Cookery books and other books - are you keeping them ?

Now about to move house I am having a major book cull. Just yesterday the cook books I haven't used for years went off to the charity book sale.

I'm afraid the encyclopedia ended up in the recycling. Noone wants them.😢

Funny you should mention the Bero book because I also have my mum’s little book. Now very tatty. Plus a very old ‘nursing mothers’ book which I had when I was a nursing mother, decades ago now. They are good recipes and also the PWMU book - Presbyterian women first published in 1904 . I will keep those ones, though.

Faced with a major downsizing I shocked myself by removing recipes I would actually cook from many, many books and filing them in plastic folders according to main ingredient. The remainder of the (what felt like vandalised) books were recycled. Bulk was reduced by 90%, the folders fitted into our downsized space. 13 years on I don’t think about the books, just enjoy re-visiting the recipes.

Other books from several large bookcases were either recycled or went to a local charity book shop. Those from my professional life were mostly sold, I kept three. Mr C wanted none of his.

I kept the handwritten recipes from my mum and ma in law. I don't cook any of them now but will never part with them. We also kept several childhood books dedicated to us by the givers, bibles with family notations along with professional books belonging to Mr C’s dad. A bit of family history. All fit on one shelf. Now we mostly read library books on our iPads thanks to library remote access. Sometimes we buy books from charity shops and recycle them in the same way. It’s worked for us, we have the books with personal meaning and don’t miss the rest.

I got rid of all my cookery books as I get my recipes online. I do have my mums BeRo book which I laminated and a more up to date version. There is a good page on Facebook called Recipes Clan and I've used quite a few recipes from there.

When we downsized a lot of books had to go. I dispensed with outdated reference books and even a few recipe books. I made copies of any favourite recipes I wanted to keep. Others I’ve kept for sentimental reasons.

I got rid of several of such books a few years ago, for the same reason. However, DH (as usual) baulked at some of my choices, such as the Children's Encyclopaedia from about 1950 (bought at a car book sale for about a fiver), even though it is grossly out of date. Plus several others that he declared were "worth something" (they are not worth a penny!). I'd chuck the lot if he would let me.