~Booking Through Thursday~

Today's Booking Through Thursday Question is:

When’s the last time you weeded out your library? Do you regularly keep it pared down to your reading essentials? Or does it blossom into something out of control the minute you turn your back, like a garden after a Spring rain?

Or do you simply not get rid of books? At all? (This would have described me for most of my life, by the way.)

And–when you DO weed out books from your collection (assuming that you do) …what do you do with them? Throw them away (gasp)? Donate them to a charity or used bookstore? SELL them to a used bookstore? Trade them on Paperback Book Swap or some other exchange program?

I went through my shelves in July of this year, and put some of the books on PBS. The trade paperbacks (there were only a few of them) I donated to a Senior Living apartment complex where my mom used to live. I go through my books carefully, reading the back covers or inside sleeves to see if they still interest me. Or I might read the first couple of pages to see if it grabs me. It is then that I usually realize that I have some books that I will probably never read, and can't really remember why I wanted them in the first place! The only reason that I would have to throw a book away, is if it is really damaged. Luckily, I haven't had to do that very often. I think all books deserve a good home!

I can't let my bookshelves get too out of control because I don't like the way over-crowded bookshelves look. I like mine neat and orderly, holding only the books that I plan to read. This is not the way it has always been...at one point I had so many books that it gave me anxiety about whether or not I would be able to read them all in my lifetime. I think I have pared it down to a reasonable amount now....and I can look at my shelves and breathe a sign of relief.

What about you?

***I need to add a P.S. to this post....While my bookshelves are neat and orderly, my house usually looks like hell....so don't get the wrong idea! LOL