Friends are the best, right?
When I couldn’t think of a question this week, the fabulous Ronie Kendig answered my desperate plea! By the way, you SO want to keep money in your book budget for her 2016 releases, Accelerant, Warrior’s Seal, andย Conspiracy of Silence – such brilliant reading, trust me.
Anyway, back to the bookish question…if you are like me your house is overflowing with books. I seriously have them in every single room of my house – on shelves, in drawers, on the floor, on tables, and in other people’s houses! Yes, I run my own private book library from home ๐ What Ronie and I would love to know is this…
What do you do with a book once you have read it? Shelve it, give it away, toss it, something else?
February 9, 2016 at 2:36 pm
I usually don’t purchase a book unless I know I like it well enough to re-read. It definitely goes on my shelf to keep. The library gets most of my patronage. If I belonged to a program in which I was given a lot of books for review, I would likely keep the books I really liked and pass on the others. I would never throw one away.
February 9, 2016 at 10:32 pm
My answer is similar to the previous. I predominately use the library. Our library is wonderful about conducting interlibrary loans or even purchasing the request. Anne Mateer and Amy Matayo, for example both now have homes in our public library. If I do but a
February 9, 2016 at 10:34 pm
Oops. My response posted prematurely with a spelling error. If I do buy a book, then I either donate it to my church library or share it with friends. Ditto- no throwing away books! ๐ Fun question
February 9, 2016 at 10:39 pm
That depends on the book. There have been a few that I have decided were not worth reading and I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone else, so they have gone in the recycle bin. Most books find a way to somehow be on my shelves. If I know I won’t read a book again but it is a good book I’ll usually donate it to the Op Shop.
February 9, 2016 at 11:06 pm
I almost always pass the books along to others — book club members, friends and family. I keep a book that is signed or was an exceptionally good read. But like you, my house is overflowing. My husband suggests that for every book that enters one needs to leave.
February 10, 2016 at 2:33 am
Oh wow – that would be too difficult for me since I tend to hoard books ๐ But that is a great idea, one for one!
February 10, 2016 at 1:54 am
If it’s a book that I really enjoy, I’ll keep it. If not, there’s a used bookstore where I live that offers cash or in-store credit for books. I rarely take the cash and usually end up taking home just as many books as I drop off.
February 10, 2016 at 2:11 am
I go back and forth. I love my growing library and haven’t given up hope that I’ll have a place one day that will have a separate library :). So the ones I enjoy I keep and the others I giveaway or donate.
February 10, 2016 at 2:29 am
If I know my book club would love the book, I give it to my co-leader to review first. Like you, I get a ton of books, so I try to take a box to the kidney dialysis center. This poor folks have to stay there for 4-5 hours on dialysis. It’s the perfect time to get lost in a good book. ๐
February 10, 2016 at 5:42 am
Oh, that’s a wonderful idea. I would never have thought of that. A nurse in my church works with kidney patients. I could talk to her about this.
February 10, 2016 at 5:48 am
Sylvia, they really appreciate it. And with Christian fiction, they see hope. ๐
February 10, 2016 at 2:31 am
Ahhh interesting question! I would say 80% of the time I’ll keep it if it was a good book. I’m a re-reader (or, maybe I like to think of myself as one in that magical future reality of “when I have time” hehe). But, more recently, I’ve realized that I’ve reviewed quite a few books I didn’t “love” – at least not enough to make it to the re-read future reality. I’ve started giving those away on my blog as a means to spread the word about authors and to bless someone else with a read they may enjoy more than I did. But, at the end of the day, I also will need to buy another bookshelf…or three. ๐
February 10, 2016 at 2:39 am
Because I know authors don’t get paid (and therefore stop writing) if we don’t buy, I always buy books. If I read it and love it, the book goes on my shelf. If I read and it’s okay, I’ll share it with someone else who might enjoy it as well. If I don’t like it, then I donate to Goodwill or the library (though, I’ve found my local libraries to be iffy about receiving them lately).
February 10, 2016 at 3:29 am
I keep most of them. Some I lend out. But I’ve stopped lending because I’ve “lost” a few.
Now I recommend books and sadly, I can’t lend what’s on my Kindle app. Sooooorrrryyy.
February 10, 2016 at 5:46 am
Most digital books on Kindle can be loaned a few times. My sisters have read some of mine that way. If the book can’t be loaned I give them my Amazon password and they read it on my Kindle for PC. Sometimes I even loan them my actual Kindle Fire for several hours so they can read it there. I probably wouldn’t do that outside of my immediate family though.
February 10, 2016 at 4:39 am
Shelve it or give it to the local library. I keep what’s on my kindle too.
February 10, 2016 at 4:41 am
The library has a twice a year book sale. Most books I win are ARC’s so I keep most of those too. When i don’t keep one I tear it up so no one else can read it. Authors need to get paid.
February 10, 2016 at 6:08 am
I find I very rarely re-read fiction. There are so many new titles each year I want to read, it’s hard to keep up! I really should give my print copies away, all but my absolute favorites anyway, so they can go to someone who will read them and maybe discover a new favorite author. But it’s hard to part with them. Right now my excuse is that I can’t decide whether to donate them to my local library or give them away on my blog. For now, they’re slowly but surely taking over my “Spare Oom.”
February 10, 2016 at 7:59 am
I am a known book hoarder sadly. I love to have tons of books on my shelves (and any other surface with some space). Unless I really just dislike a book I’m gong to keep it.
February 10, 2016 at 8:33 am
If a book really inspired me, I share it. And if that means it doesn’t return to my “home” library, then I’m ok with that as maybe it got passed on to someone else who needed a word from God – some salve for their soul. But since the “tech” age of Kindle, my library travels with me. It is so nice to have my books in one neat little purse size library. And if I know of someone that has a Kindle and I think a particular book would resonate with them, then I gift them with it through Amazon – – hey…… Valentine’s Day is coming up….. sounds like a good idea for some special people who have been and are “sweet” friends!!
February 10, 2016 at 11:33 am
I keep quite a few of my books but as my shelves get fuller, I do go through and make the difficult decision to pass some of them on. If they are fairly recent books in excellent shape, I give them to my daughter to take to a used bookstore to accumulate credit (that we use to get more books!). If they are older and perhaps questionable shape, I donate them to our local thrift store. Hardcover books usually are donated to my library for their annual book sale.
February 11, 2016 at 5:49 pm
I want to hoard my books but sadly I don’t have the space. I tend to give my books to the church library or donate them to the local library.
February 13, 2016 at 6:11 am
Like you I too have books all over the house. Thank goodness, my husband doesn’t mind at all. When I pass along books they go to my church library and if we already have them we pass them along to other church libraries. I’ve worked in the church library for 37 years and love it!
Janet E.
aka Library Lady.
February 14, 2016 at 3:02 pm
Usually I keep the book if I really really like it, but if I don’t think I will ever read the book again (which usually I don’t re-read books), I either give it to my church library or to our public library. It usually makes its rounds through my family first, though–me, my mom, and my sister.