I love books. I love reading them, I love reading about them, I love talking about them, I love checking lots of them out from the library and I used to love having them. I thought you could never have too many books; they symbolized intellectual wealth and who doesn’t want to be wealthy? Books make nice surroundings.
The problem comes when you have to move, especially when you are moving to a smaller residence. Moving books is costly, time-consuming and heavy work. I used to keep my books for many reasons including the chance that I may have to refer to them for a quote or a fact, the idea that my collection said something about me and for their decorative use in an artless apartment. It was worth it to me to move boxes and boxes of books despite the complaints of helpful friends.
These days I find my reasoning doesn’t really hold water anymore. If I need to look up a quote or a fact I am more likely to use Google than one of my good books. As far as my collection telling a story about me, it is a story I already know and hold in my head. I rarely have guests who even glance at my bookshelves, much less attempt to read me through my book choices. Now, I see my books as clutter which distracts me from clear thinking and new ideas.
I have decided to keep only those books that are really helpful, valuable or have some sentimental value. They should be books that I cannot replace, find at the library or read on my Kindle. Kindle is the key. I am not getting rid of any of my Kindle books, only hard copy books. I will keep some gardening and cooking books that are easier to refer to and work with as a hard copies. They should also be books that I use often, such as the Joy of Cooking. I want to keep some books from my childhood that have sentimental value to me. I have a number of coffee table books, which have great pictures and would be hard to find in the library or view on Kindle. I guess another consideration is what books would I want to read over and over in the case of a long-term disaster that would prevent my Kindle from working. I usually don’t read a book more than once; I’m not the type of person who reads Pride and Prejudice every year.
I will sell, donate to the library and give away books that don’t make my top 50.
So, today I am starting to go through my collection and build my top 50. I have two years to do this, and I am sure my list will change as I re-evaluate other aspects of my life, but I would like to start the process now and dig out of some of the clutter.
The List of Fifty
Animal Books
1. First Aid Companion for Dogs & Cats, Shojai
2. Veterinary Guide for Animal Owners, Spaulding and Clay
3. Barking Buddha, Bryan
4. 101 Dog Tricks, Sundance
5. Why Cats Paint, Busch and Silver
Cookbooks
1. Joy of Cooking, Rombauer
2. Greene on Greens, Greene
3. The Tassajara Bread Book, Brown
4. Chez Panisse Vegetables, Waters
5. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, Hertzberg and Francois
Gardening Books
1. North Country Gardening, Avery
2. The Garden Succulents Primer, Smith and Van Wyk
3. The Complete Herb Book, McVicar
4. Beds I Have Known, Smith
5. An Island Garden, Thaxter
Books from Childhood
1. The Fairy Tale Treasury, Crown
2. Funny Town, Merriam
3. Junior Girl Scouts Handbook
4. Frederick, Lionni
Outdoors and Nature
1. Seasonal Guide to the Natural Year, Bates
2. Trailside Botany, Bates
3. Encounters with the Archdruid, McPhee
A work in progress
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