Thursday 26 September 2013

What's on Your Bookshelf?


 I recently read a survey, where it was stated that many people were embarrassed to admit that they had books on their shelves that they hadn't read.  I found that strange.  Most of the books on my shelves haven't been read.  Why would I bother to keep books that I have already read.  That is a waste of good space.  It's not as though I am going to read most of them again.  I rarely reread and if I do, it's many years later, and generally, only when I become re-acquainted with a series.

This shelf in my living room, (called The Talking Room by my kids since they were little).  This is where I keep books that I have read and am waiting to give away.  Less than three dozen of them have been read and maybe two dozen belong to hubby.
 These are the shelves in my bedroom.  The top three shelves on the right are hubbies and most of those titles he has read.  The rest are mine, few of which I have read.  I don't have a problem with all these unread books; I view it as an investment in my future.
finally, the shelf from daughter's room.  There are equally as many more on the floor in front of the shelf.  Most of these are unread as well. 

You might be wondering what I do with the books I have read.  Quite a few go back to the library, and the ones I bought occasionally go to family members. The greater number of read books get registered and released through Bookcrossing.com.  It's the worlds largest free library.  If you visit the link,  it will take you to my home page where you can see that I have given away over 500 books.  yep, that's right, I gave them away, mostly to people I don't even know.  You might ask why.  I get pleasure in knowing that I one of my books might give pleasure and enjoyment to another person.  It's a karma thing.

You might wonder why I don't take these read books to the used book store and sell them.  To me it's really not worth it for the dollar or two that they pay, and also, remember the karma thing.

Now two questions for my readers: What's on your book shelves - unread versus read?

What do you do with the books you have read?

No judgements here, just curiosity.

(please excuse any typos and other errors, experiencing a migraine right now and can't see very well, waiting for meds to kick in).

6 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I reread books all the time. Over the years I have given away a lot of books as I am trying to clear off my bookshelves as I now have a Kindle - dust free!! But I have a lot of favorite authors and I reread those books - I love to start a series of 20 books and reread the whole thing in a summer - a summer tradition :)there are no books on my shelves that are mine that I have not read but over 100+ in my kindle that need to be read (lots of free books out there!)

Fiber Babble said...

I am totally with you. Why would one keep books they've read? I have one series (Maisie Dobbs) that I keep, and that's because I loan them out to friends - who then also get hooked on the series ;-)

As for what I do with books I've read, it's either paperbackswap.com, where I can trade for more books* or the library.

I am a member of Bookcrossing too (kathysfriend), but have only released a couple of books into the wild... and I live in a rural enough area that it's not quite as satisfying as it was when I was in a city.

*I am also the Oma Who Gives Books - so paperbackswap.com allows me to find many books for the grandkids to read as they're growing up. It's easier to try something different and iffy when I've traded for a book rather than shelled out the cash, you know?

Debbie Rodgers said...

The majority of the books on my shelves are unread. I keep some that IO read, if I especially enjoyed it and would recommend it to a friend - or maybe even reread sometime.

The ones I discard are either given to a used bookstore, or put out for the recycling truck.

Roslyn said...

I admit there are a few books on my shelves I have not read or only partially read. I do give away those I know I will not refer to again, & I need to check out the website you listed.
Periodically I purge the shelves when the collection becomes overwhelming. One of my friends has a dedicated library in her home which I envy, shelves to the ceiling & a proper ladder & all!

Colleen said...

I usually just read a book once, so I give it away when I'm done. And now, I'm really into e books, so my bookshelf is digital.

Having said that, though, I do have three sets of shelves that are mostly full. The house would feel pretty empty without some books around!

Marie said...

I have a tons of books on my shelves that I haven't read. I'm not embarrassed by that fact, but I am embarrassed by the number of them. Like most readers, I can buy books faster than I can read them. ;)

Since I started blogging, I've been keeping most of the books I was given for review. However, I really need to start culling some of these, too.

I used to be quite active in Bookcrossing (LazyDaisy0413), but haven't released books in a number of years. Long story. I keep meaning to get back to it. It was tons of fun when someone found one of my books. It was also fun to go hunting for books that other members released.

Great post! Sorry I'm so late in commenting.