{"id":10720,"date":"2017-01-17T09:26:15","date_gmt":"2017-01-17T14:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nosidebar.com\/?p=10720"},"modified":"2019-09-17T08:21:20","modified_gmt":"2019-09-17T13:21:20","slug":"minimalism-and-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nosidebar.com\/minimalism-and-books\/","title":{"rendered":"Minimalism and Books: Tips on Letting Go"},"content":{"rendered":"
I have always loved to read. As a minimalist, I find it interesting to think about why we collect books. Do we wish to impress folks who visit our homes by letting them know how well-read and studious we are?<\/p>\n
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Is it a holdover from earlier days when one\u2019s personal library was a reflection of wealth and social standing? Is it to remind us of where we\u2019ve been and what we\u2019ve learned over the years?<\/p>\n
Whether or not to purchase or borrow; lend, donate, or collect books is a personal decision. Keeping minimalism in mind<\/a>, I have found it helpful to design a reading and collection plan that works for me.<\/p>\n Culling my book collection has been a process, and over time it has become easier. I faced this challenge head on when I was moving in a hurry and had a large collection of books.<\/p>\n Books are heavy and they take up a lot of space, so I knew I had to donate some of them<\/a>. I found that while I clung to my books, many of them were ones that I was highly unlikely to read again. So why keep them? Maybe I enjoyed the sense of accomplishment it gave me to see all of the books I had read<\/a>.<\/p>\n I also found that I was holding on to books that I had no real intention of reading. They had been given to me or I had picked them up second hand because they looked interesting. When I saw those particular books I felt heavy and a bit guilty.<\/p>\n I donated boxes of both categories. It felt good, and I\u2019ve only ever missed two of those books, both of which I was easily able to borrow from the library.<\/p>\nA Growing Collection of Books<\/h2>\n