intend to read them that day. I do have a lot in my collection that I've never looked at again since I first purchased them. Some of them are books for college classes that I decided to drop from my schedule. It's like an old pair of pants... I always think that if I give it away I'll regret it because someday I'll be in the mood to wear them or my tastes will change to where I like it again.
@DCMerkle (1281)
• United States
2 Mar 10
I never understood why people would keep college texts. I know that they can be horrendously expensive, but couldn't you just re-sell them, if they were still current? I know a Dr. that has all the texts that he had in college and through his residency. Most of the information in them is so obsolete. Things have so advanced as far as medical science. He told me that he keeps them for prosperity.
@lindsiko (355)
• United States
2 Mar 10
Some of my books I like to hold onto for reference (like my music theory texts) or because I think that someday I'll be more interested in the topic. I tend to steer clear of selling my books back at the college book stores. They rip you off! Bleh. I guess I could sell them online, but I've never taken the time to do it.
@mslena75 (561)
• United States
1 Mar 10
I rarely buy books. I keep a list of stuff I want to read, like if I see a book review or something, and then I just check them out at the library. I did get a Nook for Christmas, which I love. It is nice because you can download the books without adding clutter. It holds 1500 and you can add a memory card to hold even more.
@DCMerkle (1281)
• United States
1 Mar 10
Now see. I use the library also and that's as bad as being lent a book. If there was a book that I got from the library then I have to have it. Same thing if I'm lent a book from a friend.
If the Nook, that you mentioned, is like the Kindle, then I just don't see myself with that form of reading. My ex. has wanted one, but we get into a hot debate on the merit's or downside of something like that. I can see where it would be a wonderful space saver, but to me a book is something to hold in your hand. For some, it's like holding the hand of a friend. You lose that with a book electronics like that.
@zed_k4 (17589)
• Singapore
1 Mar 10
I used to have a book shelf where I store many books. I like to collect books last time and I bought them at book fairs, at discounted prices and many more. And they do collect dust as I can imagine. So trying to keep all of them clean, and the shelf too, just took a rather long time. So one day, I took some to throw, those that were really looking yellow and dumpy and the rest, I gave away or keep. And then as years go by, I think I threw the rest away too. Nowadays, I don't really keep any good books; perhaps 1 or 2. It's more better to buy something and pass on to friends to read or borrow from the library.
@LaurenInLA (2270)
• United States
28 Feb 10
I used to have that same bad habit. I would buy a book, like it and keep it just in case I wanted to read it again. You know what? I discovered that I never re-read a book. A couple of times a year, I would go through all of the books and donate them to the library. This year, I decided to stop this once and for all. I went through all of my books and donated over 100 books to the library. I actually had three bookcases stuffed with them. Now I don't buy books at all. I borrow them from the library.
@DCMerkle (1281)
• United States
1 Mar 10
LaurenInLA
A lot of the books that I have are books that I had on hold if they were part of a series. I've got this thing where I just won't even start the series unless I have a majority of them lined up and ready to go. There are books that I am collecting that is a collection of children's books that I read from my childhood. I plan on reading them to my future grandchildren, a way to introduce them to reading. One thing that I did do, so I wouldn't be tempted to go back to bad habits, is that I got rid of the bookcases that I had in the house and only kept the ones that I knew that I would use. That's what keeps me going through them every 3-4 months.
Maybe once a year. 
I hate giving my books away even if it takes me a year to read them. I cannot stand getting rid of them. TATA.