Happy New Year!
I’m not one for quantities of New Year Resolutions but I do tend to have a clearout around this time. A clean and clear out, once the decorations are down, makes it a little bit easier to face January.
Lockdown, and especially working from home, has made me dissatisfied with the number of books we have in the house. Normally I would have said that I liked having a lot of books but recently the clutter has started to bother me and I now prefer a good selection and room for display.
However, in a small two bedroom terrace containing three bookworms, careful shelving isn’t always a possibility so a clear out was needed. I usually have a book clear out once a year anyway, going through and considering what I won’t read again or that which I no longer fancy reading. Plus, when I’ve finished a book there is a good chance it goes to the clearout pile instead of back on the shelf so I do think my shelves have a high turnover rate.
However, Mr Barsby is a different matter. He reads a lot slower than I do and is never going to get through a lot of the dry history tomes sitting on the shelves. A few years ago he wrote an article for The Bookseller reviewing the history books published that year as a special round up and was sent huge quantities of books as possible titles to mention. Our shelves have never really recovered.
There are many opinions about book clearouts. Marie Kondo had a lot of people yell at her for suggesting they clear out books but if you follow her advice (does your book collection spark joy? Yes? OK.) then there’s really no need to worry. My collection, and that of my husband, did not spark joy.
Some people would say that, as books are replaceable, do you need to hold onto them at all? These are people who a) do not understand the sentimental value of a particular volume, b) do not make notes in the margins for future reference and c) do not wake up in the middle of the night with an immediate and pressing need to check a very specific passage from Wolf Hall. Plus, what do you do if it’s gone out of print?
Helene Hanff, back in 1952 had very definite views on this and I lean towards her way of thinking.
“I houseclean my books every spring and throw out those I’m never going to read again like I throw out clothes I’m never going to wear again. It shocks everybody. My friends are peculiar about books. They read all the best sellers, they get through them as fast as possible, I think they skip a lot. And they NEVER read anything a second time so they don’t remember a word of it a year later. But they are profoundly shocked to see me drop a book in the wastebasket or give it away. The way they look at it, you buy a book, you read it, you put it on the shelf, you never open it again for the rest of your life but YOU DON’T THROW IT OUT! NOT IF IT HAS A HARD COVER ON IT! Why not? I personally cannot think of anything less sacrosanct than a bad book or even a mediocre book.”
So what criteria do you use to clear out your books? I’m like this:
Have I read this?
If yes, am I going to read this again?
Might I refer to it at some point? Would I like to have it on the shelf to look at it and know it is there?
If no, am I ever going to read this?
The final one usually covers books that I once bought in a fit of self-improvement that have never grabbed me enough to actually read. Perhaps I should know more about economics, the Second World War, art, and social theories but I should really be honest with myself at the point of buying rather than four years later when I give up trying.
The biggest problem currently with clearouts is what to do with them. Our local book donation bank is full. The charity shops are closed and not taking donations. So Mr Barsby’s books are in the boot of the car hoping the book bank might be clear soon. He’s only cleared two shelves and we have a whole bookcase to go still so Oxfam of Nottingham, I know there’s a pandemic but please. We need you.
Susan E Barsby 