From one of my favorite bookshelves

[zyzyly]

Arlina thinks I should get rid of some of my books, but I can't decide. Which of these would you part with?


James Herriot—All Creatures Great and Small
Kurt Vonnegut—Player Piano
Arthur C. Clarke—2001 A Space Odyssey
Richard Brautigan—The Abortion
Nevil Shute—On The Beach
Richard Matheson—What Dreams May Come
Charles Dickens—A Christmas Carol
Stephen King—The Stand
James Herriot—All Things Bright and Beautiful
Ray Bradbury—Fahrenheit 451
James Michener—The Source
Mark Twain—the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Battle Cry—Leon Uris
Charles Dickens—David Copperfield
Joseph Conrad—Heart of Darkness
Mark Twain—Letters from the Earth
J.D. Salinger—Catcher in the Rye
Richard Brautigan—The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster
Richard Brautigan—Trout Fishing in America
Samuel Shem—The House of God
Kurt Vonnegut—Cat’s Cradle
Kurt Vonnegut—Welcome to the Monkey House
James Michener—Centennial
Larry McMurtry—Lonesome Dove
Irwin Shaw—Rich Man, Poor Man
Walt Whitman—Leaves of Grass
Mark Twain—The Prince and the Pauper
Charles Dickens—A Tale of Two Cities
John Irving—The World According to Garp
JRR Tolkein—The Lord of the Rings
William Least Heat Moon—Blue Highways
John Irving—Setting Free the Bears
Charles Dickens—Oliver Twist
Tom Robbins—Even Cowgirls Get The Blues
Alex Haley—Roots
Tom Robbins—Still Life With Woodpecker
John Kennedy Toole—A Confederacy of Dunces
Walter Van Tilburg Clark—The Ox-Bow Incident
Richard Brautigan—The Hawkline Monster
Ken Kesey—One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
George R. Stewart—Earth Abides
Kurt Vonnegut—Slapstick
Richard Brautigan—Willard And His Bowling Trophies
Irving Wallace—The Seven Minutes
Mario Puzo—The Godfather
Lisa Alther—Kinflicks
Stephen King—The Shining
Robert Browning—Selected Poems
W. P. Kinsella—The Thrill of the Grass
Loung Ung—First They Killed My Father
Richard Bach—Illusions
Victor Hugo—Les Miserables
Daniel Defoe—Robinson Crusoe
Joseph Heller—Catch 22
Benjamin Hoff—The Tao of Pooh
Richard Brautigan—A Confederate General from Big Sur
Douglas Adams—The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
William Gaines—The Bedside Mad
William Gaines—Utterly Mad
T. S. Eliot—Selected Poems
Spalding Gray—Swimming to Cambodia

Comments

[purple7luv.livejournal.com]

I did the book packing thing yesterday!

(DEFINITELY don't part with any Brautigan ;)

[daisydumont.livejournal.com]

that's TOO HARD! (i'm envisioning Miss Piggy's moronic nephews, Andy and Randy Pig, when presented by Sam the Eagle with the difficult question: "which of you is which?")

[dabroots.livejournal.com]

Get rid of ones that can be easily and cheaply replaced:

Charles Dickens—A Christmas Carol
Stephen King—The Stand
Mark Twain—the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Charles Dickens—David Copperfield
Joseph Conrad—Heart of Darkness
Walt Whitman—Leaves of Grass
Mark Twain—The Prince and the Pauper
Charles Dickens—A Tale of Two Cities
John Irving—The World According to Garp
JRR Tolkein—The Lord of the Rings
Ken Kesey—One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Stephen King—The Shining
Robert Browning—Selected Poems
Victor Hugo—Les Miserables
Daniel Defoe—Robinson Crusoe
Joseph Heller—Catch 22

[myasma.livejournal.com]

I guess there is an emotional component to it as well--I have been carrying some of these books around with me for a very long time. I've had this copy of Huck Finn since I was a kid.

Maybe that's my whole problem--forming emotional attachments to objects. :)

[niyabinghi.livejournal.com]

Don't you dare part with any Tom Robbins or Richard Brautigan.....altho "Willard and His Bowling Trophies" wasn't one of his best.

[myasma.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have to agree about Willard, but they are all kind of sentimental favorites.

I tried to re-read some Tom Robbins a few weeks ago, and couldn't--it just seemed so dated--the 70s hippie thing.

[quixoticdancer.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sorting through my books today, too. Some will be packed and shipped cross-country, and some will be sold at a yard sale or given away.

When you have to be ruthless, here's my rule of thumb: If I've only read the book once, and have never had the urge to pick it up again, even if only to find a certain passage or dip into at random, then out it goes. Books I've had for more than a year, and have never read, will also get the axe.

