Books - getting rid of them.... Where to start?

[mahagonny]

Keep an eye out for students, colleagues, staffers who would particularly appreciate a certain book on my shelf. Then give it away. Whittling away at the problem.

[apl68]

My brother-in-law used to buy lots (in the auction sense, not the abundance sense) of used books on eBay. A seller would list a box of "20 classic American novels, including XYZ," with a few photos, then let people bid on them. Do people still do this? I would absolutely buy a lot of 20 classic science fiction books if I were lucky enough to see it.

Some of my colleagues' wives in graduate school also did craft projects with old books, so if your books are now just "mass," perhaps someone you know would like some for creative purposes.

AR.

Yes, you still see job lots like that advertised on eBay.  Never bought one myself.  Keep checking, and you'll probably find a batch of classic sci-fi sooner or later.

[apl68]

A related question for you all here might be this: as you age, are you reading less (not counting works read specifically for professional work) for pleasure?  Are you reading more periodicals and less books, esp online ones?

No, I still read a great deal for pleasure.  And they're physical books, too.  My periodical reading is also largely still physical.  It helps to work in a library where we have physical subs.  Between the library's collection, donations, and my own purchases, I've got plenty of reading material.

[AvidReader]

Yes, you still see job lots like that advertised on eBay.  Never bought one myself.  Keep checking, and you'll probably find a batch of classic sci-fi sooner or later.

Too many classic SF books, here I come!

Thanks, apl68!

AR.

[downer]

I tend to work on selling books or donating them as a constant gradual process. A few a week. I aim for the number of books going  out to be greater than the number of books coming in. I read more books on Kindle these days and I'm still searching for a tablet that I like enough to enjoy readings PDFs on it. By the end of my life, I hope to own zero books. 

[Dismal]

Our U president stepped down after a long career as prof and prez at our U and his return-to-the-faculty office was near mine. He brought his long-term secretary with him, and she spent a year going through all his stuff (from multiple offices and apparently from storage) and tossing it out in a small dumpster. She tossed all the hard copies of the many dissertations that he had directed (the black volumes with the gold letters on them), she took photos of all the plaques and personalized paperweights he had been given for various types of service and then into the dumpster they went. Then there was a free table of books he was giving away. It was a year-long job.
But I agree with the suggestion of taking photos of some of the memorable books and then getting rid of them unless there is a plan to re-read.
I also use the Little Libraries but I spread my books around because I'm not sure there is a great demand for them on any one city block. Pre-covid, our nearby church had an annual used book sale.
Good luck!

[Dismal]

"When I decided that I did not need the years' worth of academic journals that I could download from the internet, I used them for a class activity for my advanced students (find an academic article, find its sources, find how does it cite the sources, find the thesis, etc.)"

Brilliant - I wish I did this. I am teaching a research seminar for grad students and I want them to look at multiple articles in their area and ask, how long is the intro, how long is the lit review, etc. to get an idea of how academic writing differs from term paper writing.

[Parasaurolophus]

I should add that the custom in my PhD department was for retirees to allow grad students to get the key to their office from the admin staff and then just take home as many books as they liked. I got any number of gems that way.

[nebo113]

I did a MAJOR home book purge when I retired and relocated.  Basically, I chose about 100 books that I would move, then gave about 1000 to the local library book store. 

I WAS RUTHLESS!!

[ciao_yall]

Okay, I think I have a strategy.

I will keep a book that has sentimental significance from an era. The rest - gone.

Unfortunately this means unboxing all of them and looking at them all, instead of going box by box.

Well, starting tomorrow!

[Juvenal]

Okay, I think I have a strategy.

I will keep a book that has sentimental significance from an era. The rest - gone.

Unfortunately this means unboxing all of them and looking at them all, instead of going box by box.

Well, starting tomorrow!

And where does the "gone," go?  As Tom Lehrer said, "Sentiment alone will not endear it."