We have been given a large number of titles for our Kindles so on the weekend I decided to check if some were double-ups of hard copies that we already owned. Sure enough, there were over 80 books that we already had on our bookshelves.
Here are some of the books which we will be letting go. It will mean less to store, dust etc. We will even have some empty shelf space.
I have listed some of the books to give away on a couple of sites including Freecycle but have not had any luck.
If any of my Australian readers have suggestions as to where I can give them away where they will be appreciated that would be great. In fact, if you are interested in any and live in south-east Queensland or are prepared to pay postage please let me know and I can send you a list of the available titles.
organised castle 
Yvonne I take our books to Lifeline, but have you tried selling them on ebay? you may get a few dollars towards your next purchases
I have an aversion to ebay – not sure why and yes, I could take them to Lifeline or the other op shop in our town but I often see so many books there that I thought I would like to see them go directly to where I know they would be valued and used.
Is there a library around with a book trolly like we have in Strathalbyn?
I hadn’t even thought of that. There is a library here so I will keep that in mind.
I would much rather keep the books. I love the smell and feel of real books. I just don’t like electronic book readers. My husband and both I enjoy the real book experience.
Thanks for your thoughts. We were very reticent about the e-readers at first. In fact we got one as a trial to see what we thought. The huge benefit for my husband is the ability to enlarge the font. The Kindles that we have very much replicate the look of the paper page unlike an ipad or similar which is just like reading on a computer screen.
Is there a book exchange nearby? You could swap them for something for the grandchildren. My local Member has a free book exchange section in his Community Room. My local library accepts donations of books and if they feel they are excess to their requirements the books are placed on a shelf near the front counter so that clients may choose something free to take home. My previous workplace has a shelf where we used to place books we no longer wanted and other employees would take them home.
Other options include donating them to a Senior Citizens Centre, a nursing home, a club, or a library in a small town. Do your local sports clubs or RSL run hobby groups and would they like the books? Crisis Line often need a supply of books for the volunteers who assist overnight. Does your hospital have staff on night shifts who would like them? Do Blue Care or Anglicare share books with their house-bound clients? Does your local newspaper run a classified section with free advertisements where you could sell the lot for a small price?
Lots of great ideas. Thanks, Louise.
Fairy is there a retirement home or hospice type facility or even a senior citizens centre who would appreciate the books for their libraries. I have done this with the Burnie Brae centre at Chermside.
So many excellent ideas. I knew I could depend on my blog friends.
Great suggestions above. I am more likely to delete them from my Kindle than from the bookshelves 🙂 Barb
I understand your sentiments but I love the space and lack of dusting more than the physical books.
Nice job, doesn’t it feel better? I loved a full bookcase for years, but once I cleaned mine off and saw open space it made me jump for joy. Where I live I drop off paperbacks to the used book store for credit, and the hardbacks (which the store won’t take) to our library who always needs books.
The open space is lovely.
If you have a FB account – your friends may want to snap some up. Otherwise a lot of hospitals have a library trolley, Local members often have book swap shelf in their offices, Gumtree is useful to advertise stuff to go, and of course you could have fun with http://www.bookcrossing.com/howto – we have released into the wild a few books and seen the travel from Australia to Europe to only come back to Australia again. And over the years I have found 2 bookcrossing books!!
I must look into Bookcrossing when I get time. I have heard of it but that is all.
One of my friends is involved with sorting/selling used books at Qld Uni I could put you in touch with her if you are interested..
I am giving the books to someone who responded to my Freecycle post. She is a co-ordinator for the Lifeline Bookfest so they will be snapped up by the bargain hunters, I suspect as well as raising money for a good cause. Seems like a win-win to me.
Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. There are lots of ideas for the future as we let go of more of our hard copy books.