Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Now that I am in retirement, I donate all my books unless I am positive that I will or might want to reread them. However, when I was younger, I was more inclined to keep books, but now that I am older, I am much more likely to donate a book than to keep it.
I read and buy a lot of books, and try not to hold on to too many. Lately, even though I prefer the feel and experience of a nice paperback (a lot!) I have been buying kindle books to prevent my bookshelves from becoming overly crowded.
When I get rid of books, I usually use the interesting and entertaining website bookcrossing. The way it works is you register the book for free on the website and are given a unique number, or BCID, for the book. You simply write this number inside the book along with the website name or URL and then set the book free by giving it to a friend, leaving it on a bus or at a cafe, or putting it in one of those trendy local "street libraries". You can then track the life of the book as it changes and (perhaps) crosses the globe - provided those who come across the book take the time to follow the instructions inside the book cover.
I try to leave them in airports or somewhere like that in hopes that they will have an interesting journey. But my most interesting book was released in a cafe in Milwaukee, WI in 2006. It changed hands in Milwaukee three or four times, and then ended up going to Warsaw, Poland and a few cities in the Netherlands. It dropped out of site for a few years, and then resurfaced in Milwaukee where another user found it on a train. As far as I know it is still in Milwaukee.
Because of a learning difficulty (I find that I sometimes skip paragraphs and parts of pages without being aware of it) I almost always keep books for at least a second read. Of course, I have my favourite books and favourite authors, and these are always worth returning to, time after time, as I'll always something fresh in the stories.
Those I no longer want, I'll try to pass on to a charity shop/thrift store.
I always keep the books that I read. If a book is worth reading, it's worth buying and keeping. I only use a library if there's no other practical way to obtain a book. Show me the home of an intellectual; I'll show you a library.
Wait... but... I'm an actual librarian, and still don't buy books very often!
For someone who is a voracious reader (like multiple books per month), there is simply not enough space and/or money to keep them all - especially for those of us who rent, and might have to move frequently because of that. Besides, how do you know it's worth keeping until you've read it? Hmmm. I do have a decent collection of books at home, but it only fills one large bookshelf + a few boxes I haven't bothered unpacking since the last move.
I keep them, which is why I'm glad I bought a Kindle. Keeping books now takes up much less space, although I do have my favorites that require hard copies (just in case the world ends, and I need to be able to read a "dead tree book"!)
I realize I'm reviving an old thread, but I'm hiding in the Books forum for a while, so please bare with me!
After reading a book, do you keep it or give it away? In my case, if I read the entirety of the book, that means I love the book, so I keep it.
Or are you half and half? In other words, do you give away some and keep some? And what determines the differentiation?
I have donated almost all my books after retirement. I now have the Kindle App and get e-books. I once asked our local librarian if there was a way to donate e-books and she mentioned what a great idea that was but there was nothing that she knew of or a way to do that. I wish there was.
Depends on how much I like said book if we liked a book but didn’t have a huge wow factor we have a box we put them In once we get time we load them in the car and it’s off to the used bookstore.
I keep them, which is why I'm glad I bought a Kindle. Keeping books now takes up much less space, although I do have my favorites that require hard copies (just in case the world ends, and I need to be able to read a "dead tree book"!)
I realize I'm reviving an old thread, but I'm hiding in the Books forum for a while, so please bare with me!
Didn't you misspell a word? I think you meant to say "bear." But you said "bare." You scared me when you said to please bare with you!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
