I thought I’d let you in on a conversation I had recently. A lot of my best friends were there, and the time had come to talk of some difficult things.
I addressed the bookshelves. “I’ve been thinking about you and it seems you are getting really crowded. Maybe it’s time for some of you to go.”
A shocked silence followed.
“The thing is, it’s Spring. Spring cleaning and all, you know? You seem to be a bit dusty, messy and musty. Maybe it’s time for a fresh start for all of us?”
There was a flutter from the bottom shelf. I heard A Little Princess say she was pretty comfortable there.
An unknown hero grumbled from the top shelf. “You’ve been read, at least. I’ve been here a few years and nobody even reads my first line.”
Home Comforts squirmed against his neighbors. “There isn’t a lot of room here anymore. I have a section on the proper care and storage of books, if you’d like to take a look.”
A book laying crookedly on his side muttered, “This gives me a spine ache. If you would just stand me up straight.”
“I’m sorry”, I said, as I straightened the book. “You know it’s been a long winter, and I’ve had a lot of hot tea and fallen asleep with some of you under cozy throws. But I haven’t respected you like I should. And there just isn’t time to read you all!”
“You paid full price for me.” A dusty voice puffed from behind the stack. “You forgot I was even here. And when you got me, you thought I would change your life!”
“I did forget you! Maybe if I could see you, I would remember to read you.”
A book’s purpose is to be read, said Joshua Becker from A Minimalist Home.
“Everyone said you should read me,” said the Alchemist.
“That’s what they say. But I found out by having you here that you and me are not a good fit. Wouldn’t you like to go to a shelf where you are loved?”
“I’ll never be useless,” said the dictionary on the bottom shelf. “Readers need me all the time.”
“You haven’t heard of google, I guess,” said Tech Tsunami. Then quickly tried to shrink into the shadow as he remembered he hadn’t been read either.
“Let’s not argue, my dear books,” I said. “This is hard enough without that. I will take you one at a time and ask, Will I read you or reference you in the foreseeable future? If yes, you stay. If no, I will ask myself, Are you a book I would find joy in lending to someone else? If yes, you stay, if no, you go.”
“This all makes me so sad,” cried Isabel from The Light Between Oceans.
“A classic has stood the test of time. You should never get rid of them,” Scout reminded me. Tom Sawyer, Young Matt and the Virginian agreed.
“You got me for your birthday,” said the voice of Angela between the pages of How to Draw Cute Stuff.
“And you haven’t made all my recipes,” said the voice of Betty Crocker. “Besides, I’m vintage. You will never find another like me.”
I paused. What if my books were worth a lot of money?! “That is a consideration. I will ask google. I see you here for almost $50! If you are worth something, I will take that into consideration.” Betty smirked at the dime-a-dozen cookbooks around her.
“But where will we go?” asked a quivery voice of Miss Prim.
“I have found some lovely places for you to begin new adventures. If you qualify, you may be donated to the school library. Or I will see if there’s room at the Little Free Libraries in town. They are the cutest little places to wait for new adventures. And the thrift store has warm, organized bookshelves where you will be very happy to wait until someone chooses you, too. Before we begin, I would like to thank you all for your years of entertainment and knowledge…”
“Do we have to do it now?” asked the Bobbsey Twins.
“Actually, I cannot do it today because I have to finish writing an article for my blog. I just letting you know. I plan to be here again next week on Wednesday to sort you out,” I said.
That was several days. Anything could happen, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
But Madame Chic shook her finger at me.
8 Tips from around the world
These tips came from people all over the world who were happy they decluttered their books. The tips are collected by Joshua Becker, from becoming minimalist.com.
- Books don’t define you. Books help you become who you are, but they don’t define you.
- Don’t let scarcity scare you. If you declutter a book you need (highly unlikely), you are almost certain to be able to find it again.
- Make room for new; any reader appreciates that.
- Go digital. At least give it a shot. (I have never considered a digital reader until this moment. Which one should I get?)
- You have permission to keep favorites. Fewer is not the same as none.
- Set a boundary. One bookshelf? Two? Something that feels comfortable to you.
- Use internet instead of reference books. (But I love my dictionary. See #5)
- Think of forwarding good books as an act of love. Bless others with books instead of hoarding them.
Epilogue
I like to call my collection of books a library. The room they are in is The Library. The term, library, is not copyrighted so any number of books can be a library if you want it to. As another reference, some experts suggest that a library should have at least 500 books to be considered a real library. Another expert said 1000 books was a hoard. The third expert says you need 5,000 books to justify the name. Just remember, the more inventory you have, the more there will be to dust, move, organize and keep track of. And read.
Some of you are thinking, what’s the big deal? And some of you know that books are like old friends. We don’t let them go lightly. Wish me wisdom to know the difference! Next Wednesday, remember?
