Recycling

Today, Gary and I went to the Muehl Public Library's book sale.  He bought a bagful of books which he will store in the camper for next summer's reading. This saves him the problem of returning library books on time when he is deep in the forest. As he finishes each one off, he will donate it to another library in one of the towns in the north woods, where it will be sold in yet another book sale.

As for me, I am taking a different tack. I only got one book,  a better copy of Thoreau's Walden than the one I've had for decades.  That one was a paper back, falling apart along the spine.  It is now replaced with a new hardcover edition.

For years I've collected books.  With the advent of computers, I got rid of a quarter of them, mostly reference books.  If it's all on the internet, why worry about dusting useless books?

When Gary decided to move in with me, I thinned out the shelves even more to make room for his books.  But now I want to clear even more.  The only way to do this is to stop using my library card for the winter, because when I have books that are due, I read those, not the books I own.

This year, I will read the books stored on shelves all over the house. Some I've owned for three or more decades. Then I'll turn them over to the library for their next  book sale. Recycling at it's best.

After that, I'll buy a Kindle or a Nook.