Sacrificing Books

Okay I admit it I’m a hoarder, it’s one of the main reasons I dislike moving houses so much, it always prompts the conversations of what to take and what no longer serves any sort of purpose and needs to either be thrown out or re-homed. The reason I dislike having to make this decision is that it takes hours and I really do mean hours, every little nick-knack, every object no matter how insignificant seems to have a story about it, sometimes it’s a far distant memory, sometimes it’s a particular smell but believe me it’s always something and that’s always enough to cause many a raging argument inside my head before I inevitably decide screw it it’s staying.

As I mentioned here one of the main reasons I finally relented and bought myself a kindle was that I was literally running out of space to keep all of my hard copies of books, my shelves were full and it was becoming somewhat perilous to manoeuvre through the floor of the study for fear of tripping and taking out several stacks of books! As well as this as much as I wanted to keep the room as my own personal library I really did need to use it for other things. This prompted the discussion of whether or not I should simply get rid of some of the books either give them away or perhaps sell them and it’s a decision I’m still wrestling with at the moment.

The main reason I’m struggling with this is apart from the fact I am a hoarder is that I suddenly become fearful that this book is automatically going to become my new favorite book and all I needed to do was give it one more chance. Which I know is ridiculous as I have read these books before, I have a pretty good idea of how I feel about them and even sure yes I know my opinion may change the chance of it becoming one of the few that have a treasured place on my bookshelf, a place with the books I could easily re read again and again without getting bored is rather slim. That’s not even including the books that I haven’t got round to reading yet, I know some of them have been sitting there for many years without me having the inclination to pick them up and read them but surely I will someday right? It really feels like I’m sacrificing my books just to make more room. It also probably doesn’t help that the first time I moved I went through and decided on two big rubbish bag full of books that I wouldn’t be able to take with me and donated them to charity before quickly being filled with regret. These books were mostly ones I had collected in my childhood (think Jacqueline Wilson) but as soon as they were gone I was hit with waves of nostalgia. So even though logically I know it’s the best solution and in all honesty at least half of them I will never read again I still can’t seem to let them go as of yet…

Are you able to get rid of books? Or are you a hoarder like me? Let me know in the comments below I would love to here your thoughts!