With all this Marie Kondo going around, plus I might be moving soon, I wonder if anyone here has ever gotten rid of a book and regretted it? Did you ever clear out a title and then later on think, "Damn, why did I get rid of that?"
Also, anyone paring down your collection? Any hot tips for someone looking to carry fewer boxes up a buncha stairs?
My advice is to commit to getting rid of the books before you move. Last time I packed I thought, Yeah, I'll need to get rid of a few of these boxes of books—but no hurry. They're now stacked in a corner, much like before.
When I do get around to ditching books, I don't find it too difficult, because I'm not a big re-reader. I could stand to get rid of more books than I'm planning, but I don't really need to. So, if you're also not a consistent re-reader, just remind yourself of that. If you are, I don't know what can be done. Maybe buy yourself a really expensive, extremely comfortable piece of furniture that would go to waste if covered in or blockaded by old books.
I hoard books gladly. That gives me joy. I would never get rid of any of them. I make extensive notes when I read. In fact, I hope to pass my library on to future children and grandchildren, and I'll haunt anyone who gets rid of them... It's going in my will. I've already told my sisters, if I die early with no kids, they have to keep all my books and pass them onto my nephew. I can't imagine how much it would fascinate me if I had access to books that my great great grandparent had read and taken notes in. To see what they found meaningful, what spoke to them.
I did once rent a book for school that I to this day regret returning rather than shelling out the few extra dollars to keep. It was Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. I made extensive notations and underlining in it that I regularly wish I still had. I'm obsessed with his virtue ethics and I go back to it constantly. I'll never get over not keeping that book. It would be like gold to me. But I was broke at the time.
One day I will have a library room. One day.
