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| another random photo by k |
I was going to take pictures of the books I'm getting rid of, post them here, and ask you to tell me if I was inadvertently getting rid of any gems. However, as I thought more about it, I had a bit of a revelation. Many of these books were on the TBR because other readers loved them and I thought I should read them. But there they sat, gathering dust because I didn't actually want to read them. And this is when I decided to change my reading philosophy.
From now on, I am choosing to read what I want. I am not going to feel pressure to read what everyone else is reading unless I am truly interested in it. There is no one author that fits every reader's tastes so there is nothing wrong with skipping one, no matter how popular he or she is with my blogging peers. I may still end up picking up some duds but I can squarely place the blame on myself for that -- which should make it easier to quit a book I'm not enjoying. I am going to fully own my reading from start to finish (or not).
Feeling light and positive,
K
Love it! And you know - if any of those books are ones you *might* be interested in (ones you hear of in the future, I mean), you can always grab it from the library to preview, you know?
ReplyDeleteExactly. I'm taking the list of books I culled and putting some of them on my library list instead and, going forward, that will be my vetting list. If I'm not sure about a book, it will go on there first. I'm excited to use the library again!
DeleteI think you totally made the right choice, of not posting the ones you culled. And not guilting yourself into reading is always a good thing!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It feels really refreshing to finish this process and to decide on a path going forward. :)
DeleteWoohoo!! Great job!!!
ReplyDeletePurging books for me is so hard so I find this task of your's VERY impressive!!
Thank you! Until a couple of years ago, I couldn't do this same thing. I think the last time I tried to do a TBR cull, I got rid of maybe 10 books at most. It's more satisfying to clear out a good chunk of them!
DeleteI'm thinking of doing the same with my stacks at home. Those books have been SITTING for years. Am I really going to read them? Do I really want the pressure of them staring at me? Probably not all of them.
ReplyDeleteThat's totally it for me. I can remember buying some of the books as many as 15 years ago. So they've been sitting there staring at me with me staring back at them and yet, somehow, I haven't had enough interest to pick them up in all that time. It was time to let some of them go.
DeleteWell done you! And very very sensible not asking our advice. You should never ask book bloggers whether to keep or cull books. We are not good advice people.
ReplyDeleteSo true. I could identify a few of them that would get some votes for keeping and it started to stress me out. And there's no need for that, right? Books are for happy making. :)
DeleteI use the library for that purpose a lot - and I've had an unofficial policy for the last couple of years that I don't purchase any NEW books unless I already love the author (i.e. the new Gaiman book), or I've already read it and loved it. It's not a perfect system, but it has helped A LOT.
ReplyDeleteI'm moving toward that system, especially until this TBR fits all on one small bookshelf. It just makes more sense and I totally have no problem buying a book if I've loved it as a library book so it's not limiting at all. I can still build my home library but not be as wasteful.
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