Donating books

A few weeks ago, I asked myself a question:

Of the books around me, which have I read or touched in the last few months?

I looked around and saw over a dozen books on my shelves. Some books were purchased to learn more about a topic, others were gifts that I had not researched. Whatever the reason, I felt an uneasiness about having so many books around that I was unlikely to read. I did not want to let the logic of "maybe I'll read them soon!" get in the way. If I had not read the books in the last few months, or if I had read them and not had an interest in re-reading them, why should I hold onto them?

In the past, I loved collecting books. I had around two dozen books about coffee. I owned books about technology. I had many non-fiction books. One day, however, I started to feel like my holding onto the books was not valuable. The books could be in the hands of someone else. I donated almost all my books to charity shortly after.

This year, I did the same. I had two dozen books or so that I had no plans to read and donated them. The topics covered everything from street architecture to Lisp. Do I feel guilty about not reading them? No. I feel excited that they may find a new home and may spark joy in someone for whom the books are a perfect fit.

Do you have any books that you don't think you are going to read any more? Are you consiously holding onto them (owning books is fun, especially when you can look to the physical books and say "I read these!")? If not, consider giving the books you don't plan to read to friends and family or donate the books to charity.