Believe it or not, that still leaves me with a lot of books. :)

[zeppo-marx.livejournal.com]

Books are a killer!

I used to have well over 1000 that I carted from place to place. I read two or three books a week, and couldn't bear to part with them.

Eventually, I got tired of packing up 20 boxes of books for each move, and got rid of all but about 100. From then on, I bought from a used book place that gave generous trade-ins on stuff they had sold you in the first place.

If that is all the books you have - I say keep em!


Other than that personal weakness, I pack with a fairly simple rule:

If I haven't used it in over a year, I probably don't really need it. If it is an expensive item that I feel has a better than even chance of being needed again then it goes into a well-labelled box for storage. It will not be unpacked at the destination until such time as I do actually need it. If it is a fairly cheap replacement item then it goes into the yard sale. Packing, carrying, unpacking, finding places for, etc. for a load of $5 items I don't use is a waste of my time and energy.

Some exceptions are, of course, made for items of an heirloom nature.


For the yard sale: nothing comes back into the house. Anything I can't sell goes to charity. I figure it's better that somebody who does need it now benefits along with whatever else good the charity uses the proceeds for.

[myasma.livejournal.com]

The garage sale wisdom is much appreciated. we are planing one the week after next, and I was wondering what I would do with the stuff that doesn't sell. Now I know--nothing comes back in the house!

[worldcomrade.livejournal.com]

*gasp* Get rid of books? Books are so personal and when you get rid of them, all of your comments in the margins go with them.

[myasma.livejournal.com]

I know--there are a couple I keep just because of the comments I made remind me of who I was back then.

I recently posted about my love of books and bookshelves

[imgomez.livejournal.com]

(A passion that my wife does not share). I own and love all of those same books with the following exceptions:

Nevil Shute—On The Beach
Mark Twain—Letters from the Earth
Samuel Shem—The House of God
William Least Heat Moon—Blue Highways
John Kennedy Toole—A Confederacy of Dunces
Irving Wallace—The Seven Minutes
W. P. Kinsella—The Thrill of the Grass
Loung Ung—First They Killed My Father

Based on our shared tastes, I will check them out. (MAD, Kinflicks and Willard and His Bowling Trophies together -- YEAH!)

I parted with A LOT of books when I moved in with my wife, and I have many regrets. And it's not just about replacing them later - there's that old book smell, the associations, the memories. It's hard enough to leave the house - I think you should hold onto the books.

Re: I recently posted about my love of books and bookshelves

[myasma.livejournal.com]

You have good taste in books!

[valdelane.livejournal.com]

Sure, attachments can keep one from going where one needs to go, but... in this case you're already painfully parting from many other aspects of your home. Keeping books for comfort is entirely justified, and installing them in the new house may help to make you feel more at home there.

[myasma.livejournal.com]

Oh, you are so right about that. Just the physical presence of books seems to be comforting.

books`

[jeffe42.livejournal.com]

Yes, I too have similar tastes with you....with one exception....get rid or the Stephen King....nothing more than a tribute to medicority....gawd what a horrid writer!! :)J.

Re: books`

[myasma.livejournal.com]

Yes, I seem to have quite a few King Books, and I never read them.

