Thursday, October 15, 2009

Booking Through Thursday


This week's topic~~~
When’s the last time you weeded out your library? Do you regularly keep it pared down to your reading essentials? Or does it blossom into something out of control the minute you turn your back, like a garden after a Spring rain?  Or do you simply not get rid of books?

If, and when you DO weed out books from your collection (assuming that you do) …what do you do with them? Throw them away (gasp)? Donate them to a charity or used bookstore?  SELL them to a used bookstore? Trade them on Paperback Book Swap or some other exchange program?

I guess you could say I fall into the " weed my books regularly category".  I cringe at too much disorganization, and try to contain my 600 books to (4) bookcases. (2) are 6 feet tall and (2) and 3 feet tall. I almost never keep a book once I've read it, I usually will swap it on Paperback Swap, or if it's a really common title, I most likely will donate it to the library on going book sale, if no one has the book on their PBS wish list.

I recently listed about 10 titles on PBS and donated about 30 titles.  My problem is that I keep accumulating more books whether it be through arcs or new acquisitions brought to my attention by all of your amazing reviews :)  So I am constantly, trying to decide which books I will probably never read,  and then donate them to make room for books I'd want to read more......an endless cycle it seems.

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BUDDY UPDATE:  Buddy spent his 3rd night at the Vets yesterday as he keeps finding a way to take out his cath. They said they've never had a cat do this more than once.  Since they are running out of options, they are giving him some steroids today as he is inflamed from even pulling it out when it was stitched in place with the cone collar on.  So no more cath inserts for him, He appears to be peeing a little on his own, so we are waiting for another call this afternoon to see if he can come home or not :(

32 comments:

  1. My eldest niece is a good recipient of my newest aquisitions!


    Booking Through Weeding

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  2. I think I am like you - a regular weeder. Since I get most of my books at the used bookstore, I tend to trade in other books to help keep my costs down. I don't think I have nearly as many books as you do, but when we first discovered our fantastic used bookstore, I did one large cull, but now I tend to just maintain by deciding after I finish every book I read whether I am likely to read it again. If the answer is no, then into the "Sell" bag it goes! We don't have a lot of room in our apartment, so I really try to only keep the books that I REALLY love and that I know I will want to read again and again.

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  3. yes, it does seem like an endless cycle doesn't it? I have never tried PBS or Bookmooch but I think I will have to try and muster some courage to do that one day.

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  4. I will keep you and Buddy in my thoughts and prayers.....

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  5. So sorry to hear that Buddy is not well and at home yet. He sure is a clever guy to get that catheter and the cone off that many times.

    Interesting topic today. I too accumulate more than I can read too. Once they are read though I usually share them with friends or family. It's fun to pass good books on to others.

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  6. You sound very organized! Can you come over and weed out my bookshelves? LOL


    PS I hope Buddy improves and is quickly back home.

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  7. Ouch! Poor buddy! I hope he feels better soon.

    My books are exploding everywhere and my husband has been talking about building recessed shelving to get rid of our ugly bookshelves. I can't express how excited I am that he's willing to do that!

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  8. We are actually going to convert one of our bedrooms into a library because we never part with books - ever. I just love having them around. I do go back and reread them, sometimes just a few pages to remember the story. I lend them out from time to time and I people who stay with us can read whatever they want. I guess I've become a private little library - but I love collecting them as much as reading them. At least my kinds never want for something to read.

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  9. I hope your cat feels better soon!

    I have a rapidly expanding library... I tend to not get rid of any book that I liked, even though I rarely re-read. (On goodreads.com, where I catalog/list books, I've given an average rating of something like 3.93 out of 5 stars... so I like most of what I read. This can be a problem!) I will be moving soon, and I am hoping it will be into a house where I can have a sort of office/library of my own. At the moment my books are in two big bookshelves here at our apartment, another big set of shelves at my parents' house and a ton of gigantic boxes, also at my parents' house. I would love to reduce and consolidate my collection... but I can't bear to part with most of them!

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  10. I should look into PBS, but am kind of picky about the condition of books. I also weed regularly.

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  11. I don't weed my books unless I'm moving.

    In my last home (of thirteen years), I had accumulated a staggering number of books. I took all the "mass paperback" sized books, except for a handful of favorites, to thrift shops.

    The rest I brought with me and just had more bookshelves built!

    I just love being surrounded by books!

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  12. I'm not terribly good about weeding out my books but am trying to get better. And yet they seem to reproduce in the night when my back is turned. ;-)

    Sure hope the puddy tat gets to come home soon!

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  13. I periodically purge my bookshelves, but it's been a year or so now. I do keep quite a few that I've read but because of the periodic weeding I do now own more books that I haven't read than books I have read - which always seems to shock people, particularly non-readers. I really enjoy having a selection of books to choose from, though, if I am at home and in the mood to read nothing in particular. I end up donating most of mine or bookcrossing them but I think next time I weed I will look into PBS.

