How do you manage your book collection?

I have accumulated a lot of books over the years. I do read a lot of e-books, and I borrow books from libraries. However, sometimes I end up buying a book if it's not available in one of those categories. I like to keep nonfiction to refer to them, make notes, and bookmark pages. And cookbooks are much easier to read and use in print form.

A lot of my books are old textbooks from school. I've taken a lot of classes over the years, and sometimes (due to a new edition) the books are not worth anything when I'm done. Some I kept as a reference, though they get outdated quickly.

Ideally, I'd keep them all forever. But sometimes I know that I'm not going to read certain books again or they have no sentimental value, so I remove them from my collection. After all, I'm going to move someday, and books are heavy.

How do you get rid of old books you don't need anymore? Fiction that's still in good condition can go to charity, usually either a library book sale or a thrift store. Really outdated books, or books in bad condition, can be recycled. Bookscouter is also a good way to find sites that buy back textbooks.

And as for the remaining collection? I have a huge bookshelf to display my books. I try to group them by subject--fiction, cookbooks, textbooks, etc.--but more often I tend to group them by size, just so they fit on the shelf.

If you have any tips for managing a book collection, please leave them in the comments.

Similar posts:
Book Review: L'art de la Simplicite: Living More With Less
On the Shelf: Book Riot's 2017 Challenge
Writing Challenges and Time Management

Saturnine sale

In the spirit of Prime Day, I'm putting Saturnine on sale. The thriller/sci-fi ebook will be 99 cents for a limited time on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. (It should be available on Kobo and Apple soon.)

Description:

"They don't want her. They want me."

Thomas Huxley is an agent in the twenty-sixth century. When his agency is breached and his identity revealed, his wife, Zoe, is kidnapped.

His friend Ariel, a time traveler, knows that the kidnappers are working with an old enemy of hers, Bailey Tyler. If they can unravel Bailey's plans and stop her, they might have a chance to rescue Zoe. 

But the kidnappers are killing agents, one by one, and Thomas's name is on their list...

If you want to be notified of future releases or sales, be sure to like my Facebook page or sign up for my newsletter.

Subscribe to newsletter:

Book Review: L'art de la Simplicite: Living More With Less by Dominique Loreau

As part of my Book Riot challenge, I've been trying to read more nonfiction. My life has been complicated, so I chose a book about simplicity: L'art de la Simplicite: Living More With Less by Dominique Loreau. I read the English translation, and it was originally published in French.

This slim volume packs a lot of wisdom into the first few chapters. It's one part declutter movement and one part minimalism. A lot of the tips seem to be aimed at women. One tip is: don't carry a handbag that weighs more than three pounds when full. It sounds simple, but if you're like me, you probably haul around a lot more stuff than you think you need. The author also boldly states that if you carry a handbag, you shouldn't need a wallet; the pocket(s) in the bag should suffice. As someone who has owned a wallet since I knew what money was, that was surprising (and liberating). 

The first few chapters give a zen-like outlook on life, but the second part of the book didn't resonate with me as much. A lot of the advice, such as eating less and reducing clutter, is good, but other tips (such as only buying fresh food and never canned, and not eating leftovers) are more strict. Most people can't make such a drastic lifestyle change, due to time, money, or other obstacles. The book also doesn't provide very good advice on health, and at one point discourages therapy, which is necessary for many people.

I'd still recommend reading the first part of the book, and have re-read parts of it because it is so light and optimistic. I'd have liked the parts on minimalism and decluttering to be a little longer, but then again, simplicity is short.