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I carted around my "must keep" books with me for years, across oceans, in and out of multiple apartments, and finally to my current home, where they sat, protected yet untouched, in my attic, because I simply didn't have the space. Bit by bit, and box after box, I went through them all, thinking- have I really kept this old thing? I know I'll never read it again, and I have no place for coffee table books- my little ones would happily Crayola them over a few times before ripping them to pieces.
I sold them. Yes, just about all of them. the only ones I've kept are ones that I know I would never be able to find again, and the sheer "that's interesting" factor has saved them from a life in a second-hand bookstore. An example of this is a Bruce Lee instructional book with photos that is written in Persian-Farsi. You just don't really see those anymore.
Most of my daily reading is done with a Sony Reader, which will keep me more than occupied with Gutenberg and paid-texts alike. When I want something in particular that doesn't have an electronic cousin, I go to the library. Once read, I don't need to keep it, so off it goes again.
I like both, but don't realistically see myself buying books by the ton anymore, to plan on lining walls in my home.
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