If you are like me, you may be a pack rat when it comes to books. One of the hardest things I had difficulty letting go of was my books. I have moved miles and miles from one state to another, hauling boxes of heavy books that I have been collecting over the course of my life. It really made no sense because I am not a person who rereads books very often. I think I just liked to look at my collection of books and think that they somehow represented me. I had them on display when others visited my apartment and people could browse my books to get a better sense of who I am. But when I started to get more into voluntary simplicity, and I started to think about how much unnecessary stuff I owned, all my books seemed like such a waste as they sat still and dusty in my bookcases. And even more, I began to see that I am not my books and my books are not me.
A lot of this started happening when I discovered Paperbackswap. It is a website that allows you to list the books you are ready to part with. When other people request them, you mail the books (via USPS media mail) and get credits in return. You can then use those credits to order books from other people. It has really allowed me to let go of my need to hang onto books because I get rewarded for letting them go - I get new books to read! I have to say I am reading a lot more since I started swapping. There is less risk then when I had spend money on books, so I am more open to exploring new authors or indulging in frivolous reading. I also get to send books (with my credits) to my friends and family. After getting a couple books from me, my sister started swapping as well.
With almost 2 years (and 107 books mailed), I am keen to get rid of even more of my books, just keeping the ones with true sentimental value (gifts from others) or those that I need for reference. In addition to paperbackswap, I recently found that Better World Books (my favorite book seller - If I can't find a book on Paperbackswap, I buy from Better World Books. They are a certified B corporation who supports literacy projects, and has free carbon-neutral shipping.) is buying back books - depending on the value of the book - they will either pay you for your book or they make a donation to one of their literacy causes for each book that you send to them. They even pay for shipping!
So instead of just admiring (or dusting) all the books on your bookshelf, think about what those books could be doing instead:
www.paperbackswap.com
http://www.housingworks.org/donate/
http://www.betterworld.com/
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwasteless/html/new_homes/new_homes.shtml#books
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1 comment:
Excellent posting... boy, does this hit home.
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