An author I love shared a post on Twitter/Instagram lately, showing off her bookshelf in her new house. Yes, book SHELF, singular. And I saw that, and looked at my four (!!!!!) bookshelves, and kinda screamed.
Over the past year, I’ve gotten rid of about 50 books in total, but I still have a heck of a lot. I reckon about 2/3 of them are unread, which is an unbelievable amount – maybe nearing on 200 books in all.
my uni bookshelf
Considering that, so far this year, I’ve read 78 books, it would take me two to three YEARS to actually read all of the books on my TBR shelves! That, I think, is insane, scary, and I really don’t want those kinds of numbers in my bookish life anymore.
I know that there are some readers out there who keep all of their books, but seeing this author have “only” one shelf of literature, and then my shelves kind of overflowing with paperbacks, it made me lean far more to the one-shelf kinda book lover than in the opposite direction.
If I don’t like a book, I will get rid of it (and sometimes pretty soonish). Personally, I don’t understand why readers keep even books that they don’t like on their shelves (if you do this, I would love to know why), because I don’t want to be constantly seeing something that makes me want to punch a wall!
But I will only definitely get rid of books if I don’t like them. Now, to really make my book collection (because that’s what it is!) far smaller, I really need to also get rid of books I read once, and perhaps even gave 4 or 5/5, but will not read again, and I know that there are maybe around 50 books on all of my shelves that I would actually choose to read over and over again. Those, the ones that I love to read again or the ones that I can’t bear to part with, are the only ones that I think I should be keeping.
I’m really interested in minimalism (I can actually hear my mum laughing at me writing that), and although I am nowhere near a minimalist and probably never will be, I like the ideas behind the movement – ie, keeping only what you love. Despite the fact I’m a huge reader, and love being surrounded by books, I know that I could get rid of probably hundreds and instead of regret, I’d feel relief that my TBR isn’t physically looming over me anymore.
Sure, I might regret the amount of money I spent on books that weren’t read by me – but they’ll be read (and hopefully loved) by someone else… so isn’t that worth reducing my collection?
I would honestly love to hear if you keep all of the books you read, if your TBR is as scary as mine, and what you think about only keeping the books that “earn” their place on the shelves by being ones that you truly love. Let me know in the comments below your thoughts on anything in this blog post!
Until the next time,
Hx
A couple of resources on this topic that I found really interesting:
- “Yes, You Can Be A Minimalist And Love Books” – Book Riot (blog)
- “Can You Be A Minimalist Book Lover?” – Ariel Bissett (video)
- “THE BOOK PURGE” – Ariel Bissett (video)
For day one, I’ve chosen this quote from Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia:
For Charlie Grant, this weekend is way more than just her big sister’s wedding: it’s the first time in years that she and her siblings will be under the same roof. Desperate for one last, perfect weekend before their house is sold, Charlie focuses on trying to save every problem that goes wrong. A neighbour bent on sabotage, an alarm that won’t stop ringing, an unexpected dog turning up, the groom’s missing tuxedo… and that’s only the beginning. In one chaotic weekend, Charlie will learn more about her family than she thought, and realise that, sometimes, living in the past means missing out on the future. 
The Tobacconist by Robert Seethaler – this was a just a really brilliant book set in Vienna in 1937/38. Through the view of a young man, Seethaler explores subjects like love, family, truth, and freedom. I’d so recommend this book to everyone, and it’s a new favourite.
Dustwalk is a deadly, unforgiving town, and Amani would do anything to escape it. When a stranger gives her that chance, she takes it without second thoughts. But dangerous creatures lurk in the night, the handsome stranger she escaped with isn’t all he seems, and Amani may be hurtling towards something bigger than she ever imagined she could be apart of. 
Like I said, this series was a slow start. I’d tried to read it a couple of times before, but kept putting it down because I just wasn’t gripped at all. The writing style wasn’t particularly unfriendly, but there just seemed to be no real hook until Jin arrived. (Side note: JIN I LOVE YOU FOREVER.)
The characters were just brilliant, because they’re all so different. I think that Hamilton showed really realistic relationships and connections – Amani and Jin are the typical YA couple, but even then they had a relatively slow-burn relationship. But when you’re in an environment as harsh as Amani’s, and you’ve saved each other’s lives a couple of times, it’s understandable that you form a strong connection.
Of course this has to make the list, despite being the most cliche recommendation on here. When I first read the series, I read them all back to back within about 3 weeks! #WorthIt
This is a series that I don’t think I actually binged, but I forget details so quickly it’s basically necessary to binge. They’re not too long, so perfect to snuggle up with and just pick up one after the other!
I binged this trilogy and thoroughly enjoyed it! It’s definitely worth binging this series because you will be in agony knowing if your favourite characters are going to live or die…!
I frickin’ adore this series, and it definitely doesn’t get the hype it deserves! All of the books are interlinked in a way that you’ll only notice if you’re perceptive (it’s so satisfying realising that though!) and this is definitely a series that made me want to be a writer. It’s brilliant, and I can’t recommend it enough!
Earlier this year, I spent about a week reading one of these books every night, and it was brilliant. The 7th comes out pretty soon, so right now is the perfect time to binge books 1-6 before Death in the Spotlight is released.
I don’t know why TMI is earlier on this list than TID, because I preferred this series wayyyy more, and I so wish it’d been 6 books too. Jem, Tessa, and Will are three fantastic characters and the setting is one of my favourites – steampunk Victorian London! If you’re hesitating reading these hyped books, pick up the first, and you’ll be desperately wanting the rest.
This might be my all time favourite series. I LOVE these books so much, and would actually scream it from the rooftops if I could, but I think the neighbours would call the police on me. *ahem* It’s fantastic. Book 3 comes out soon, so there’s only 2 books for you to binge before then!
I feel like this series should be way more hyped than it is. Maybe it was when it first came out in 2014, I don’t know, but it’s a fantastic, short fantasy series, and I would highly recommend binging the lot. They’re short enough that they could probably be in a bind-up, and would be the size of all these fantasy books of a monstrous size that are beginning to appear (read: Sarah J Maas…).
Revolving around the theme of “Only Connect”, Howards End concerns love, lies, death, and living. From the feisty Schlegel sisters, Helen and Margaret, to the upper-class Wilcoxes, Howards End also sees to the struggling Basts amidst discussions of social convention, wealth, charity, and relationships. In this turn-of-the-century novel, widely regarded as Forster’s best, Margaret is our strong-willed, independent protagonist, who refuses to let her husband’s smugness and closed-mindedness affect her own life. 