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What to do with ALL these books!?


Makita
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About a year ago, from PaperBackSwap, I ordered all the classic novels from the Well-Educated Mind suggested reading list. As a former elementary teacher, I also have a rather large collection of Newberry award winning novels and classic literature for kids. I also have all the Harry Potter novels (in hardback) as well as a number of other newer titles and many, many 'everybody books'.

 

All of these books are quality, living-books. However, I don't have the space! I have two 6-shelved bookcases in the hallway, one 5-shelf bookcase in the den, and one 4-shelf bookcase in my daughters room. Still they are so full that book are stacked up 2 rows deep.

 

I can't possibly keep all these books though I would like to. How can I keep my book collection under control? Any one have a system they can suggest to help?

 

Drowning in books (I know - a good problem to have, really),

 

Eva

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We have been weeding out books, my criteria for keeping books are

 

1. I plan on me and/or the kids reading them several times

 

or

 

2. It is a book that is not commonly found in a library

 

so,

 

if it will only be read once or maybe twice and can be found in a library, I donate it to our local library so they can sell it and buy more books.

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If it were me, I'd find a way to shoehorn in another bookcase somewhere. I mean, our previous house was ~900sf, and we had 5 bookcases (three 5-shelf, one 4-shelf, and one 3-shelf) in it - and there was still space for at least one more. Now in our ~1400sf house, I could add another 5 shelves, easy (more, if I needed to). Granted, our dominant decorating theme is books (along with dvds and electronics, plus toys) - all our shelves are in the living room right now (which is *very* convenient, actually), which might not be everyone's cup o' tea. But if it's that or <gasp> get rid of books...:lol:

 

Our shelves are mostly double and triple stacked, as well - I've worked hard to arrange them in such a way that all the books are grouped logically and are visible and fairly easily accessible, all while making efficient use of space. I'm rather proud of the results, actually. Single stacked books now look like a prolifigate waste of space :tongue_smilie:.

 

I'm not much help, am I? :D

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My husband and I are recovering book addicts too. I accepted that I need not own my own every book I love or wish I had time to read; that's what the library is for. You are not alone in your bittersweet hour of parting with books should you decide to do so. :grouphug:

 

Anyway. I reviewed the layout of my house and decided I had room for three small bookcases. I emptied the three I was to keep and put books on them in order of importance to me until they were full. The rest of the books were donated to the public library to sell.

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in our old house I had so many bookshelves that I rivaled our little library. Since we moved, though, our house has very little wall space. I have allocated 4 bookshelves in the house proper and the rest are in our walk in attic. I have all the books organized and it is very easy to swap one shelf of history books with another or go in the attic and search for a book I want (assuming it wasn't in a box I didn't unpack!!)

 

If I didn't have a walk in attic and the books were all books that I knew I would use/want, I would probably box them by either category or grade level and store them.

 

The only books I would get rid of are ones that I know I wouldn't use.......but I am a book hog. :)

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My linen closet became the book closet.

 

Doing history in 4 year cycles (TOG) the books are in a box based on the year and unit. Big diaper boxes work great.

 

Other wise there's a bookshelf for Historical fiction and biographies that we peruse often. A couple shelves of science, A half shelf of Christian picture books, a shelf of easy readers, A shelf for our library books only, a thin narrow bookcase of fiction chapter readers- classic lit.

 

When the shelves get too full, I cull. I give the kids a chance to choose 1-2 from what I've culled. The kids each have an attractive wooden crate their aunt painted for their favorite books.

 

OOps! I guess I overlooked my closet. It has a box of Christmas books, and a box of Picture books we use with FIAR.

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Library software. :)

 

I use Readerware, but I other options get mentioned on the boards too. Our books get reread so much, I can't imagine tossing them. We have just under 4,000 right now. Seems to me your collection is just gonna grow, unless you feel really insistent on that chopping thing. I'd probably box them and rotate. That way you can have a bookcase of history books for the time period you're on that year, a bookcase of science, series, and fun books, and a couple bookcases of fiction. Then just rotate things out. You probably have things that are too old for them now, and later you'll have things you can rotate away that they outgrow. I don't toss books. I have books from when I was a very young child, and I LOVE them.

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I cannot get rid of good books, even if they are readily available at the library. I just can't trust that the library will always have the books that it has now. I am afraid that as books wear they will not be replaced with classics. So, my future grandkids may be disappointed, but these books will be their inheritance.

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I am in the process of selling 300 books (halfway there) on Amazon, that I KNOW I will never read again. (Like computer programming books that were $50 a pop). The rest that there is a chance I might read again, are stored in several bookshelves at my house or in bins at my warehouse. I've made a few thousand dollars, and of course these funds are going right back into buying NEW books!

 

Readerware with free barcode reader, JUST what I need! Thank you for mentioning that! iPod support too, how handy. It is ridiculous how many times I've bought two of the same books, this will prevent that from happening again. Downloading it now...

 

I want to love my library, as I cannot afford to keep buying books every few days, and I am getting better at going to the library, but I LOVE books and love to own them forever!

Edited by Satori
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I recommend more bookcases. I have no idea how someone could get by with only three small bookcases. I need three full shelves just for reference books -- a variety of dictionaries in several languages, nature guides, etiquette books, grammar and style references, holy books of major religions, reference books about different religions, atlases, star charts, etc. I also have two shelves of art history books, four shelves of biographies, five shelves of children's books, three shelves of non-English literature, and so on.

 

I think I have 11 bookcases, though it's possible that I might have miscounted. My basic philosophy is that bookcases belong on every wall that's not being used for something else. :)

 

Oh, and I do get rid of books that I don't feel have lasting value in my home. I make excellent use of several different libraries. I don't even buy very many books, they just accumulate over time!

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