Do you have a ‘library’? Have you counted your books? Does you library look more like the top, middle or bottom picture?
–Liz
Want to read more?
So She Reads 
23 responses to “If You Tell The Books…”
My bookshelves look like the middle one, but that’s not the ones packed in a suitcase for their turns and others in a dresser drawer due to lack of shelves…
There might be books in the suitcases in the middle picture! I wish you lots of time to read.❤
Ya, the top one!
oh, I really enjoyed this. Thanks for the permission to declutter a few books. It’s really pitiful, I never thought I’d enjoy an e-reader, but then I got one and almost exclusively read on it or my phone. But still I buy the books
yes, truly!!
What kind of e-reader do you recommend? Is it more like a book than reading on the phone? Because I really like the feel of a paper book. And sometimes I read the book to see if it is worth buying for my library.
i have a Kindle Fire. It definitely would be more like a book than reading off of your phone. But it’s not really like holding a book in your hands.
But it also has benefits that a book doesn’t have. It has a back light for reading in the car after dark. Or in bed. If you are away and you get tired of one book you can read something else. You can find almost anything you’re looking for, somewhere. Kindle has a lot of the classics for free or really cheap. You can even read most magazines on there if you like magazines but don’t like the clutter.
since I read in bed to fall asleep at night, (it helps shut the mind loop off) I read a lot on my phone, too, since it’s easier to hold in one hand and stuff somewhere when I drop off.
Thank you! I really appreciate hearing your thoughts on this. I am going to do a bit of research into this.
I have between 2 and 3000 books. 🤯 If I start decluttering them, I have no idea where I would stop. I’m tempted some days to turn my library into a book shop. So far, I haven’t figured out the logistics. But the day is coming. 🤭 I really enjoyed this, Liz.
At least you lend your books out. Then I think it is worth it to have a lot. Maybe you should load them up and bring them here. We could have Meadowbooks for a while! Actually, I saw a couple of yours on my bookshelf that I need to get returned.
Yes! I have a library! I’m between the top and middle pictures…
Great! Today mine looks more like the top picture. But I hope by the end of next week it’s closer to the middle picture. I doubt I will ever pare down my collection to look like the bottom picture. Then again, if I decide to go digital… virtual… whatever they call it.
I totally get this! My bookshelves are like the top picture, spilling out all over the place. I tried counting them once out of curiosity but lost track at around 2000 or so. I have finally given myself permission to sell some of my books. It makes me sad because it feels like I am giving away my best friends. But isn’t that what friends are for, to be shared? If I am hoarding them for my own selfish desires, others can’t enjoy them either. If I miss a book too badly, I can always buy another copy or use the public library. As for e-books, I have mixed feelings about them. I generally use the Kindle app on my phone as well as other apps. It is handy when I want to read on my lunch or coffee breaks, but I also find it distracting. For some reason, I find it difficult to really get into the story as I would with a physical book. However, I really enjoy audiobooks. They sure are handy while on the road, and I want to get my quota of books filled. I find that they hold my attention even more so than a physical book.
Audreyfern, thanks for sharing your experience. I can relate to your thoughts. Audiobooks help me stay awake while driving and make housecleaning much more enjoyable.
I recently purged my bookshelves, but didn’t stop to listen to the voices from the books! Maybe it’s easier that way! Books are like friends but, like friends, perhaps we drift apart, having been a part of each other’s lives through certain seasons of life. And perhaps, like people, there are certain books that we thought we’d be friends with but it just never happened…
Ida, thanks for your wisdom. I like those analogies.
Mine looks too much like the top one! Oh dear…
Never fear, Cecile. I actually find the top picture the most interesting!
I just moved and that forces the issue of who stays and who goes. My shelf still looks like the middle picture but some hard decisions had to be made to get it down to that. Must say it felt kinda good to lighten the load 😉
Hi Cindy! Books can be pretty heavy when moving. And I’ve missed you while planting mint this year!💚
oh, bless you. I’ve recently thought about that mint planting, was kinda fun! You’ve been doing that a long time! If I was closer I’d consider doing that again just for the good company!
Oh, the first picture is all too real. I recently did a purge while organizing and got rid of at least 50 books from my library. They were some of those that I thought I’d read but never did or came in a box lot from some sale or something like that. But I still have hundreds… I do lend them out to whoever wants to borrow them, so I’ve never felt too guilty about the quantity. I need to catalog them in an app to prevent duplicates when I find such a nice one at a thrift store. 😉
Hi Danielle, yes, I think lending out books is a good excuse to keep them. Yes, a list would be handy because I have duplicates. But sometimes I give those away!
I love this Liz 😊 I have quite a bit of room for books! But. It can get pretty messy. I need to go through them