Books: From 1,200 to less than 120

Why I reduced the number of my books substantially

Some of my favourite books and book series

Collecting books

There were times when I collected books like other people collected stamps (or is it Pokémon cards nowadays?).

I kept every single one I got. And I got many.

From early on my main wish for birthday or christmas presents were books.

I kept all the compulsory school literature. Tiny yellow narrowly printed booklets, every page scribbled on, colour marked, sentences underlined, notes on the non-existing side margin, well, booklets that were definitely worked with. (I’ve never ever treated any other book that way again! The horror!)

When I worked in a bookshop, being at the source of the endless stream of new titles and getting 20 per cent discount, I bought many more books.

I also got several for free, when the reading copies the publishers had sent us for decision making what to stock next were distributed among the staff after use.

A cousin of my boyfriend worked as a sales representative for some huge publishers. More books came my way.

The flea market at the local public library? More books. And that was before I even worked there. (Read more about it here.)

Friends who wanted to get rid of their books? Ask Claudia.

And then university hit. When studying German language and literature, it’s inevitable to gather even more books, because a whole new world opens up.

The peak: 1,200 books

At the peak I had gathered 1,200 books.

Mostly fiction, many classics among them, but also children’s and teen’s books, less non-fiction books.

I even had a table on my computer with all the (seemingly) important data about every single book, including where I got it from, what I thought about it, how many times I’ve read it, who I was currently lending it to, etc. Quite elaborate really.

I loved the look of all the books on the shelves. You could definitely say, I had a library on my own.

I kept all of them for decades. I moved three or four times. Me, my husband, our friends carried many, many heavy book boxes every time. No one complained. My books had to come with me.

Something changed

For decades I was overjoyed about any book that came my way. I felt grateful.

But then, when I turned 35 or 37 or so, I suddenly had enough of the sight of some books. They were a constant reminder of times in my life I wanted to leave behind. They kept bringing back bad memories and I realized how much I was bothered by the mere sight of them.

So I started to give away books that weighed me down. (No pun intended.)

Then there were the books I’ve never warmed to, the books with a preachy message, the books with characters I really disliked or plain boring books. They all had to leave next along with the books that I had read once, but would never read again.

The more I’ve moved towards simplicity & minimalism, the more guarded I’ve become in keeping books (and other stuff, but that’s a topic for another post) that don't make me absolutely happy and that aren’t special to me.

Also, my fields of interest have changed over the years. You won’t find classics on my bookshelf any more, for example, I’ve read more than enough of them to last a lifetime. I also read much more non-fiction than ever before - in a variety of topics.

So, book by book left our flat and I have become very selective about new additions. In short, books have to earn their place on my shelf.

The library

Of course it helped when I worked at the library and had access to any book in stock 24/7. And what our small public library didn't have, I could get from any other library in our region. I was responsible for handling the outgoing and incoming interlibrary loans anyway.

For almost 7 years I had access to tons of books of all sorts and that helped a lot to keep my shelves clear.

Now less than 120

From former 1,200 books, I’m currently at less than 120 (113 to be exact). And this number is still evolving. Generally down. Even if I still buy new books.

Now I’m actually happy when I look at my bookshelf. Every single book is special to me and I would read any of them at any given time. And I often do when I’m not sure what to read next.

Nowadays it’s more about quality than quantity. At least on my bookshelf to keep. I don’t have to have every book in my house, my room, my life any more at any given time.

I still am a happy and busy reader who loves to dive into new stories and to explore new topics. I usually read over 100 books a year (have a peek at My August Reads 2024 - more to come), but I’m happy to let most of them go afterwards. I love their company, what they have to offer – and I also love the space to breath.

(You might have guessed: I still use the library A LOT.)

What about you? Do you keep any book you’ve got? Even the ones you don’t particularly like? Or that you wouldn’t read again?

I’d love to hear about it.