Back in the fall of 2018, I stumbled upon a video by Booktuber, “Read With Cindy” entitled “Why I only own 4 books”. They talk about Booktube consumerism and how it is possible to read a ton, to love books, and to be part of the Booktube community without having an extensive library. Here’s the link. You will have to cut/paste it into your browser because I am apparently not tech-savvy enough to know how to make it clickable here on the bliggity blog.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82aYuS6SNrU
I was inspired to consider my own bookish habits and in December of 2018, I re-evaluated my library. I discovered that I had almost 90 unread books on my shelves and decided that I would not buy any more until I had read each and every one of them.
I further decided to unhaul anything that I would not read again. I had until NY Eve 2019 to complete the challenge, with the vow that any unread books remaining would be forwarded to libraries and charity shops in the community. Because I am deadline-driven, it forced me to make this task a priority.
When it comes to embracing a minimalist lifestyle, books are a hard category for most people and the thought of parting with them can cause a lot of anxiety. But I looked at where the anxiety was coming from and realized that it was a fear-based reaction. I was afraid that if I let them go I would be faced with crippling regret as a result of my decision. In short, I didn't trust myself. After sitting with the feelings, I realized that I needed to move through the fear. Once I did that, I was able to be rational about the process.
The first thing I noticed was that I had a ton of coffee table books that I seem to have bought without much thought. For example, I had four books on Celtic artwork that were pretty much identical, which I would have known had I not simply scooped them up because they were on sale without looking through them first. I also had a ton of spiritual books that I had either outgrown or were no longer relevant to my path. While I was at it, I thought it would be a good idea to re-read my favourite fiction, some of which I hadn't touched in over a decade. Much to my surprise, I ended up letting go of quite a few because they didn't age well.
I read a total of 146 books in 2019 and was able to unhaul (drumroll, please)... 123! I now own 83, all of which I have read. Now… lemme take some SHELFIES!
One of the things that I noticed was how many books that I purchased in the name of “research” but never ended up reading until last year. Even more surprising was how many I was able to let go of because of this handy-dandy invention called “the internet”.
My little spiritual library may not be overly impressive, but it’s all relevant to my path and to who I have become as a result of my journey.