It could be a pile of books to read, it could be a pile of deaccessions!
I had a big weed today. Oo-er: careful how you read that! A big weed. A big deaccession. Out of a shelf of books and my travel section, I have about 20 to join the reshelved children’s books section in the guest room, and about 20 to go off into the world via BookCrossing. Added to the Biography weed I had a few weeks ago, and the great Wendy Perriam chuck-out of early January, that’s about 50-60 books off the shelves.
While I would like to say that that’s 50-60 books I can ADD to the shelves in the future, it’s more like the piles of books in front of their relevant sections can move onto the shelves, the sports books are all shelved vertically and Social History, Villages and Books About Running a Hotel have their own tidy section. There are a few gaps, though.
Why all this weeding? I blame (thank) the Month of Re-Reading that I do every January and July. OK, it slows up my TBR demolition, but planning my re-reading and then doing it has made me focus on what books I keep. Before Bookcrossing, I used to keep pretty well everything, unless it was utterly rubbish. I discovered Bookcrossing when I came to move up to Birmingham with Matthew, realised that about 80 books had languished in my storage unit unread and unwanted for a couple of years and was looking for creative ways to pass them on, and since then, I’ve been pretty good at not keeping anything that I wasn’t likely to re-read in the future.
However, that left books purchased before 2004 (i.e. Before Bookcrossing), plus ones that I thought I might want to re-read in the future. Going through picking books to add to the Month of Re-Reading has really seemed to focus my mind on what I do want to read again, and has made me less anxious about getting rid of books I won’t read again. Sometimes, re-reading a book to check whether I still like that author has led to deaccessions – but not as many as these latest culls have produced.
The mind works in a funny way, doesn’t it, and I note that it was when I was popping downstairs for a work break drink that I suddenly found myself picking books off the travel section and making a pile to give away, rather than in early January when I was picking re-reads. But, whatever: it’s another reason why I’ll be continuing those Months of Re-reading!
Have you done some deaccessioning recently? How has it felt? Do you find it easy to pass books along?
Adventures in reading, running and working from home 
Feb 15, 2014 @ 03:13:38
I’m a ‘keeper’ – fortunately I have family with a beach house, so I can re-house some books I know I won’t read again, and pass on some of the pleasure I get from my books, without actually ever saying goodbye to them!
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Feb 15, 2014 @ 08:34:12
Ah – I’m not quite sure what I’d do if I had unlimited storage, although I do love sharing books out and making room for others …
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Feb 15, 2014 @ 16:59:04
I *desperately* need to weed as despite my best resolutions I seem to keep amassing more….. I *do* feel good when I’ve cleared out a bit, but always worry that I’m going to regret getting rid of books. I guess I’m just a born hoarder….
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Feb 15, 2014 @ 17:45:19
That is difficult, I suppose the ones I’ve cast off are ones I know I’ve seen around and could get again, but if I’m not going to re-read them and have no attachment to them (I have books I’ve had since childhood that I’m not planning to re-read but that’s different) then I am OK at letting them go. Also I do know they’ll go on a bookcrossing shelf or to a meetup or to a Virago group person or other friend, rather than consigning them to a charity shop and worrying they’re going to be chucked out, which helps.
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Feb 15, 2014 @ 17:41:41
My excuse for not deaccessioning at the moment is the fact that the Oxfam bookshop in Harborne is closed while they move premises. No doubt as soon as they re-open I will find another excuse just as good.
Where do you leave books for book crossing? I would be worried that people might think they were going to blow up and call for the police.
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Feb 15, 2014 @ 17:48:11
Ah, I don’t personally give books to Oxfam because they have quite a rigorous throwing away policy but weren’t keen e.g. for bookcrossers to take them off their hands, at least a few years ago. So I buy from them but don’t donate to them.
There are bookcrossing zones around Birmingham / the country / the world, e.g. the Kitchen Garden Cafe and the Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath, both Urban Coffee Companies in town, and the Uni Bham main library and coffee lounge in staff house, also Yorks Bakery Cafe. We have meetups there once a month on the 4th Saturday of the month. Those are all official shelves, if you want to go leaving them around I always put a big postit with “free book” and leave them on park benches and at tables in cafes or in the loos at venues.
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Feb 15, 2014 @ 21:52:16
I need to do this. I have masses of books people have given me for bookcrossing sitting in several bags in the spare room. Oh and my tbr is way worse than yours and you read much faster too 🙂
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Feb 16, 2014 @ 07:11:35
Ah, but I’m not hugely good at actually picking books off the BookCrossing pile in my study, registering them on BookCrossing, marking them as “read but not owned” on LibraryThing and releasing them …
I don’t think my TBR suffers TOO much from the month of re-reading; I certainly don’t tend to acquire many books during the July one, and it is a good way of getting rid of some more from the shelves.
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Feb 18, 2014 @ 21:46:43
I find it hard to let go of books, but neither do I want to drown in a sea of stuff or never be able to move to a smaller house when all the kids have left…so I’m making myself do it. Small steps.
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Feb 19, 2014 @ 13:38:23
Having something like BookCrossing, where you know the books have a good chance of being picked up and enjoyed by someone new, is a really good way to help the urge to keep them all! And small steps build to big changes, so well done!
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