a set of parting shots about books with which to part

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

James Herriot—All Creatures Great and Small--Part--wonderful books, but available in library
Kurt Vonnegut—Player Piano--Part--again, a great book which the library will have
Arthur C. Clarke—2001 A Space Odyssey--Part, available at library
Richard Brautigan—The Abortion--KEEP--may not be available at library, and worth pulling down
Nevil Shute—On The Beach--Part, available at library
Richard Matheson—What Dreams May Come--close call, but keep by a nose, because sometimes not available.
Charles Dickens—A Christmas Carol--Keep, a holiday book, you don't want to have to bother to check out
Stephen King—The Stand--part, available at library
James Herriot—All Things Bright and Beautiful--part, available at library
Ray Bradbury—Fahrenheit 451--part, avialable at library
James Michener—The Source--part, available at library
Mark Twain—the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn--part, available at library
Battle Cry—Leon Uris--keep, sometimes not available at library
Charles Dickens—David Copperfield--part, available at library
Joseph Conrad—Heart of Darkness--part, available at library
Mark Twain—Letters from the Earth--part, available at library
J.D. Salinger—Catcher in the Rye--part, available at library
Richard Brautigan—The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster--keep, sometimes hard to find at library
Richard Brautigan—Trout Fishing in America--keep, although now common at libraries, apt to fade with time from libraries
Samuel Shem—The House of God--keep, not always easy to find
Kurt Vonnegut—Cat’s Cradle--part, available at library
Kurt Vonnegut—Welcome to the Monkey House--part, available at library
James Michener—Centennial--part, available at library
Larry McMurtry—Lonesome Dove--part, available at library
Irwin Shaw—Rich Man, Poor Man--part, available at library
Walt Whitman—Leaves of Grass--keep, handy to pull down
Mark Twain—The Prince and the Pauper--part, available at library
Charles Dickens—A Tale of Two Cities--part, available at library
John Irving—The World According to Garp--part, available at library
JRR Tolkein—The Lord of the Rings--keep, must save
William Least Heat Moon—Blue Highways--keep, not always readily available
John Irving—Setting Free the Bears--part, at library
Charles Dickens—Oliver Twist--part, easily available at library
Tom Robbins—Even Cowgirls Get The Blues--part, easily available at used bookstore or library
Alex Haley—Roots--part, easily available at library
Tom Robbins—Still Life With Woodpecker--part, easily available at library
John Kennedy Toole—A Confederacy of Dunces--part, easily available at library
Walter Van Tilburg Clark—The Ox-Bow Incident--part, easily available at library
Richard Brautigan—The Hawkline Monster--keep, not always easy to find
Ken Kesey—One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest--part, easily available at library
George R. Stewart—Earth Abides--keep, not always easy to find
Kurt Vonnegut—Slapstick--part, easily available at library
Richard Brautigan—Willard And His Bowling Trophies--keep, not always easy to find
Irving Wallace—The Seven Minutes--part, available at library
Mario Puzo—The Godfather--part, available at library
Lisa Alther—Kinflicks, part, available at library
Stephen King—The Shining, part, available at library
Robert Browning—Selected Poems, keep, nice to pull off shelf
W. P. Kinsella—The Thrill of the Grass, keep, not always easy to find
Loung Ung—First They Killed My Father, keep, not always easy to find
Richard Bach—Illusions, part, easy to find at library
Victor Hugo—Les Miserables, part, easy to find at library
Daniel Defoe—Robinson Crusoe, part, easy to find at library
Joseph Heller—Catch 22, part, easy to find at library
Benjamin Hoff—The Tao of Pooh, keep, handy to pull off shelf
Richard Brautigan—A Confederate General from Big Sur, keep, not easy to find at library
Douglas Adams—The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, part, easy to find at library
William Gaines—The Bedside Mad, keep, not easy to find at library
William Gaines—Utterly Mad, keep, not easy to find at library
T. S. Eliot—Selected Poems, keep, handy to pull off shelf
Spalding Gray—Swimming to Cambodia, part, easy to find at library.

[myasma.livejournal.com]

You are right of course. Many of them are available at the library or used book store. And maybe putting them someplace where others could read them as well, such as the Cancer Center reading room might be a good thing.

It is just so difficult to part with these old friends.

By the way, I would have thought you were a keep them and buy a bigger bookshelf kind of person. But I based that pretty much on what I know of your musical tastes, so it was bound to be inaccurate.

[nissacrosseyed.livejournal.com]

I have book lust, looking at your list.

I have no suggestions on which ones to part with (because I am, by nature, a pack-rat and keep everything and anything I don't have an obvious reason to get rid of), but you can always send your extra/easily replaced books on an adventure via www.bookcrossing.com . I have wanted to send a few that way myself, but I just haven't gotten around to convincing myself to do it yet.

[myasma.livejournal.com]

I have never heard of bookcrossing.com. I;ll have to check it out.

[filmsacramento.livejournal.com]

Don't get rid of any of them!

[myasma.livejournal.com]

I have to get rid of some--we are moving to a smaller house and they just won't fit. But I'll keep the good ones!

[photoholic62.livejournal.com]

I wish I had many of those in the hard back first edition! ::Drool::

[poetdan.livejournal.com]

I got rid of boxes and boxes and boxes of books when I cleared out my Mom's house.

I operate under the belief that NO book is unreplaceable, with rare exceptions like my signed copy of Giovanni's Room and to a lesser degree my signed Turtle Island.

But I do believe a small collection of books allows for a certain comfort level. My collection would have a few favorites no matter how common, a few hard to find books I like having acess to and for passing on to a friend who is "ripe" to read it. But most of the books I kept were books I felt might come in handy in one way or another for the novel I'm working on. And yes some of them fit into the catagories listed above.

The signed books are under lock and key ..the rest I could walk a way from in an instant, but while I have a free shelf I allow my self some small comfort, but not excess.

from the book-hating wife

[waypasttense.livejournal.com]

Not really, I just don't get as emotionally attached to things as imgomez (except items of baby clothing from my now-teenaged children - I smell and ooooh over them whenever I come across them). Too much stuff makes me feel weighted down so I cull my books at least once a year to keep the stock in the hundreds and hundreds rather than the thousands upon thousands.

