Some of you may have read my attempt at Haiku– an ancient form of Japanese poetry last week. That article was written as part of #TheBookBlogTrain, and today I’m penning my thoughts on another provided prompt, since we are allowed two entries as part of this train.
Last month, after some coercion from my mother-in-law, I unhauled many books from my ever-growing collection. My husband and I painstakingly went through the bookshelves in my marital home (I’m yet to tackle the ones at my parent’s place!), as well as my son’s large collection of children’s books. My husband was definitely more ruthless than me when it came to parting ways with our literary friends! I learnt a lot through this process, and I’m breaking it down for you so that your next ‘unhauling of books’ becomes easier.
Here are 5 things to keep in mind when you unhaul books:
- LOOK FOR REPEAT COPIES
This is first thing you should look for. Most people will not have repeats of the same books, but in my case, there were quite a few. My son is constantly gifted books and many of the popular ones are repeated. These are usually in good condition and can easily be passed along.
As keen bibliophiles, my husband and I merged our libraries after marriage, without realising that we had two copies of the same book in some cases. These were also added to the donation pile.
- TARGET OUTDATED VERSIONS OF BOOKS/ OLD TEXTBOOKS
With three Graduate/ Postgraduate degrees to my name, I have accumulated a large number of textbooks over the years. Some legal tomes have pride of place in my library, but I have donated many.
Some books that are regularly updated by their authors, are easy to boot out. For example, pregnancy books, of which I will certainly buy the latest version, if I conceive again.
- KEEP IN MIND THE DEGREE OF PLEASURE IT GAVE YOU
Books have been steadfast companions of mine, through life. I have read and re-read some of my favourites till they were reduced to tatters, yet I refuse to part with them.
However, there are also books that I have not enjoyed reading, which I find easy to part with.
- PRESERVE GIFTS FROM SPECIAL PEOPLE
I firmly believe that books are the best presents one can give, regardless of age and gender. Fortunately, I have been gifted many books over the years. I may not have read all of them, but I like having them in my collection for the memories that are attached to them.
Conversely, if it’s a book gifted to you by a troublesome ex- get rid of it!
- FACTOR IN THE POTENTIAL NEW READERS OF THOSE BOOKS
Identify where you plan to donate the books- is it a school library, a donation drive or do you simply want to sell them to a secondhand bookstore/ kabaddiwala?
If it’s going to a place where there is a high chance of the books being read, then you should part with some of your favourites. They might give the same amount of reading pleasure to a new person, as they did to you. If, however it’s a mere re-sale, you should donate the ones you didn’t like over the ones you did.
These are my tips for unhauling books. Do share yours in the comments below!
This article is written as a part of #Thebookblogtrain conducted by Vidhya Thakkar and Siddhi Palande powered by Penguin India and Redwolf and should not be repurposed, republished or used otherwise. The content herein is owned by the blogger. Hosts are not responsible for any infringement caused.
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