Discussion Highlights: Shelf Overflow

Last Week’s Discussion:
Shelf Overflow

Books. We all love them. So much so that we have a tendency to collect them, even hoard them in certain instances. 😉 But that can lead to a couple problems when you need space, don’t have enough bookshelves, or are moving. Worst part is half those books aren’t even good. You won’t read them again, so why are we keeping them? Let’s see how the discussioners handle this particular dilemma, shall we?

Shanah said:

“If I really didn’t like it and know that I would never reread it then no. I trade it in for something I’ll actually read. I may keep it on my shelf for a while just because (hoarder!) and then trade it in later when I need more space.”

J.W. said:

“I have more books [than] I should. Books that I bought cheap that I’m “going to read someday.” As well as books that I read and will never read again. I ran out of room once, and ended up filling a tote with books, and that tote is [now] in my crawlspace.”

Deanna said:

“I now have 3 bookshelves, and even those are starting to overflow. (I need help) If I don’t love a book or it isn’t in by one of my favorite authors, I put it in a box and every spring I donate that box to Accio Books. That way I’m cleaning my bookshelf and providing books to people who want/need them. “

Books in the Skye said:

“When we moved into our house and I was organizing my bookshelf I decided to go through my books. I kept ones that I loved or had a special connection with me. I only got rid of a few but they were ones that I have picked up multiple times and never finished because I knew that I wasn’t ever going to finish them. I got rid of books that I absolutely hated and ones that I couldn’t even finish because the book was so bad. It’s hard to get rid of books because I love them so much but I just told myself they are taking up space for books that I DO want to read and books that I DO enjoy 🙂”

Trent said:

“I don’t keep them all, but most. A couple of times in my life I got rid of dozens of books in one fell swoop. It’s not easy, but… I still have way too many books….”

Sophie Li said:

“Believe it or not, I actually don’t have a physical shelf for my books. They all just sit in a pile on a table :’) This is because i only started accumulating books in print very recently. (Before this I was reading a lot of ebooks and listening to audiobooks.) I started off with a few print books and now I have a huge pile!!”

Sophie said:

“I’m only an hoarder for books I really loved. The others I will trade or try to sell and buy new books I will love 😉”

Adam said:

“I usually donate them to a local library, though I often include a little snippet between the pages; half review, half warning. One time I decided I wouldn’t donate a book to anywhere, because I felt it was wrong to inflict it on someone, but I also don’t like the idea of actually destroying a book, so I’m a little stumped on what to do with it.”

Rae said:

“Books that I don’t like either are given away to someone who I think would like it or donated to a library booksale. Right now though I have a stack of about 7 books that I don’t want and I’m trying to figure out if I can sell them online. If not, they will be donated. Either way, no poin in me keeping them, I don’t even want to look at them.”

B.L. said:

“I will usually donate them to Goodwill or Salvation Army, and write a non-spoiler-y comment inside the front or back cover to recommend it to its next owner. If it’s special and in great condition I check if my local library wants it first.”

Alex said:

“i love my three big shelves and no, i don’t want to get rid of books. maybe i will come to that point, when my shelves are full. right now, it’s not the case, but it might be at some point. i just love books. […] so far i haven’t read that many books, that i really disliked. a three star read for me is not bad, it’s still an ok book, nothing special but ok. and it’s my book, so i want to keep them. i just love how they look in my living room. “

Nicolle said:

“I might not be the right person to comment on this, because while I like physical books, I prefer to buy digital stuff (ebooks, digital copies of games and music, etc) precisely because I worry I don’t have the space to put books. Heck, I even have space on my shelves! 😆”

It would seem I’m one of the few people who still keeps books they don’t like. Haha! No surprise there. I mean, I am the one who hosted the book hoarding discussion. 😉 But maybe this is a sign. Maybe I really need to make a concerted effort to get rid of some books I don’t like because… no one likes an overflowing bookshelf, am I right? Hee hee! Here goes nothing!

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Check out this week’s discussion on Thursday at 10am EST:
Genre Overload

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