Lately I’ve been in this place of going the less is more route, specifically when it comes to decluttering books. I have always maintained once-a-year book reorganization and unhaul though honestly I cannot remember if I did last year or not. Either way, I’ve been dying to have a reorganization session. I’ve been kind of piecemeal this year’s which is VERY unusual for me, but hey, I’m trying to get through and enjoy parts of the process.
LIST | THE BEST PERIOD DRAMA YOU CAN SEE ON AMAZON PRIME: APRIL 2022
TEN OF THE BOOKS I’M UNHAULING (BECAUSE YOU CANNOT READ THEM ALL!) #BOOKLIST #BOOKWORM #READER #READERS #DECLUTTER #DECLUTTERING #ORGANIZE #BOOKSHELF #TOPTENTUESDAY Click To TweetThe most frustrating thing – for me, is taking the books I’m going to unahul from the mess of my bookshelf space to my office which then disorganizes that space. Part of this is because I’m listing some books on eBay (and golly, that’s SLOW) and some I go through and box up for donation. However, my library won’t take more than two boxes and my other local donation location is small and isn’t exclusive to books so I also choose not to overwhelm them. Needless to say, I have questions for you guys at the end of this.
However, before going forward, I also want to say, that just because I’m unhauling these doesn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy them. It just means they’ve been on my shelf for years, I’m struggling with reading just now, and the idea is, hopefully they’d find SOMEONE who can enjoy them. Also, some of these I did read and enjoyed, but you guys know, I just don’t re-read. Let’s get started.
DECLUTTERING BOOKS AKA BOOKS I’M UNHAULING
1: RED QUEEN, VICTORIA AVEYARD
Don’t even want to think about how long I’ve had these on my shelf. At one time I really did think I’d enjoy these, and I still may, but at this point, keeping the series just seems silly. Here’s hoping they find a good home (and that happens through eBay!). Goodreads
2: DC ICONS (SERIES)
Penned by authors like Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu and Sarah J. Maas, there was a time when I thought they would be all kinds of good “me” reads. After all, I did love superheroes, but after sitting on my shelf for a long time, I no longer have this same opinion. So bundled they were and again, maybe someone else will discover them. Goodreads
3: MELANIE DICKERSON NOVELS
I read a novel by Melanie years ago, and was poised to love it (because YAY for fairy tales), however I just couldn’t love it. Truth is, I may enjoy some of her others, but I just don’t have an inclination to read more. This why they’re bundled together and listed, and someone did find one bundle and hopefully I shipped them off to a new home that can appreciate them all. Have you read anything by Melanie? Goodreads
4: LYNETTE EASON NOVELS
I have a few bundles of novels by Lynette, and honestly, I enjoy the books I’ve read by her. In the case of some of these, they have been on my shelf for the usual amount of time (read years and years – because some are now re-prints/re-publishes, so I have the original versions) and so hopefully someone will be able to enjoy them. Goodreads
5: TAMMY L. GRAY NOVELS
I’ve read novels by Tammy and really enjoyed them – very much! However, again, I’m not taking the time to pick them (these being her Indie novels; I still have her BH ones because I’m curious about her traditionally published books) up and actually READ them. Sad though it may be, there are books I don’t wish to part with (like Becky Wade novels, Dani Pettrey and many others) so keeping room on my shelf for authors I continue to go back to and consistently enjoy is more the priority just now. Goodreads
6: DEE HENDERSON (FOUR NOVELS)
My mother read a bunch of Dee Henderson’s novels in the aftermath of her time away from writing. I think I read one, maybe? But she didn’t care for them nearly as well as our introduction to Henderson which is the O’Malley books, so while I may enjoy them, I just don’t have the inclination to read a 400-some page novel. Plus I have my favorite suspense author and I’m happy keeping up with her releases. Goodreads
7: KARA ISAAC (BOOKS)
Like with some of the others on this list, I actually did read more than one of Kara’s novels (reviews are on this website) and did enjoy them. However, though I have zero doubt the stories inside are grand, again, I’m not reading the ones on my shelf I haven’t read, and so it feels wrong to keep them. Goodreads
8: THE SHOPAHOLIC BOOKS, SOHPIE KINSELLA
I added these to my shelf not too long ago from used copies and I think they’re even in one of my past book haul videos. While I do have curiosity about the books because I love the movie, I just don’t see myself being inspired to read them. Goodreads
9: THE LUNAR CHRONICLES, MARISSA MEYER
I always wanted to read this book and did hear from more than one person that they’re quite good. However, these books have say on my shelf for well over 5 years, and at this point, it just feels sincerely unrealistic that I’ll make time to read them. Goodreads
10: STORM SIREN TRILOGY, MARY WEBER
Read these and I remember liking them at the time. But again, I just don’t re-read and since I’m not taking bookstagram photos, it feels silly to keep them just now. Goodreads
Ok, now we turn things over to you all. How or where do you get rid of books (AND ARCS! You guys, I struggle there); do you donate them? Sell them (I do this currently on eBay, but goodness, it’s SLOW because orders just trickle in here and there)? Or do you just keep them no matter what?
Have you read any of these; which ones am I making a mistake on? Would you read any of these? Comment all the comments! Let’s chat.
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Linking up with That Artsy Read Girl April 5: Freebie (Choose Your Own Topic)
I just took three bags of books to the library for their annual sale. Some of them I hadn’t read, others I had and didn’t want any more. My book shelf looks so good right now.
My freebie topic: Books that were a catalyst for future reading on the topic or by the author
YAY! Go, you, Anne. Feels good to organize. :)
Always great to declutter! And I feel the same way about Dickerson’s books. They had such great Goodreads ratings, but I’m sorry to say they felt incredibly juvenile (at my age perhaps?) – so had to drop them. For Marissa Meyer’s books, Cinder is not the best place to start – I would suggest trying out Scarlet, that’s probably the best book from the series and can be read as a standalone.
