I, like most people have a finite amount of space. I have about 300 books in my collection (not sure at what amount it becomes a library), and as I take in books I need to remove others. I have 2 bookcases and several 36" shelves. There are many books that I have multiple copies of. Many of these are different translations. I have 5 translations or Madame Bovary, I have 8 translations of Don Quixote, and there are many Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy books that I have 2-3 translations of. I have 3 very nice editions of Moby Dick, and if I see another one I like I will probably buy it.
There are many that I have a nice hardcover of, but also have very nice trade paperbacks or vintage edition (collector worthy) of and would not part with. I went to the local bookstore today and offloaded five books- 3 of them were second copies or identical duplicates, and 2 of them were forgettable and will never read again. The store gives you 10- 20% of what their retail price will be. This is great, and I don't have to bother listing them.
For others that struggle with this, do you have a strict "one in and one out" policy? How do you decide which ones to keep and which ones to cull? What I have been doing is downloading E-books instead of buying a physical copy. Or buying a very inexpensive reading copy that I don't want to keep because of the condition. For books that I love, I like to keep a copy on my shelf because it gives me pleasure, even if I'm not going to read it again. It reminds me of the experience I had, and I retain it for longer. I even remember what I was doing at that time in my life, kind of like a song. Sounds weird, right?
by jcoffin1981
4 Comments
before my previous move, we had over 2000 books. I think I still have about half that number.
I need to go through them and thin out again, but they aren’t unpacked yet, until a couple of renovations get finished here. And yet, I just bought another one today.
Glad to know this is not just me 🙈 I have probably 300 books also and just keep adding to the collection. I’m about to move so I am going to get rid of some / put in storage or sell. I don’t want to be overwhelmed with books but I think part of loving them is collecting them. Have to find the right balance
You don’t need a smaller collection, you need a bigger house.
I understand each individual word of your question, and yet…