Culture

Sadly, the books are going away

For decades now, I have traveled cross country multiple times, lugging boxes upon boxes of books. I’ve always been proud of my own personal library collection. Books were everything to me growing up. I loved being transported to these other worlds. As a kid, I even wrote my own novel. Books were a source of pride.

Despite that book love affair, I’ve had to scale back on my items due to space. New York is not kind to those with many books, pots/pans, handbags, shoes and clothes. Something always has to give. Now, while scaling back I had to make choices.

Box upon box is filled with books I will be donating to whoever takes them. Some libraries and clinics are still not taking donations due to covid protocols. Interestingly, this past year as I was scaling back, I randomly received two books in the mail. I never ordered them. Neber heard of them. I was quite confused. And, there was no sender.

Maybe someone was trying to send me a message to not give up on my book library. Or someone mistook me for someone else. Life can be random. Now even though I’m scaling back I’m keeping these two books (for a while at least) while I figure out my next paths. They are to remind me not only that life can be random, but also that we sometimes can’t easily shake off our roots.

5 replies »

  1. I once received a book in the mail that I hadn’t ordered and that had no sender information. It turned out my sister-in-law had ordered it for me and forgotten to tell me. The really funny thing is that she forgot, too, and ordered it for me a second time. All turned out well, as she had wanted to read it, too, so when we figured it all out, she kept one of the copies.

    Although I do prefer print books, I find my e-reader is great for travel.

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  2. Don’t give up on print books just yet. There is something organic about holding one while you read. With older eyes, the ebook does offer the opportunity to enlarge the print chosen by thirty-five year old editors. Darn kids….get off my lawn.

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  3. The story of my life it’s made out of books, twice I lost a lot of them because of moving, first when i moved out of my parents, a brother of mine, who does not read, took them over, build fancy expensive wood bookshelves, and moved them to his home, years later his wife divorced him, and lost them to her, I doubt she is a reader either!
    Five years ago when I retired figured out I needed to move away, and leave California, just couldn’t afford to live there with my retirement income, so I moved and I had so many books, that I have to get rid of half of them at least.
    Well…I just keep buying books, do not care to read them on tablets, in fact I got a collection of books that they are a dream to hold in your hand, here a link for you to see them, click on the pictures, there is many:
    https://www.iberlibro.com/OBRAS-COMPLETAS-Episodios-nacionales-novelas-cuentos/30615891232/bd
    I got those and many more in similar editions, unfortunately mainly kept in boxes, to protect them, having them in a bookshelf, you really need one with glass, and curtains, otherwise dust, and light deteriorate them.
    I know the book it’s a wounded animal on its way to extinction, but let those after us to be left just with electronic gadgets!🤣🤦‍♂️😒

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  4. I just moved from Houston to Boston and forced to downsize my personal library yet again. 😦 I currently split my time between hardback, audible and digital editions and have found that I usually have a very firm opinion on whether I preferred the written or the audible format for each book. Digital vs paper is a different story. I prefer paper except when I want to look up a word or refer back to a passage. Digital makes referencing so much easier. Books I think I might want to share, I purchase in print. Then, if I want to keep it, I purchase the digital copy for myself and gift the hardback.

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  5. Hehe, The Only Way i Will Stay Awake

    For A Book That Is Not Lit on A Screen

    Is to Dance With it Free in my

    Hands Listening to

    Meditative

    Music

    Entertaining

    The Folks For Free
    At Barnes And Noble
    (in The Starbucks Cafe)
    While Yes i Read An Entire

    Book For Free As i’ve Done

    Almost Every Sunday Since

    August of 2013 Yet It’s True

    my Wife Already

    Established

    The Max

    Indoor Count
    Of Books In Our
    Home Years Ago

    And That’s okay With
    me as i Love to Save the
    Trees And Will Never Put
    my 9.9 MiLLioN Words in Print
    To Kill 14.4 Trees With Over 100,000
    Photos And No Where For 10,000 You
    Tube Videos to Play in The Entire Book i Write

    Anyway Thank Goodness There is Still So Many
    Free Things to Do in Life Entertaining A Few Folks ALong the Way..:)

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