Weeding the Stacks
Related to yesterday’s post about book stockpiling is the thorny issue of book weeding. I am a fierce de-crapifier. We live in a small house, and clutter makes me anxious. My husband G. Grod, however, is a pack rat. He never wants to throw or give anything away. Recently he had an “I told you so” moment when I was making an 80s mix CD, and no longer owned several CDs of songs I wanted to include. I’d sold them off years ago to make room for new ones, and because I was certain I’d never want to listen to them again. Similarly, I recently bought a copy of Kate Atkinson’s Behind the Scenes at the Museum. I read it years ago for my dear former book group, and didn’t love it, and could not imagine reading it again. But when I read and loved Case Histories last year, I thought I’d like to read BtSatM again.
Getting rid of books/comics/music/movies is a tough call. Yes, it’s nice to clear out room, and not have it taking up space in the house or in my attention. And over the years, I’ve gotten rid of loads of things that I haven’t missed one jot. Yet there are those few instances, like with the 80s CDs, that were so annoying that I must admit my husband has a point. A book in hand can be a wonderful thing when the urge to re-read, or even just to flip through, strikes.