Still trying to get into the grove of this. Image yoinked from Irasutoya until I can get a better one.
Clearing Out the Library
My partner and I have a fairly decent library of books- mostly graphic novels and other arts-related books. It takes up two 6’x9′-ish IKEA shelves, another smaller, sturdier DIY’d shelf for oversized books, and various flat surfaces in the house. There’s a few paperback series in there, but this is one area where we’re both very blatantly biased as cartoonists. Once or twice a year we try to go through and remove books that don’t fit anymore. Ones we’ve read that we didn’t like, felt mid on, or just otherwise never got around to reading.
This past Sunday we sat down and pulled everything out. I’ve definitely learned some things about the books I like over the years, especially with this recent clean out.
I’m more willing to keep a book that looks cool if it’s just for that purpose
I used to try to justify every book that I kept, but just ‘looking cool’ wasn’t one of the reasons I used. I kind of do now, though? Except now books that look neat are cordoned off into their own aesthetic reference section, even if they’re GNs. Then at least their immediate purpose is obvious. There’s some books with less-than-stellar stories that have fantastic print design that I love to reference.
If I haven’t read something since the last yearly clean, I probably won’t get to next year
This one has been hard because I do want to keep every book ever (okay maybe not every book…). But if there’s one I know I haven’t read, then if I haven’t read it by next year’s clean I should remove it. My partner and I have a To Read shelf to combat this, but sometimes that shelf overflows with books from cons, when I used to do the LA Times Book Prize, etc…
If it’s a well known or easy-to-find book, I probably won’t keep it
…Unless it means a lot to me personally! I don’t need a copy of MacBride’s Isaac Asimov’s Caliban but you’ll never see me tossing my copy of Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness. I don’t reread it frequently or anything, but it does feel… comforting, I guess? To just have it on hand, available at any time. Plus I can lend it out more easily to friends who haven’t read it!
Holy shit there’s a lot of books being published all of the time
This is one of those things I kind of always knew, but it never really clicked until I was one of the graphic novel judges for the previously mentioned LA Times Book Prize. There was an honorarium for my (and the other two judges) work, but one of the big benefits was getting to read so many books for free. I know, I’m very shameless. This is fine. I don’t work in publishing because I hate books.
For the two years I was judge, we were told to request at least 75 titles– which we definitely did! I still had many left over in our collection and I still feel like I didn’t request everything I should have. Oh well.
I’ve exiled ones I didn’t feel strongly about enough to hold on to. Some building friends came down to look through what we were getting rid of too and picked up some gems. I’d put these in a building library if our building manager hadn’t gotten rid of our previous one. Definitely would like to find a way to bring that back in a way management couldn’t object…
I love books, man
They’re so good. Considering that there’s a decent chance you’re a book nerd or print pervert if you’re here, I don’t really need to explain myself. But man, if I had to get rid of all of my possessions? I’d have serious trouble parting with my books.
Next time… we’ll tackle the zine and doujin collection. The multi-box zine and doujin collection. Yep. Hmm.
