This weekend, we scored 127 second hand books, from the local library book sale, for the princely sum of $40 in toto. Bargain! I am a sucker for booksales, particularly second hand books as I get more bang for my buck. Second hand stores, garage sales, online book stores such as Brotherhood books are like honey to me, and I am the ant.
There is, however, always a catch. Four years ago, we had a room extension, added to our house, so we could fit the boxes and piles of books, we already had. Currently we have 13 stand alone bookshelves, about 3 boxes and several piles of books... not including the 4 bags we purchased this weekend. What a happy predicament to be in... and what a gut wrenching one.
At this moment, I am staring at tens of piles of books, all arranged in author or genre, all waiting for their new place amongst our old favourites. And here is the rub; all of those books are favourites. With limited space, we have to cull some of our existing stash but where to start? This is where I have to admit that I have cheated and started with our daughters library of books.
Gone are the early readers and (most of) the picture books. (There are some picture books that I just cannot part with.) Gone are the chapter books. (again, most of them. There are some our daughter won't part from... yet). These once loved books are now destined to become the loved, and possibly favourite, books of our friend's younger children.
Now comes the mammoth task of culling our beloved books, some of which I have had for almost forty years! We have made some rules:
Rule 1: Gone are the multiple copies. We have found five already and are likely to find more, having put off this when my husband and I got together. With similar tastes (as well as vastly differing ones as well), we are bound to find several double ups... Now that would make the process so much easier. I can only hope.
Rule 2: If we have forgotten we had them, and are unlikely to read them in the next 12 months, they go (unless they are classics like Jules Verne, HG Wells, Asimov etc or Beowulf or Agatha Christie or...... you get it). Generally, this will be some of those books we bought, read and thought, meh.
Rule 3: If it is a full series, it stays. If we have only managed a few, in the series, and not found the impetus to find the remainders, then we probably don't really have a craving to read them. This equates to gone.
Rule 4: Emotional attatchments work. I am keeping my Blue Moon Rising and Forgotten Realms and Susan Cooper books. So there.
Rule 5: No one touches the Pratchett, the Dresden Files or Doctor Who books (from the 70s and 80s).
I think that may allow us to relocate some of our books but each one removed from the shelves (or boxes or piles) feels like a piece of my heart has been cut out. I really hate being an adult sometimes.
Photo: (c) Karen Carlisle, taken at Mortlock Wing of Adelaide Library
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