Call me crazy but...

[Faithhopelove24]

I've had a nagging urge to get rid of most of my books for a while now...
I feel constant pressure from my unread books. I can never decide what to read next. I feel like I spend more time reorganizing shelves and debating what to read than actually reading. I've been seriously considering getting rid of most of my library and starting from scratch, buying books at a pace I can actually read. I would keep commentaries and some rare/out-of-print books. But I like the idea of maintaining a smaller, more carefully curated library.

I guess I don't have any questions about this. But it's helpful to write it out and process it a little more.

 

[Ryan&Amber2013]

I agree with this unless you are planning on passing books down to your children. But I am at a point in life where I would probably be completely happy and content to have just the 10 books or so that are most useful to me. But I do have a collection of books now that I will hopefully give to my kids as they get their own homes.

 

[Joshua]

Call me crazy but..

Hi, crazy but…

 

[philomath]

I can certainly understand feeling pressure from unread books. For me it's typically from being reminded that I haven't always utilized my time as well as I should though. That and the fact that there are so many books I want to read and I sometimes don't know where to start.

What I typically try to do is make a list (mental or physical) of a couple books I know I want to read, choose one, then stick with it. That way I don't feel pressure from all the unread books I have laying around, I just feel pressure to continue the one I already started!

I will say, even though I'm a huge fan of ebooks, I like having physical books and wouldn't want to get rid of them unless i'm absolutely never going to read them. I'd probably just put them in storage. Out of sight, out of mind, yet they're still there if I need them.

 

[John Nyberg]

I have a relatively small library, a little over 100 books I think. Even then, there books I have not finished. It all depends on your goals/ reading philosophy. Some people prefer to read broadly, but I prefer to focus on the few topics that interest me most. I also tend to re-read books. Perhaps you do not need to purge so much as narrow your focus.

 

[Jerusalem Blade]

Hello Luke,

You didn't mention if they were Christian books, or not. If yes, and they could be of use to you later, keep them. Digital works may not be available if the grid goes down. Non-Christian books – except for lexicons of the like – are easily expendable.

 

[DNM300]

Assuming they are Christian in content, and sound/reformed type literature, I would advise against giving away (for this particular reason). You’ll probably be a reader your whole life - Lord willing, you may want to bless others by way of gifts or inheritance; also, you never know when you will want to dive into a certain topic that perhaps you have already relevant resources for.

 

[alexanderjames]

Happy Lord's day.

Of course, pray about nagging feelings.

I have shared this feeling occasionally but only with reference to fiction.

It's good to do clean outs every now and then, give away or sell what you don't need or plan to read.

I share the sentiments above that if you really desire and plan to read a book for a good purpose in the Lord, I would advise not to get rid of said book. Books are tools and there is benefit in having easy access to good literature.

 

[Venator Veritatis]

I'll add my vote to the idea of getting rid of non-Christian literature. I used to have a decent amount of fiction that I've slowly donated/trashed over the past couple years.

I've found the pressure to read good theology books to be good motivation. If we compare ourselves to a higher standard we can motivate ourselves to work harder and push deeper into study and the knowledge of godliness that we might not have otherwise attained to.

Add to that the fact that while digital books certainly have some advantages, you'll never have to worry about the battery on your physical book running low!

 

[jhcampbell]

Assuming they are Christian in content, and sound/reformed type literature, I would advise against giving away (for this particular reason). You’ll probably be a reader your whole life - Lord willing, you may want to bless others by way of gifts or inheritance; also, you never know when you will want to dive into a certain topic that perhaps you have already relevant resources for.

There is one exception to this rule, and that is, feel free to give away all books as long as they are given to ME!

 

[Faithhopelove24]

Thanks, everyone, for your input. Yes, it’s almost exclusively Christian literature. What I ended up doing is boxing a lot up and storing it away. Picked a few stacks to part ways with, but for the most part I am taking an out of sight out of mind approach.

 

[Andres]

The way I have built/maintained my personal library are as follows:
I keep Christian/theological books that are excellent from a substance standpoint and I'd want others to read them and profit from them. Think books you'd be inclined to read over and over again or books you'd want to loan out.
I also keep Christian books that were/are expensive (don't want to have to rebuy them or have my family need to re-buy them).
Thirdly, I keep Christian/theological books that would make good reference materials but that I'm not necessarily going to read cover to cover (think Systematics or multivolume works).
Lastly, I keep Christian/theological books that are hard to find or out of print now for obvious reasons.

The second category of books I keep in my library are books that are I want to pass down to my grandchildren. That portion of my library contains mostly classical literature and quality children's books.

The books I unload are books that just weren't very good and I wouldn't care to read again and/or books that are easy and cheap to acquire (this is mostly recently published works that have dozens of copies available online at any time).

I prefer physical books to e-books but I will say that I now tend to purchase more e-books than physical books because 1) e-books are often cheaper 2) they don't take up physical space. If I read an e-book that I think would fall into one of the above "keeper" categories, I can them make the investment to later purchase a physical copy.

 

[jhcampbell]

Thanks, everyone, for your input. Yes, it’s almost exclusively Christian literature. What I ended up doing is boxing a lot up and storing it away. Picked a few stacks to part ways with, but for the most part I am taking an out of sight out of mind approach.

I tried to send you a direct message, but it wouldn't let me

 

[RamistThomist]

It’s a great idea until you need the book you got rid of

 

[sc_q_jayce]

I still regret getting rid of my copy of the Cotton Patch Bible!

 

[Ploutos]

I still regret getting rid of my copy of the Cotton Patch Bible!

Introduction by Jimmy Carter! Afterword by Tony Campolo! Wow!

Maybe I can get Amazon to overnight it to me.

 

[sc_q_jayce]

Introduction by Jimmy Carter! Afterword by Tony Campolo! Wow!

Maybe I can get Amazon to overnight it to me.

Truly one of the more... odd... finds in my life.

 

[jwithnell]

Truly one of the more... odd... finds in my life.

I have one of the gospels, I think.