I have that reaction to books sometimes too, Lex. I think most of the time, it is my age for sure. I’m really glad so many like them, but I’m happy that so many readers enjoy them! And thanks for the Marissa Meyer recommendation! I’m glad to have it. I hear SO many love these fairy tale books. :)
Good for you for knowing your limits!
Thanks, Lydia.
I really loved both the Lunar Chronicles and Shopaholic series, but Red Queen I gave up on. I donate the books I’m not going to read again, sometimes to my library if they’re having their big spring sale, but lately I’ve also been donating to a veterans group that will come pick them up. They tend to look for household items that they can resell. They took 3 boxes of books one time!
Ooo! Yay for three boxes at once! My library about died when asked about taking five boxes. ;) They did say they could take two, so I need to drop those off and then in a month or so see if they’d be willing to take more. My problem is, I don’t want to overwhelm anyone with all the books since I’m trying to declutter and I know that feeling all too well. ;) Thanks for the book thoughts! Always love hearing what everyone else thinks.
I admire you for culling your book collection. It’s such a difficult thing for me to do. I have boxes of books that have followed me through various moves (many of which often sit in storage) because I can’t bear to get rid of them. I do go through from time to time and get rid of some, but it’s never enough. It’s why I’m thankful for Kindle books, because it allows me to hold on to the story but get rid of the physical book.
My dad is the extreme opposite of me and struggles to get rid of ANYTHING. I often think my family thinks I’m wrong for getting rid of things, but I just CANNOT if it’s something I’ve had on my shelf for YEARS and am not reading (why not hope someone else will enjoy it?) or if I’ve had something for months and haven’t worn it. So it’s (so far *knock on wood*) easy for me to let things like books go. But I move them from my shelf to a box in the office and just cannot get rid of them fast enough (they’re driving me nuts). My mom did take a bunch to our local resale shop last week so that got rid of some and I keep trying to sell them on eBay! It’s a process. ;)
I have a really hard time getting rid of books, but since we remodeled the house last year, I’ve started working on it. I like to donate the ones I’ve read or won’t read to the library – they do book sales to support programs for kids and seniors, so a worthy cause. As for the ARCs, I belong to a buy/sell/trade group on FB and offer them up for the cost of postage. Figure that’s not exactly selling them.
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I think the local library here has a big sale right before school starts again. So in July or August I’ll have to call and see if they’d be willing to take some. Right now, they bulked at the idea of five+ boxes, but did say they could take two. Just need to drop them off. YAY for the FB group! That sounds like a good idea. I need to start sending random ARCs if I sell on eBay (a non-ARC book) just as a “thanks so buying” thing. Maybe then I’ll narrow down the count. ;)
The Lunar Chronicles is one of my all time favorite series. I will say however that I kept trying to read the physical ones and I couldn’t get into them. I probably tried 8 times. I finally listened on audio and was able to get through them and absolutely loved them. I have them physically now that I know how much I love them. Red Queen started strong and I have all the books, but idk if I’ll ever actually read them all considering the second one was just meh.
Ash @ Essentially Ash
That’s awesome! I know so many readers love audio. I’ve never fully gotten into audio, but weirdly the few I listened to, I did enjoy. I just read the paperback/physical book more often than not. I’ll have to keep that in mind with the Lunar books though because I know everyone loves them! Thanks for sharing, Ash. :) Good to know about Red Queen too. They sound fun to me, but I figure if all these years I haven’t been enticed, I need to sell/donate them.
You are getting rid of some of the authors that I am trying to finish the series by, LOL (like Melanie). I now put my books and ARC in my little Free Library that I started. I also make it a point to visit other libraries when I am traveling (like I am tomorrow) and book “bomb” them (bless them with books). The ARC’s were free to me and the ones I don’t want to keep I want to bless others with. I have so much fun with this.
That’s awesome, Cindy! I don’t know of any Little Libraries around me. But if I look up where they are, I could drop some off. My mom took some to a re-sale shop so I’ll take more than in a couple weeks (but I don’t like to overwhelm with my decluttering since I KNOW this feeling) and the local library said they’d take two boxes. Between that and eBay, it’s a start. :)
I usually donate them to charity shops, though I’ve just found out there’s a bookshop in my town that sells second hand books and if you bring them in, you can get some money for them, so when I do my next declutter before we move, they will probably go there. ARCS honestly just float around forever for me because I can never figure out what to do with them-the normal charity shop route is out because they can’t be sold, and I don’t want to have to pay for the postage if I was to do giveaways for them online.
Right!? I just don’t know what to do with ARCs! I’m thinking about including them just as a “thanks” if I sell a final/sellable copy on eBay. *sigh* That would be too slow for me really, but at least I could start to chip away. I’m BEYOND grateful for ARCs, but just don’t know how to pass them on after I’ve read them or if I received them without request. :) Good to know you have a charity shop to donate too! That’s awesome and sounds convenient too. :)
I won a Melanie Dickerson book so bought the companion book but would not purchase them again. If I want to read th3 third book, I’ll borrow it from the library.
I will read Lynette Eason again and Dee Henderson l but I agree re reads that are 400 pages get saved for “ sometime”! That same Kara Isaac book has been sitting on my shelf for at least two years. I won it! Too many books, not enough time!
I still have quite a few of my Lynette Eason books but honestly I’m also putting some up on eBay. It’s just something I “have” to do in terms of making space and realizing that I won’t re-read them in any near future scenario and I’m really not into keeping things in a “what if I need it ten years later?” way. So true! Soo many books and we just don’t have all the hours in a day. :)