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  14. I am thinking that PBS might be something I have to investigate again with all the books around here. I tend to like to hang on to books, but I am running out of space and some I know I will never read again, so it's probably better that I try to swap them out and get rid of them. The only problem I have with PBS is the insane amount of postage I have to have to get rid of everything.Am I correct to assume that you still have to pay for your own postage with the system? And also, I am really sad to hear that Buddy is being so stubborn. I hope he lets the doctors do their job and that he gets to come home really soon.

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  15. I don't like disorganization either, but I have it since I don't like getting rid of books. Oh, I hope Buddy gets to come home soon.

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  16. I envy your weeding ability. I.cannot.give.away.books. Fact. It hurts to even lend a book...I fear for what might happen to it once out of my sight!

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  17. Poor Buddy. I hope he gets better soon.

    I regularly cull my bookshelves, and still have plenty around me....like others, I love this.

    I donate books to my libraries' annual book sales. Many books.

    I keep books that are by my favorite authors, are signed, or are no-fiction that I amy want to use for reference.

    Since I have stopped taking so many ARCs (after a while, most of them sound boringly alike!) I have many fewer books to make decisions about!

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  18. I am so sorry to hear about Buddy, Diane :( Fingers crossed that there will be good news soon!

    I'm a bad weeder - mostly because there are no used bookshops or charity shops I can donate my books to here - but with Bookmooch I'm getting better!

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  19. I really need to go through my books and weed a few out but it's SO HARD! I love my books. :)

    Hope Buddy is okay and can come home soon. How stressful for him and for you!

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  20. Here's what I do with extra books:

    ~Donate to the library (where I also get books)

    ~Sell some on Amazon.com (where I also get books)

    ~Give some to friends (where I also get books)

    ~Give some to thrift shops (where I also get books)

    Buddy sounds feisty! Hope he's home soon, snoozing away.

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  21. Buddy just goes to show you that a cat is smarter than your average vet. Too smart for his own good.

    I've weeded down to a slim library of 225 or so books, all old favorites or with some sentiment attached to them. I do re-read them if they're still in readable condition.

    We give books to friends and relatives, a school remedial reading program for adults, larger-print to a nursing home, and PBs to Friends of the Library.

    There's been some trash, too, which ended up in the trash.

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  22. My book shelves are of the garden-after-a-spring-rain variety. I do try to weed out now and then. I've recently discovered Book Mooch, so that's helpful-at least I know the book is going to someone who wants it. Other books I will donate to the library, but we have a lot of in-betweeners that I'm not quite ready to get rid of, for one reason or another, but I'm not sure if I'll ever actually read them again.

    Poor Buddy! I hope he is feeling better soon. I read your last post about Buddy, and I know what you mean about pets being a part of the family. You do what you have to do for your family. :)

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  23. I don't receive books like many of you reviewers, nor do I want the expectation to read that many so quickly. So, I buy my books, paperback, and view them as a collection and hobby. I'm expecting to turn a room into a library soon, but until then when I run out of shelf room, I start donating the least favored books. I did throw one book away...

    ??? Do you really have 600 books? Of course I believe you -- my mouth just dropped open is all.

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  24. Oh, BTW...I'm still thinking about my 2010 reading list.

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  25. Rationalise books?
    Sacrilege!
    Heresy!
    I build more bookshelves.
    I don't know what I'm going to do when I run out of walls.
    Hmmm, the garage?

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  26. I'm a "weeder" like you. I have a limited amount of space and when I get too many, I see what I've kind of lost interest in reading and then swap them for other ones!

    Hoping Buddy gets better and comes home soon.

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  27. You just taught me a new acronym. I thought PBS was Public Broadcasting System and wondered, when you posted the comment today on my blog, how you got the book from them! Then I came here and it was all explained!

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  28. I would love to see those 600 books!! Wow!!

    Hoping Buddy comes home soon :)

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  29. I find it almost impossible to get rid of books. That's why my house, attic, and garage are overflowing.

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  30. Good discussion! I am definitely in need of some weeding, especially when it comes to kids/teens/ya books. I receive a bunch of those from publishers (besides my blog I also write reviews for Family Fun magazine), and I just can't keep up with the incoming books, though I want to read them all! I have two sons who make good use of them, but we still have towering stacks right now.

    I've tried not to buy so many books recently and use the library more.

    When my kids outgrow books, they pass their favorites onto younger cousins. All of us resell the popular ones in excellent condition on half.com and give the rest to various charities. We have, in the past, sold some to the local used bookstore, but I now have hundreds of $$ in credit there that I haven't used yet!

    When deciding what books to keep, I try to think whether I will ever want to re-read them. I'm trying to teach my kids this, but my older son hates to get rid of anything!

    Sue

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  31. I rarely keep books after I read them either. Just don't have the space and I rarely reread.

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