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Question 2: Is The Material In The Book Out Of Date, Or Still Current & Relevant?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  Do they have outdated information in them?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.

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