Doing the bookworm
Life has been on edge lately. My mother in law fell ill. While she's home and doing better, the doctors, aka The Gods of Mount Olympus, weren't entirely sure what which illness afflicted her. In the meantime, I've been working, keeping house, and trying to keep a regular meditation practice for the sake of my sanity.
My bibliophilic father would pass out if he saw this, but - I'm cutting back on my book consumption. I love to read, and do so several hours a day. I've been donating books from my personal library to Goodwill. I have two standard size bookcases overflowing with books, and I hope to have them both pared down to "comfortably full" by the end of the year. A great many of these books are wonderful, but I will never read them again. In some cases, I never read them in the first place.
I have a sneaking feeling that owning lots of books is one of the last acceptable forms of over consumption. I laugh at shows like MTV's "Cribs" when a celebrity admits that despite their huge kitchen with state of the art appliances, they don't cook. Having this kitchen makes people think they can cook. I think I have lots of books so people will think I'm smart and well read. I plan to be smart and well read, and let my wit and intelligence speak for themselves. I'll borrow from the library and buy cheap, used books and pass them on when I'm through with them. I plan to keep truly treasured and/or useful books.
I'll keep the copy of Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land" my dad gave me when I was 13. I'll keep my complete collection of "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark," because I still sleep with the lights on after reading them, just as I did when I was 8 and ordered them through the Scholastic Book catalogue at school. In other words, I'll keep the ones that matter, that mean something to me. But why bother keeping "Atlas Shrugged"? It's readily available from the library or even at the bookstore if I ever suffer a head injury causing complete amnesia.
But I'm counting on my utter loathing for all things Ayn Rand to survive a massive head injury.
6 comments:
I've been working on reducing my book collection as well. I've been doing better at getting rid of or not buying fiction, but my 2 nonfiction bookcases are not going down, they're increasing. I wish you luck.
I took a HC version ot The Fountainhead on an airplane once, I'm surprised they didn't confiscate the book and claim it as a weapon.
Thanks for adding me to your blogroll.
I've also been trying to cutback on my book collection.
It's a challenge. I plan to donate a few books to the library in my parents' planned community.
Me too. The book thing, I must cut back. Thanks for adding me to your blogroll...I just added you to mine as well.
I have a complaint! Goodwill? Libraries are dying like bees throughout the US. Are your books in a condition that the library won't take? Ever heard of http://bookmooch.com/ ? I just can't justify giving away stuff to a place where a used item from the 99 cent store sells for...99 cents.
I still buy new books regularly. I supplement it with used and the library, but I believe in supporting authors. Unless you are talking blockbuster big name authors, it is incredibly hard for a writer to survive entirely on writing.
I'd suggest borrowing the Harry Potters and Clive Cusslers - they're never going to be collectors items with print runs that size - but buying your new SciFi and Romance authors, arty literature etc.
I've made $2,000+ in the past year on Amazon selling new/used books from my collection; bought from Goodwill; library book sales, etc. No single purchase earned more than $20 at a time but why not make a little money? I never pay more than .99 for a book I will sell after I read it. You get a feel for what will sell pretty quickly and it's a fun hobby.
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