i will not buy more books.

[liminal_space]

i have made a commitment to find new homes for many of my books because, let's be honest, i am probably not going to reread the critical analysis of toni morrison's /beloved/ and /song of solomon/ during this lifetime. 

so i gathered books to be released and found it really, really difficult to let some of them go. for example, pynchon's /vineland/ was doubly problematic because a) pynchon and b) there was "from the library of" sticker inside with an old, very gone friend's name on it. there was some bad blood there, caused mostly by me being too ignorant and too idealistic, but there are also some lovely memories that i cherish. 

twenty odd years ago, i purchased /a room with a view/ from a used bookstore and the copy obvs has gone through many hands. it's musty and quite tattered, but i hold that book and i'm transported back to a time when mister and i were kidless, where i would read for pleasure and for my classes while sprawled out on our couch...his presence a soothing hum of white noise in the background. i remember those times being very quiet, very golden. plus, i really love that book — there are descriptions of LIGHT that, while i can't remember them in my head, i do remember them in my heart. 

some books were easy to put in the Box of Abandonment. /possession/, everything and anything by kurt vonegut, /rabbit, run/, and one offs that held nothing but vague memories of reading them and forgetting them. so at least there's that. 

still. it is a daunting task and we are nowhere (and i mean nowhere) done. 

because of all of this, i will NOT buy any new physical books, even though i want to. *nod* really. i mean it. 

BUT...if i happened to buy more books, i'd want to get /fourth wing/ by rebecca yarros and /crook manifesto/ by colson whitehead. 

Comments

[suzanna-o.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean about physical books. It’s really not necessary to have many of them as objects, but it’s hard to give them up!

[liminal-space.livejournal.com]

it causes physical discomfort!

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

I lost a house in 2008 (remember the Great Recession?), and one of the hardest things about that was trying to find good homes for 3,000 or so books.

I swore then that I would never again buy another physical book.

(Though, of course, I have. But nowhere near as many as I used to buy.)

[liminal-space.livejournal.com]

i'm going to get some pearls so i can clutch them: this is just too much for me.

and i don't know how you managed to disperse books without having a breakdown. o.O or, if not a breakdown, a serious ass hissy fit.

[stardust1161.livejournal.com]

Some books are hard to let go. I need to go through mine & see what I’m willing to part with.

[liminal-space.livejournal.com]

even the ones i don't like are proving problematic. i'm trying to convince myself to take them all and open up a tiny library when we move. but then i realize it would NOT be tiny. at all.

[stardust1161.livejournal.com]

I feel guilty for getting rid of books I didn’t want or get into. But I mean, if I can’t get into it or I won’t read, why keep them?!

[deepseasiren.livejournal.com]

I actually give books away. I've given some boxes of books in fact to LJ friends here :)

[liminal-space.livejournal.com]

boxes? WHOLE BOXES????? you are a stronger woman than i. lol (like...literally AND metaphorically.)

[debris4spike]

I have books all over the house — some I have read, and want to re-read, some I still want to read, some history/geography/travel etc ... and then I have a well filled Kindle ... so can I please have a couple of spare days a week to catch up!

I keep vowing not to buy more, and still do ... and then get more as pressies!

[liminal-space.livejournal.com]

a house is not a home without too many books. <---TRUE STATEMENT.

and i think we should have four day weekends. two for around-the-house-work and socializing and two set aside for just reading.

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

I think you did good to get rid of any.

[liminal-space.livejournal.com]

it definitely feels like an accomplishment. ;)

[elizalavelle.livejournal.com]

I'm very bad at not buying more books but I do try to at least pull some out to give to new homes every now and again. I wish you luck, I know it's a tough task!