Over the past few years I have started thinning my library. The main reason is just space. I truly don't have that many places to put them all. This was supremely upsetting, as I wish I could just have ALL THE BOOKS and put bookshelves in every single room of my house. And last year I had to get rid of another bookcase because we converted our office/storage room into the nursery.
After I got over my initial sadness though, I decided that this could possibly be a good thing.
There are some books that I reread over and over and over- and that's fine. But there were a lot on my shelves that were only okay.
So I have done a pretty intense book unhaul over the past few months.
Now, instead of a full bookshelf I now have almost an entire shelf completely empty on my one remaining (although large) bookshelf.
To be completely honest, part of this has been helped because I finally discovered my local bookstore. They have a trade-in program, so I don't feel like I am loosing my books or throwing them away. They end up back on the shelves for others and I can go get new books (for FREE). It's an amazing system that has really helped ease my unhaul guilt.
Having to empty my bookshelves made me rethink my attitudes and goals (read more about that here).
And this is what I came up with- I want to build a more conscious library.
Having Pumpkin has made me really think about this. I want to have books on my shelf that I can read to her, and any other kids we may have.
I want my kids to have classics like The Wizard of Oz, the tales of King Arthur, all these stories that have been around for ages.
To be clear- I haven't read them all! I just wish had.
I wish someone had handed me The Perks of a Wallflower when I was in high school- oh how that book would have resonated with me if I had found it on a shelf at 17!
I want to have books in my home that make me think, books that celebrate who I am, books that celebrate who I want to be, books that remind me who I should never be. I want to have books that withstand the test of time and make my kid(s) fall in love with reading.
To be clear, Pumpkin has her own kiddie books. And she will get at least one book for her birthday and Christmas each year (from me, no clue what others will provide her with). But I want to have things waiting for her and bigger books for me to read to her.
I want my bookshelf to truly represent the wide variety and beauty of reading.
I will still, of course, continue to buy random books and cycle through one-time or casual reads. But overall I want to make more thoughtful and enduring book purchases.
How you do decide what stories to add to your personal library?
I used to reread all my books and only rarely purchased a new one, but new additions weren't very conscious choices. In the last couple years, I have done some serious purging (to the point where the books fit without stacking sideways!) and now I'm very careful about what I add. I've been reading a lot more on Kindle and through the library, so the only physical books I buy are the ones I really loved and think I'll reread at some point. I have given very little thought to building a library for my (future) kids but I LOVE that idea. There are so many good books that seemed like magical discoveries at my parent's house and I'd love for my kids to have that same experience. Would definitely need Artemis Fowl, Harry Potter, and Percy Jackson. Also Island of the Blue Dolphins, Maniac Magee, Holes, and I'll have to think more, because I'm missing female protagonists here.
ReplyDelete