Thursday, March 2, 2023

Article on Weeding Out Books

I saw an article about how to thin out one's book collection. 

How to Get Rid of Book Clutter

I thought it would be fun to play along.  The article gives five questions to ask when deciding whether to keep a book.

Question 1: Is This A Duplicate?

My answer:  This depends upon what is meant by "duplicate."  If I have two books that are exactly the same in all ways, then I do purge one of them.  



I have 67 copies of Nancy Drew #2 The Hidden Staircase.  They are not duplicates, and I must keep all of them.

Question 2: Is The Material In The Book Out Of Date, Or Still Current & Relevant?

My answer:  I still like my books, so they are relevant.  If I get tired of them, then they become irrelevant.  Do they have outdated information in them?  Of course, but that makes them interesting.

Question 3: Have I Read This Before & Will I Read It Again?

My answer:  That's not a fair question.  I will never read most of the physical books that I have.  I can't read books published in other languages, but I like the cover art.

But seriously, I do sell books that I didn't particularly enjoy.  I know that I will never try to read the Grace Harlowe books again, so I sold all of them.  I had some really scarce titles.

Question 4: Why Do I Want To Keep This Book?

I keep it because I like it.  If I decide that I don't like it, then out it goes!

Question 5: Could I Get This Book At The Library To Read Again?

99% of the books I own are not available from the library.  I remember when it was suggested that I should use the library instead of risking buying books that I might not like.  How would that work with the kinds of books I read?

The article to which I linked at the beginning of this post is a great article.  Some of the suggestions don't apply to me.  If you would like to read about how I have reduced my book clutter, read through these posts.

Collection Parameters

2 comments:

Tai said...

"Question 5: Could I Get This Book At The Library To Read Again?" - What if the library weeds the book out of their collection or the book is checked out when I want it? I can't take that risk. LOL!

JackWayne said...

67 versions of Hidden Staircase! That’s amazing! Is that the book you have the most of? I have 5 foreign language editions of Hidden Staircase (German, Polish, UK Harold Hill in DJ, and the Spanish and Argentine editions in DJ), plus a $1 box and a 1930A-1 w/o DJ. Hidden Staircase is my favorite ND book, and I’m attempting to collect it in as many languages as I can. I do the same for Hardy Boys (although any HB title is fine) and I’m up to 22 so far.