I love books. They are a great companion when I am alone. At times much better than a girlfriend. Books don’t nag 🙂
I used to have 71 books when I last counted my possessions. Right now it is down to only 24 pieces.
How did I manage to do so? The steps are quite simple if you want to do the same:
1. Acknowledge that the books represent your development as a person but they are NOT YOU. At one point of life, you might have been really into a certain subject and you got yourself a book on that subject. Now you have some other interest and it is time to move on. But you still keep that old book eventhough you no longer read it. It is time to let go of that book.
2. Separate the books you have into two groups. One that you want to review each year and another one are books which you have already absorbed and internalised the content. The 24 pieces of books I still keep fall under the first category. Among them are Personal Development for Smart People by Steve Pavlina, Your Erroneous Zone by Dr Wayne Dyer, Norwegian Wood by Murakami and The Fight Club by Palahniuk.
3. Get rid of the second group of books. Sell them to used bookshop or donate. Usually the books that fall under this category are the classics like How to Win Friends and Influence People, and complete collection of Oscar Wilde writings.
And that is how I ended up with only 24 books now.
I’m still looking for courage to further decrease their numbers 🙂
I will let you know once I get there.