Musing Mondays

Musing Mondays is hosted by Rebecca at Just One More Page.

Today, Rebecca asks:

Do you keep all the books you ever buy? Just the ones you love? Just collectibles? What do you do with the ones you don’t want to keep?

I used to keep every book I purchased. I could not part with a book to save my life. I had books every where and started keeping them in boxes in the garage when I ran out of room inside. Then I got married, had a child and moved. My husband helped me go through my many, many books. He asked me to think about our growing family and decide if I really wanted ALL of the books I had. He never asked me to get rid of a single book (no wonder I love and married the guy) he simply wanted me to consider the situation. And I realized that I really wasn't going to re-read quite a lot of the books I had kept. So, I went through them carefully and only kept the books that I knew I'd read again, wanted for my child(ren) or were by my favorite authors. I was astounded by the amount of books I ended up giving to family, friends or the library. I did have a good cry about letting go of so many books. Afterward, it felt really good to have done this, though.

Now that my family has indeed grown, I purchase my books much more carefully. I use the same guidelines I origianlly purged with: keep for children, read again, favorite authors. Most of the books I read now come from the library. However, there are times there is a book I really want to read that isn't at my library and doesn't fit the guidelines and I will buy it. Then I read the book and either give it to a family member or friend or donate it to my library.

I still want a home library someday. When I get it - it will be filled with favorite books with personal history rather than just any random book ever to come into my possession. :)