BOOKS: How many of us have them.....and how many is too many?

As I prepare to check one more thing (relocation) off of my 40 in 40 List, I am faced with a dilemma - to bring or not to bring?


I've been wanting to move out-of-state for the past few years and have even set a few moving dates. But, it never seemed to be the 'right' time....until now. Baby girl has finally left the nest and Mom has moved in to care for Grandma so there is nothing to stop me from making moves. The last date I set was April 28th so I started packing my things in February. I think I did a pretty good job of weeding out the unnecessary and managed to box up everything, except for my clothing & personal use items and my books. Ahhhhhh, my book collection!

If you didn't know, I love Love LOVE to read....and I have many books and magazines to prove it. I have no idea just how many books I own (maybe I'll put 'count books' on my to-do list) but I own quite a few. I finally took them off of their shelves and put them into boxes last weekend. Then, I thought to myself, 'Do I really need to take all of these books with me?' I mean, I've read most of them; out of, say 150, I've read at least 140. Over the years, in response to various people remarking that I need to give my books away, I've said, 'I just might want to read them again.' Yet, I can't think of a time I've actually re-read any of my books. I liked the thought of having them there, though, just in case. Now, I'm rethinking that thought.

I have three boxes of heavy, already read (and truthfully, out of my head) books: small ones, large ones, thin ones, extra-thick ones, sad, happy, glad-to-be-nappy ones, paper back, hardcover and even audio-taped ones. How many of these books do I really need to keep? It's one thing to carry them, locally, from residence to residence but, do I love them that much to ship them across state lines??? I don't know about that. As much as I opposed them, when they first came out, feeling much like Amanda Talar (read her, she's awesome!), I've come to appreciate my Kindle. Not only do I love the convenience & lightness of it (just throw in purse & go), I've also come to like the feel of it in my hand....almost as much as I like the feel of an actual book. I have enough books in my Kindle 'unread' collection to keep me busy for the next month or two, so why can't I say 'bye-bye' to my hardcopies and move on with my e-copies?

I mean, as much as I'd like to believe I will, I probably won't ever go back and read any of the books I have sitting in boxes taking up space, waiting to be shipped to and stored in another state. The more I think about it, the more I think, 'Nahhhhhh....don't do it.' Not only will it save me a few dollars in shipping costs, but it will also save me time and energy that I will use to organize them in a new place. So, I think I will go through them, take out the few that I really love (my favorites, that I juuuuuuuust might peek at again...or give away) and the ones I haven't read yet and get rid of the rest. I would never just throw out a book, of course, but I will donate some and sell some at the garage sale I will be participating in, in the near future. I feel a sense of relief already, with that being said, so I can just imagaine how I'll feel when I actually do it. Yup, sounds like a plan!

See what writing down your thoughts and feelings can do for you?


P.S. Now my O Magazine collection? That's a whole 'nother story/post! ;-)