And my name is...I'm in the same boat & am moving to Washington state from NJ. I've sent 10 boxes to auction & there may be a few more. Its going to be hell boxing all of them for moving, plus getting the custom-built library shelves taken down. We can feel for each other!

Mary, I agree that parting with books is almost as difficult as knowing old friends are leaving forever.
I have many old, tatty books that are only fit for the bonfire but I resist getting rid of them, although I probably will never read them again.
Do you find the longer you have owned a book the less willing you are to part with it?
I still have one or two childhood books that escaped being 'purged' by my Father. He had a notion that his children owned too many toys and books. Every so often, and always when we were not at home, he would collect up our 'stuff' and give it to the children of his friends. The books were sent to what was still known as the 'fever hospital' where kids with contagious diseases were incarcerated. We were too scared to complain until my youngest DB found his bike had been passed on to a boy who already had a better one . . so had sold the 'gift'. Similarly, all my Mother's family photos 'disappeared' as did my own collection (feeble as they were) of slides.
I know when we eventually have to 'down-size' that many of my books will have to go, but it will be a wrench.

I tried to whittle down my book collection last weekend, but am not sure quite how successful it was....

So I bought a sticker for my car that reads "Book addict"... Thought it to be appropriate. :-)

Keep 'em, Mary. Keep them all! My husband had to have hernia repair surgery after our move last winter when he moved all the boxes of books and dishes himself. (Well, actually he already had some problem, but that did him in.)

Carolyn, Book Addict and Chocoholic

Sadly, I have "lost" lots of books due to moves around the world. I have replaced a few but others are OOP. The silly thing is that I know my favourites by heart anyway and as I am now short of space, don't really need them and probably would only hang on to them for old times sake!

Ann, Book Addict and a Sweet-tooth!

Thanks, friends. Maybe I am not so crazy, after all. I do find that the longer I have had a book, the more reluctant I am to part with it. And I am guilty of keeping books with pretty illustrations which I know I will never read in entirety. As well, I find I am keeping books from childhood which I practically know by heart. I also enjoy the patina of age which resides within the tattered covers, perhaps because I am aging myself.( ?) As an aside, it should surprise no one here that most of my life was spent in library employment. ;-)

Ah, Woodnymph--another library person (besides me) gone wrong!

I do weed my books on a fairly regular basis, but the ones I keep, I love. I see no reason why I cannot have a house with at least one room lined with bookshelves, and those shelves filled with books, not stupid art ornaments. By all means keep the books you love, and move them with you when you change houses. They will help you feel at home in your new location.

Rosefolly

Woodnymph, you are absolutely NOT crazy. I would have a terrible time parting with my books, though I do try to weed them out once in a while. Many of my favorites are OOP, and with many of them I live in hope (ha!) that my kids might want to read them someday.

My house would feel empty without my books (no matter what my DH might say to the contrary *g*).

We've been married 7 years this August and moved 5 times. I have around 500 books on my shelves, equally split between TBR and "can't part with." I just can't bring myself to weed either. As, another library employee here, you'd think I'd be happy to be able to just go grab them off the shelf at work. But no, I love owning them. Luckily, my husband doesn't mind boxing 'em up and moving 'em out each time.

So, did you find Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 as depressing as I did? What if????

I do try to "weed" my bookshelves now and then. Some I give to friends and some I give to the library book sale. The "dearly loved" I keep and visit now and then.

A little secret: A very few books that were given to me and touted as "great reads" by people of tremendously different tastes I found so vulgar and way beyond the pale, I threw into the trash. Bradbury's firemen could have them as far as I was concerned. Ever happen to you?

Reporting back to say that I did it, folks! Here I am in a whole new state and new city, with all my 4 bookcases intact, with tomes unpacked. Admittedly, I am renting a storage unit because I found I just had no room for so many large "coffee table" type books. Thought you would all like to hear how I am surrounded by my familiar friends....

Good job, Woodnymph!

Maybe you do have room for your larger books? This could take up a very small "footprint" and allow you to have all your friends back in one place: Find a small coffee table, no larger than your largest book, and just stack them! Beautiful sculptural solution!

Congratulations on your move and on getting your books unpacked Woodnymph. It's a nice feeling to be surrounded by familiar, old friends and knowing that you can pick one up and read it whenever you want instead of trying to remember what box it was packed in.

I am another book and chocolate (as well as chai latte) addict. I have had a tough year, including losing 4 of my feline friends over several months from various causes - cancer, kidney failure (yes they were all getting on in years and I should have been expecting it but it's still tough to lose a beloved pet after many years together let alone 4 of them within 6 months) and my books have given me a much needed escape during the worst of it.

I should add, that even though I haven't posted much, coming here and lurking has been helpful too...! :)

Or stack your oversize books on the floor UNDER your coffee table. Someone asked my sister once where I had all my books, and she told them anywhere you could possibly put a book. This was before my beautiful new bookcases.

Happy to hear that your move went well. Aren't you glad you kept your books?

Woodnymph, congrats on the successful move.

I am a recovering book addict. Do you think maybe many of us were scarred by reading Fahrenheit 451 at a young age? Getting rid of books feels sinful. Still I have forced myself to do so.

Moved into my house with 48 boxes of books, bought steadily for the next 15 years, but moved last year with 25 boxes of books. I spent 2 or 3 years sifting through my library. First were the light novels I knew I'd never reread. They were easy to get rid of. When I realized I didn't miss them at all, I found more novels I knew I didn't need to keep. The more I recycled, the easier I found getting rid of the next ones. Over the years I'd accumulated tons of worthy books I could never get into, but was sure that one day I would. Those were the hardest to sell/give away. I had to reassess who I was before I could do it. I kept gardening books, cooking books, history books, reference books, and some very silly novels I enjoy rereading.

Thanks for all your support. Yes, I am very glad I moved with my books, although I did some serious weeding out before the relocation. Often the test of a keeper is, for me, do I re-read this old favorite periodically?

chris, yes, I think I was scarred by the memory of "Fahrenheit 451" many years ago. I took it very seriously, as well as "1984" and the actual book-burnings in history.

Someone suggested placing books under a coffee table. Not possible for me, as I got rid of my traditional coffee table and am using a wonderful cedar chest made by my grandfather instead.

I remember as a young girl visiting the house of a classmate with my father. My classmate's father showed us with pride the walls of old books in his living room, books he had bought en masse from an estate sale. I saw things I wanted to read on those shelves. My father, to whom every book is a sacred object, was seriously impressed. These days I would not want most of those books, but I'd love to be let loose in such an old library to explore. I'm sure I'd find several dozen treasures.

Rosefolly

For the record, I already regret letting go of 3 tomes I decided to sell: "The Little Princesses", "The Woman He Loved", and "Past Forgetting" (the latter, the biography of the woman General Eisenhauer had a love affair with, during WW II.) Ah, well....

Wood - but that's the magic of the library or amazon... one-click and it's done.

(It's so easy, it must be evil.)

Glad to hear that your books and you made it in one piece. I think if we ever move, I will be forced to go through my collection. I try to weed every now and then, but it's tough because a lot of the books I own, I have not yet read. I don't mind getting rid of the books I have read and finished, but the ones to come...? Different ball of wax.

:-)

Evidently, I'm not "cured" yet of my addiction: yesterday, I walked around the corner to a rummage sale and came away with 3 books, which set me back only $2.50. Watch out --- this coming week is a huge 3 day book sale in our city, in a large auditorium. I am already planning to be there.... hopeless! I found I do have one kitchen shelf over the refrigerator in my new quarters which can be made to hold books....