Oh my fellow bibliophiles, I feel your pain. One thing that I have noticed recently is seeing a book on a shelf triggers the thoughts and ideas of that book. It turns out that I only need to be reminded of a book. So, my new crazy idea is to keep the books that I find myself cracking open again and again, the mind changers, and then just photograph my shelves and print posters of the titled shelves and hang them on a wall for that trigger effect. This way I can share those trigger books with the rest of the world and exchange boxes and bookshelves for posters.
I finally culled my library the last time we moved from the house we lived in for 23 years. I sold about 90% of my library, over 40 boxes to a local re-seller "you box it, you haul it off, all or nothing" because I didn't want to move it again (it was in my basement office) and the thought of hauling all that up stairs with a botched knee replacement was the deal breaker. But your criterion pretty much worked....
I'd offer one more criterion: are there other people in my home (permanently or as regular guests) who might appreciate access to the book in question? If so, hanging onto it means they can either read it in situ or I can loan it to them.
Going through the same process around here! Those are great questions for filtering. I unfortunately purged "What Happened to Penny Candy?" a month too soon, because we ended up having to order a copy for my daughter's school project. I am enjoying less though. And only keeping the ones I love in my bedroom in plain sight.
A good set of criteria. Another one, I suggest based on recent experience, is: do I need all of these books given that a bookcase just collapsed under their weight?
We've been forced into a major cull because of the need to decorate. That, plus the bookcase episode, acted as a spur to action after years of idly thinking about it!
I just stumbled onto this post. I too have a small room, lined with IKEA Billy bookshelves that have miraculously survived 2 cross-country moves (they have reached their maximum move though). And I've added other bookcases in addition to the poor Billies. I am a devotee of my Kindle, which turns out to be a good thing. I have over 2000 books on my device, which I can read at any point, anywhere. When I come across a book that really affects me, I buy the physical book. I also buy the physical book if there are illustrations or photographs. When I buy a physical book, I try to find unique editions or autographed copies. I still don't have enough room. But moving to digital then physical in my buying patterns has made a difference.
Oh my fellow bibliophiles, I feel your pain. One thing that I have noticed recently is seeing a book on a shelf triggers the thoughts and ideas of that book. It turns out that I only need to be reminded of a book. So, my new crazy idea is to keep the books that I find myself cracking open again and again, the mind changers, and then just photograph my shelves and print posters of the titled shelves and hang them on a wall for that trigger effect. This way I can share those trigger books with the rest of the world and exchange boxes and bookshelves for posters.
I finally culled my library the last time we moved from the house we lived in for 23 years. I sold about 90% of my library, over 40 boxes to a local re-seller "you box it, you haul it off, all or nothing" because I didn't want to move it again (it was in my basement office) and the thought of hauling all that up stairs with a botched knee replacement was the deal breaker. But your criterion pretty much worked....
I'd offer one more criterion: are there other people in my home (permanently or as regular guests) who might appreciate access to the book in question? If so, hanging onto it means they can either read it in situ or I can loan it to them.
Going through the same process around here! Those are great questions for filtering. I unfortunately purged "What Happened to Penny Candy?" a month too soon, because we ended up having to order a copy for my daughter's school project. I am enjoying less though. And only keeping the ones I love in my bedroom in plain sight.
A good set of criteria. Another one, I suggest based on recent experience, is: do I need all of these books given that a bookcase just collapsed under their weight?
We've been forced into a major cull because of the need to decorate. That, plus the bookcase episode, acted as a spur to action after years of idly thinking about it!
I just stumbled onto this post. I too have a small room, lined with IKEA Billy bookshelves that have miraculously survived 2 cross-country moves (they have reached their maximum move though). And I've added other bookcases in addition to the poor Billies. I am a devotee of my Kindle, which turns out to be a good thing. I have over 2000 books on my device, which I can read at any point, anywhere. When I come across a book that really affects me, I buy the physical book. I also buy the physical book if there are illustrations or photographs. When I buy a physical book, I try to find unique editions or autographed copies. I still don't have enough room. But moving to digital then physical in my buying patterns has made a difference.