Am I being unreasonable where books are concerned?

It’s sad to hear people talk of burning books or throwing them into landfill. There’s one of the dedicated Oxfam book shops near us, and it’s always busy with enthusiasts browsing and buying. It smells musty and dusty but is a treasure trove for the many people out there who actually value old and unusual books. They also sell online. And Oxfam offer a free service for people to send donations, including books, from their local Collect+ point. There is a maximum weight of 10kg per bag though.

I’m finally bracing myself to donate the 70+ old children’s annuals I’ve been storing for years for sentimental reasons, and Oxfam have said they’d be delighted to take them. They are all saleable, from just £1 to around £35, but I’d rather not have the hassle of selling them myself via eBay etc. What I would never do is dump something that others can use and value.

Just a note of caution about ‘recycling’ books.

Our council tells you to put them in your general waste bin, they are not suitable for paper recycling, the quality of paper and the printed matter is a no no.

Sometimes really old, brown papered, tatty books just need binning, though it seems a shame when they were much loved childhood books.

As for DIL’s and other family members ‘helping’ you to de-clutter, yes, I’m sure they are trying to pre-empt having heaps to do when we are no longer here.

I certainly go through my stuff much more, and car boot, charity shop, give away, throw out things that I have hung on to for years, as I tell myself, “What will DD and DS do with this eventually? “

A big skip down the drive is the answer, and I may as well save them the task. Also, when it’s gone, you really don’t miss it.

If the books are clean and in a decent condition, then might it be worth offering them to a local primary school? Either for their library/classrooms or for them to give away to children/parents, who might be glad to have them. This could be appreciated in the current difficult financial circumstances many schools & people are facing.

I kept my old Bunty annuals, 1960 onwards. Loved them, my big Christmas present each year. 7/6d

DD, although a keen reader, was never that interested in them, and DGD, another keen reader, even less so.

They are still in a box in the loft, very well read, tatty spines, loose pages, but I look at them now and again and am instantly transported back to being about 7 years old! Can remember the stories so well.

I will not get rid of them, not yet anyway.

It might be one box in the loft destined for the skip in the fullness of time.

I have used "webuyanybook" and everything went smoothly.
Why not keep a few select books as memories and take the rest to a charity shop.

I have thousands of books. Many from my childhood.

My family knows these books will stay with me until I'm 6ft under

One of my daughters has said she'll take them and keep them

The thought of someone boxing them.up and demanding I get rid has filled me with horror!

As an aside, a friend of mine has just sold some old Winnie the Pooh books for a very nice sum

I sell some on eBay, ones that don’t sell are given to the local fete of charity shops (some are taking them, Red Cross was one). Ask your local food bank if they would like them they sometimes es have games etc for children.

I wouldn't leave them for my children to just throw away when I'm gone. What a waste! There must be many children who have few books of their own and having one or two of yours to enjoy might make a big difference to their literacy.

Apart from putting them out for people to help themselves, it might be worth approaching a food bank to see if they would take a few at a time, or a local church with outreach projects as well as schools (perhaps those in less well off areas). At least you could feel that some of the books might go to homes where they are appreciated.

My local Co-op has a corner where we can take old books which are then sold and the money goes to charity.

My son is a bookseller and I gleaned a little info from him.

Old books are usually without monetary value and are a fire hazard. Get rid of them when you can.

If there are any books as treasured objects, say childhood favourites, or family Bible, you may never read and they are worth no money but you want them.

Old books in good condition may be some value especially if signed by the author ,or maybe good condition interesting first editions. Very specialist antique books sometimes fall into this category.

PS if you should ever want to read an old paperback novel once again but have binned it you can buy them for pennies from an Amazon seller. Or Abe Books.

Google recycling sites in your area. We have at least three that I know of. Books are always very popular and get a number of takers. A local special needs school are always keen and a local mosque took some.

No harm in joining up and putting them on. It’s free!

henetha

My local Co-op has a corner where we can take old books which are then sold and the money goes to charity.

Quite a few places do that locally. Tesco, Sainsbury’s the building society, local cafes etc etc

That's good, Sussexborn. It isn't always easy to dispose of old books, and I hate to see them just dumped. So thank goodness for those places.

We have one of the old red phone boxes near to us. It is used for people to leave their unwanted books in and anyone can help themselves to any book they fancy.

Advertise them. My daughter buys and sells secondhand books, she buys in bulk from advertisements, doesn`t make a fortune, but is definitely in pocket.

Jemimasmum

We have one of the old red phone boxes near to us. It is used for people to leave their unwanted books in and anyone can help themselves to any book they fancy.

It's better than what the phone boxes around here are used for.
What a lovely idea about the books.

After my husband's death two of his old books were sold at auction. One for £5,000 the other £3,000. Look carefully at books before disposing of them.

I would second what Aldom says. Go through them and have a look on Abe Books www.abebooks.co.uk/ and do a search. You'd be surprised at the price that some books sell for. I've just bought a copy of an old childhood favourite for my DGD to read and it cost me £14.99, even in a not very good condition, as it was out of print and I could only find it on their website.

Although I am in the process of getting rid of lots of rubbish that is taking up far too much space in our loft, I would rather throw out old kitchen stuff, prints that I no longer want hung on the walls, clothes, shoes, bags, there is no way that I would ever just dump books. So many places that would be grateful to receive them. The only other thing I would say is that old children's books by some authors are a bit out of date in terms of current thinking (Enid Blyton being one example). We still read these to our young GC but often have to censor them as we read - beating donkeys and smacking children is not something that I feel comfortable sharing with them!

telling someone else to get rid of so-called clutter sounds like trying to dismantle their life while they are still living it.

Miss Adventure Yes it is a lovely idea. People leave children's books as well as the adult ones.
I won't ask what your phone box is used for

We’d planned to use our village phone box as a community book swap. Then somebody stole it overnight.

Ours housed books for swapping but unfortunately it was vandalised.

I sell books on Amazon also Ziffit and marketplace there is a market for early childrens books I have a lot of mine still my daughter took one look and put her hands to her head but they are too good to throw out they’re 70 odd years old
And it’s not true about charity shops we do a lot of sales in childrens books just got to find the right shop that would appreciate them as long as they are in good condition

Our two local hospitals both take books for sale.