Quote:
Originally Posted by brainycat
I just got my books from my ex's place last weekend. As I was lugging them to and from the truck, I realized that some of these books have been through 3 or 4 moves in the last 15 years - and hadn't been opened more than once or twice that whole time.
I thought about why I was hanging on to them, and I realized they'd ceased to be tomes in and of themselves, but instead they felt like "certificates of completion". I decided I didn't need them any more; I know I read them, I got what I got out of them already and if I haven't looked at them in years, I'm probably not going to again.
I went through my entire collection with the goal of winnowing it down to just one bookshelf's worth. I was able to do it, and I have 5 boxes of paperbacks that I'll take to Books to Prisoners and another 5 boxes of hardbacks I'll donate locally.
And I feel much, much better for it too. |
I hung onto my books so I could read them again when I retired. I'm retired now and I've started rereading them.