Book Hoarding, and How I’m Letting That Go

Luna feels about toys, how I feel about books. I emptied her toy bin today to clean it out, and the pile that amassed in front of me cracked me up to no end. This girl is basically a dragon in disguise, and her hoard is all about chew toys and stuffed toys.

The funny part though, is that I’m exactly the same way about books! It’s been that way as long as I can remember. I’ll buy/borrow/receive a book, put it on the shelf, and forget to read it. Then a year later I’ll see it, tell myself “You need to read that soon!” and there it sits again. My goal last year was to look at those books, find someone who might appreciate them, and pass them on. After all, if I haven’t read them in that long am I actually going to?

I have to say, the first few times I gave a book like that away I was so torn. I kept lamenting the fact that I might want to read that at some point and it would be GONE. It wouldn’t be right at my fingertips! But since I’ve done this more and more, I’m slowly feeling more free than anything else. Now my shelves have space for the hardbacks of books I’ve LOVED and want to own. There’s space to organize, and I can proudly tell anyone who comes by that I’ve either read, or am reading soon, the books on my shelves. It’s weird, and I don’t understand it, but I kind of like it.

I don’t think I’ll ever fully get over being a book hoarder. You’d never see my shelves empty, in favor of only using the library or Kindle books, but I can say that at least I’m trimming it down! It feels good.