For whatever it might be worth, here's my criteria for keeping:
* Any book I regularly refer to, quote from or re-read. (Will I use it to write a sermon or an article in the future? Keep it. Haven't read it yet but think I'll write a sermon from it in the future? Keep it for at least another year. This accounts for the majority of my books.)
* Any book that I found so wonderful that I want to loan it to friends. Eventually it will be lost on loan; then I replace it. This is the second largest number of my books.
* Any book given to me by someone special (if I know they put thought into it) (surprisingly few).
* Beautiful books that someone might like to look through on a rainy day.
* Favorite children's books - they are usually beautiful and one never knows when children will visit. Best to have these in hard cover.
* Any book written or illustrated by relatives (I don't have any, but imgomez does).

If I have space, of course, I'll keep books that don't fit the criteria, but if I start stacking books on their sides on top of the others, then I know I need to cull again.

Best of luck to you in this process. I hope you find just the right way that works for you. Why are you doing this, anyway?

Re: from the book-hating wife

[myasma.livejournal.com]

There are still boxes of books out in the garage from our last move 4 years ago--I gusse I really don't need them. The ones in the house generally made it in here because I needed them for something.

I think I found a nugget in your post--I will keep only enough books that will fit in the bookshelves I already have. When they get full, I'll get rid of some to make room for new ones. That should make my wife happier--I think it bugs her that I have books stacked two feet high next to the bed.

Why are you doing this, anyway?

Packing?

The people we are selling the house to don't want my stuff!

Everyman's Library

[saintgeorge.livejournal.com]

I used to have the same problem in relation to books, forming emotional attachments to some and being unable to divest myself of them. In this way I managed to accumulate quite a considerable amount of books. Then when I went to India I had to pack my worldly possessions into storage boxes to be stored in my sister's attic.

Space and weight were considerations and I had to cut, cut, cut to reduce the bulk. After a lot of agonizing over this-and-that, I managed to whittle it down to less than a dozen books. My method was: what books are absolutely essential aids to my life journey; and how many can I put into a pilgrim's back-pack without having a hernia when I pick it up.

My essential library consists of: a New Testament, a copy of "A Course In Miracles", an "Oxford Concise Dictionary", "Sadhana : A Way to God" (by Fr. Anthony deMello), "Word into Silence" (by Fr. John Main), the Book of Psalms.

Re: Everyman's Library

[myasma.livejournal.com]

I was thinking about it yesterday when I read the gospel for the day--"take nothing with you"

Maybe what I am facing is the possibility of liberation.

i have two shelves devoted to stephen king...

[oheunoia.livejournal.com]

my living room is full of books. i don't even have a tv in there, just bookshelves, so i [of course] say KEEP THEM ALL! i couldn't live without my books. i, too, have many of those same books, the same editions in fact as some of those in the picture. instead of getting rid of any, i recommend that you go out and get more! :}

heart,
Petra*

Re: i have two shelves devoted to stephen king...

[myasma.livejournal.com]

Haha! that's the thing--here i am packing up and i am expecting two shipments from amazon!

[jeffholton.livejournal.com]

Keep Clarke, Twain, Bradbury, and King.

Toss the rest.

[zhenzhi.livejournal.com]

i rid myself of the burden of books quite a few years ago now. at that time, books were not the only things to go. i went from a ten room house full of stuff, to a box trailer load.
oh the liberation! very few special things remained. after that, i have not had a problem with accumulating more either. the after effects of dealing with all the emotions which arose whenever i had a regret about some remembered thing are with me even now. whenever i consider buying a thing, or lust after a thing, it is momentary and easily overcome. i now live in a way where i have what i need and no more. (what? i hear you say... what about that bloody great big piece of land you just bought?... lol!!! i really did need our land :-D)
of course my situation (that prompted this shedding of material things) were much much different from yours.
moving, packing.... ah, the memories, the memories!

[myasma.livejournal.com]

What was it like to get rid of your stuff? Was it painful? How did you end up actually doing it?

I feel the need to simplify. I think this post started out as a justification for keeping things, but has caused me to reconsider what is important. It seems a daunting task, though.

[greymeowsr.livejournal.com]

ummmm build a library addition on the house, or at least a new bookshelf. I wouldn't part with any of them. yf, Tom

[myasma.livejournal.com]

Oh wouldn't my wife love that idea (not)!

[softletters.livejournal.com]

if youre going to have a book sale lemme know!

books

[mrshannibal.livejournal.com]

hmmm...being such an avid reader - my only question is - why would you want to get rid of any of them? especially the MAD books...and spalding gray and victor hugo and big stephen king? i dunno...perhaps loan them out, but don't get rid of them...