Do you have a Half-Price Books near you? Might be worth a look.

Closest one is at least an hour away in Ft. Wayne. We might take a road trip down there some day, but not for a long, long time. We like to stay in our home state of MI, but there aren't any here. Perhaps some good used bookstores in the metro Detroit area, but I'm not familiar with them. Not going to be able to travel to that area for several months at least . . . much higher covid rates than locally. That's why I was kind of hoping to find an online seller.

The most fabulous used bookstore I've seen was in downtown Detroit--John King? Looks like they are still in business. I don't know if they buy long distance. Worth a call maybe?

https://www.johnkingbooksdetroit.com/

OMG Fori, ROAD TRIP! A dream and a goal for 2021. Hope springs eternal in the human heart . . .

As I recall that is the "go to" place to go if you have a really rare book. Mine are just mid century modern antiques . . . mostly first editions, of interest to bona fide nerds only . . .

Alas, you're pretty much out of luck if you don't have anyone nearby who will take them. Used books that aren't rare are very, very difficult to get rid of. You could 1) see if there are any Little Free Libraries in your area: https://littlefreelibrary.org/, or 2) if you've signed up with them, ask on NextDoor if anyone is interested.

That's my next project Bookwoman, putting up a little free library in my yard. I have so many dang books to distribute!! Each with their own particular audience . . . Some of the general, light reading fun ones would be fine for the free library, and I'm hoping to get rid of some of my brother's calculus and trig. books to an African school. Now if I can just figure out what to do with my friend's extensive collection of books in German . . . they were moving cross country and battling cancer at the same time so when I went to visit them I said no problem I'll help you get rid of your books. I was doing the same with Mom's books. Five years later still trying . . . but really buckling down this time . . .

I haven't even gotten around to my mother's beautiful collection on Japanese art, plays, culture and literature. All from the 50's. She got them before a year spent teaching in Japan. Definitely a niche item . . .

i have also been looking to cull our books and recently came across this website https://www.betterworldbooks.com/go/donate — a for profit online seller of used and new books with a percentage of proceeds going to non-profit literacy programs.

This is one of those projects that I usually ponder in terms of whether the energy involved is worth the outcome. *For me*, it wouldn't be worth my time, mental focus and effort to try to get a ton of old books to particular very focused readers somewhere who might want them. And the monetary value you describe wouldn't really move my needle either ;)

I'd suggest seeing if your local library wants them and if not a used book store-whether you get any money for them or not, the value would be getting them out of your house and off your mind.

If you have a college nearby, you could contact them. Some colleges have an annual book sale of donated books as a fundraiser.

If you would consider it, I'd love to buy Ann Morrow's "Gift from the Sea" from you. She was a reclusive fixture in the town where I lived for ten years and I've always loved her gentle words and feminist spirit.

While many college/university libraries are reducing their hard copy collections, don't overlook the possibility of a donation to one in your mom's name. Particularly if the books are of a particular interest to one of the programs offered at the institution.

ETA: weird, pkpk's post wasn't showing when I posted but obviously I concur :)!

Covid is such a pain in the a$$ for so many reasons. Like how it makes you want to downsize stuff but closes off the options for doing so responsibly. Charity sales are (or should be) postponed, road trips are verboten, thrift shops are overflowing with donations but not customers.

If you can wait a bit longer, it might be easier to rehome them.

(I first went to King's bookstore when I was trying to landscape my old house and did not find the new books to be suitable. They had a whole section on vintage to antique landscaping books! Now I know to use dynamite to remove trees.)

I don't know anymore how to PM people, but I'd happily send it to you Jo. I like the book, just don't have the space for it. It's a first edition, still has jacket. In pretty good conditions, worn around the edges. If I could somehow get your snail mail address I can send it to you. I have a lot of bubble wrap mailers saved up . . .

I have a whole set of books that it is worth waiting for local sales since they are light pop themes books. The ones I'm struggling with are the vintage ones and the niche ones. Someone will want them as is demonstrated here, but not a whole lot. I'm having success with "Operation Paperback" for a lot of the history and light psychology/self help books. Its for veterans libraries. It's these old philosophical ones from the 50s that are the worst. They're very nice books but just not worth keeping around because I already have a HUGE horticultural library, an environmental science teaching library, and a kids picture book nature themed library. So if its a classic book that I could get at a library if I wanted to read it, I am giving it up. My Mom had almost every book C.S. Lewis wrote, for example. Nothing wrong with them still, but not my bag. I just hate to throw them out. Already gave a collection of Jewish religion themed books to the local synagogue. My mom had a religion minor in college . . .our church library is good . . . same generation of folks started it.

Lpink, that's so nice of you to offer it! If you get a chance, check FB for a message from me (we have a bunch of CF friends in common so hopefully this doesn't appear as stalkerish as it might at first glance.) Again, thanks so much--yet another example of the warmth and generosity in our little corner of the internet.

Apparently, old books are hot right now. People want them for their Zoom backgrounds. I heard a story on the radio today about a used bookstore that is selling curated selections of books by the yard.

There are a number of bookshops that sell books to decorators (both for the home and movie sets) by the foot or yard, notably The Strand in NYC. Prices vary depending on whether you want cloth or leather and how specific the titles need to be.

May I suggest Paperbackswap.com? With COVID limitations on travel, it might be a good way to move some of your stash along.

You list all the books you want to get rid of. When someone orders a book of yours off the site, you mail it to them in exchange for 1 credit. You can then use that credit to order books off the site. There is an option to print postage directly on the label the site creates, so you don't even have to go to the post office to mail the book--just drop it in a mailbox or hand it to your mail carrier.

We've used our credits to send books to OTHER people for birthdays and holidays etc. They've all been very happy with their books. Although most of the books on the site are used, many of my contacts have reported that they've gotten new/like new books.

Also, the site has a "wish list" feature, so if you are looking for a special title, you can add it to your wish list and you will be automatically alerted when it's listed on the site for trade.

The American Association of University Women used to hold book sales as fundraisers. I haven’t been involved with AAUW in some years, so I don’t know if that is still true or not. If so, they may take your books for use in a future book sale. You can find a local branch by going to their website, AAUW.org.

Mom's collection would be perfect for someone into MCM antiques who wants a "curated" classy literature collection from that era. The rest of the world . . . not so much. That's the problem, most of the books I'm trying to get rid of are from the 50's and early 60's, hardbound, heavy topics, relevant to intellectuals only mostly. I'm sure late Boomers with dying intellectual parents from that era are supplying the decorating sector in the areas where that would be a thing. In my poor rural area . . . um no, even if and when we ever start up books sales again. That's why I'm thinking specialty online markets are the way to go.

Pink, list one (or a couple) on eBay and see if there is any interest? I think media mail is about $2.75/pound. So be sure to charge extra for packing and shipping.

@l pinkmountain, my nephew is a Japanophile. He speaks fluent Japanese and has lived there. He is interested in your Japanese collection. I cannot PM you. Please PM me to discuss further.