Have you heard of Book Mooch?
It’s a swell little place online to exchange used books. Basi
cally, you send off books you no longer want in exchange for ones you haven’t read.
I love this concept. And it goes against everything I understand to be a good idea.
We’re in the process of categorizing and storing all our books. And we have a lot of them. In every room.
For over a decade, I have been an obnoxious book collector, and James has a ton as well. So here we are. Conflicted. I want to clean all non-essentials out of our house. And I feel downright irresponsible giving books away.
Each one has a memory. And a bookplate.
So what do you guys do with books after you’ve read them?
Go books!! And while I believe–of course–that everyone should have access to any good book they want or need, I do also need to give a shout-out to the idea of BUYING the books. Trade and borrow and read like crazy! But buy them, too!
give 'em to your local library.
I keep my books, and only lend those that I am willing to part with for good. I donate books, give them away, and I love to give gift cards to the bookstore (I used one just yesterday!) Some of my favorite books while growing up were old, out-of-print books from my aunts', grandmother's, and mother's childhoods. I want to keep my books for nieces, friends, and children to read someday…I love sharing my first edition Trixie Beldens!
I've used BookCrossing for quite a while (although not as much lately). You can do "controlled releases" there and trade books with people.