The only time I regret having books is when I move. Boxes and boxes heavy as bricks, and once they are unpacked they grow all over the place. The other day I attempted to make room for newcomers and ended up doing a beauty contest. There are books that I have never read, that I will probably never read. There are give-ups because they bored me. There are gifts, books that come from thoughtful friends but they are just not my size. Technical books, once useful, now collect dust.
Only the creme de la creme deserve shelf space. With the plan in mind I did lay many books to rest. The room looked happier and less ladened. I even put on some music to celebrate.
This always seems to come as a surprise to those who know me, for they assume I’m a bibliophile, as my apartment is wall to wall, floor to ceiling books books books, and they always believe I am joking when I say this, but in the 33 years I worked in a library I shelved over 600 thousand books, and my motto (to someday be my epitaph) is, “I never met a book I didn’t want to burn!”
What did you do with the unwanted books?
I gave them away at the Salon.