“Beware the man of one book.”  ― Latin proverb

What’s the best way to pass on all my books?

Things have quickly changed and I find myself with two big libraries that I’ve collected over the years. I have my professional library up at my office and then all my odds and ends here at home. About half of it is fiction. A long time ago I got rid of all my paperbacks. Our county library collects for annual book sales to raise funds. I drop off bags full every month.

I need to get rid of these books fast. I don’t have any family who are really interested. (I do have a collection of adventure stories that I started  from a few books of my grandfather’s. I’ve hidden the box away in my closet, hoping to pass on to my own grandson one day, years and years from now.)

At work, I’ve been trying to find likely candidates for my collections on social theory, religion, family, pop culture, race/ethnicity and sociology. So far I’ve been able to box up several shelves and pass on. A former student who’s a professor at UH received a box a few months ago. I passed on several history texts last year to a mystified student who told me he wanted to change his major. Now that I think more about it, I do remember gathering up a handful of research method texts for a missionary who was embarking on his graduate degree – in Turkey?

*not my real office!

But it still doesn’t look like I’ve made much of a dent in my office. Colleagues are stopping by and picking through the “carcass” – some of my old fashioned friends still read books. Hurrah! It makes me happy to know these treasures will still have a good life. I did just find a friend who wanted all my church, discipleship, Bible study and prayer books that I have at home. Several boxes to pass on – she will surely use them in her work. Another happy blessing for me.

What to do with all the rest of my collection at home? My history, poetry, art, theology, biography, cookbooks, culture and then all those mysteries??

“I go back to the reading room, where I sink down in the sofa and into the world of The Arabian Nights. Slowly, like a movie fadeout, the real world evaporates. I’m alone, inside the world of the story. My favourite feeling in the world.” ― Haruki Murakami

Books are a solitary yet social experience

My grandfather was a reader. He put a bookshelf in his home office. Each afternoon, instead of a nap, he would come into the house, sit back in his chair and read a book. He was a man of few words. Many in his family were quiet people. I remember growing up and visiting my great-grandmother’s house way out in the Hill Country. There was a large shelf of books in the back bedroom where visiting relatives slept. It was a collection that grew as family visited, brought a book, read a new one and then left it for others.  I’ve always thought you could divide the world into readers and non-readers.

“A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.” ― William Styron

All those books at my house, collected over the years, and I’ve never had anyone to talk with about any of them. It’s always been a solitary experience. That may be true for most readers. I guess I should have started my own book club. I could start one now and give everyone who joined their own box of books as a membership bonus.

My daughter is a reader. She reported recently about achieving a big goal, 115 books last year! She’s reading on a Kindle. I could never get the hang of that for some reason?? I do listen to an audio book now when I drive alone on long trips to see my family. It works great making the time fly and I’ve found some interesting “reads.” Those books don’t take up any room in the house!

Passing on reading to the next generation

My grandchildren and I have started our habit of reading. Before bed, of course, and then anytime the mood strikes. There are “board books” for the very young that have easy to turn pages. Some of these books have textured pages – with fur or even Astro-turf. Both children take off their shoes and “read” these books with bare feet. So much fun that way! My two-year-old granddaughter and I have been reading “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” over and over again. She loves all the animal sounds. I’m hoping they become readers. I’m collecting books for them already.

“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” ― C.S. Lewis

How did I end up in this situation?

I started building my library as I worked my way through graduate school. It was a collection of what I was reading and should be reading.  They were also a prop that went along with this new person I was becoming. Students from the cell phone era often come into my office, look around and exclaim, “have you read all of these?”

“Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live.” ― Gustave Flaubert

This is not just a collection of the books I’ve read, they are also books that I value possessing. Many I have looked through and NOT chosen to use in my classes. Some are not for reading all the way through, but for reference. There are others on the shelves that need to be read, but somehow were forgotten.

Again, what am I going to do with all this fiction at my house? It’s haunting me. I spoke with a colleague at work today who gifted me with a mystery. I told her about one I had just finished – promising to pass it on to her in return. That’s one strategy. Every room in my little house has a bookshelf in it filled up with books!

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” ― Marcus Tullius Cicero

What am I going to do with all these mysteries?

I am going to get this giant task before me resolved. Eating the elephant one bite at a time. Each box that’s passed on to someone else makes it easier. Knowing that so many will be given to people who will be able to put them to use is a great feeling. Like children sent out to the world to do good. There’s a lot here that can certainly be bagged up and sent to the library for fund raising. I loaded five boxes into my vehicle tonight. It was a great feeling. To be moving in a positive direction (getting the house cleared out) and passing on some of my history to a friend, all feels so satisfied. (But, you have no idea how many more boxes there are to fill!)

“Books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like a betrayal.” ― John Green