Decluttering books - living history

As any book lover will agree, a book is not just a book.  It is a friend, an adventure, a release, a comfort, and an escape...

For us, it's very hard to see even a gigantic book collection as clutter.

You can see empty spaces!

I have already pared down lineal metres of books and am still working on it.

Just a few more books that I enjoyed but don't need to keep.

This box of favourite Regency and other romance books we have released represents much more than  childhood memories.  My sister also reluctantly admitted that she did not have room for these books and did not need them.  But it hurt.

I boxed them up quickly and offered them before they became another yo-yo.  More honestly, they already qualified.

We've both revisited the worlds represented in these books countless times.  The basis of the collection was my mother's.  I grew up with these companions.

The truth is that I have not picked one to read in at least a year.  I use the library regularly and have discovered new favourite authors (and I want space to own more from them!)  When I don't have a library book on hand, I am still passing these over for others on the shelf.

I have finally outgrown this particular sort of relationship fantasy, enjoyable illusion as it has provided over the years.  There was a clamour of interested takers, and I'm sure the new owner will enjoy them as much as we did.

And my daughter can decide what form of story appeals to her - in her own time.  Like so many others, this is an inheritance she can well live without.