Tag: Unhaul

2023 Bookish Unhaul

It’s not very often I go through my bookshelves and make space for future books. However, that has been one of the jobs I set myself to do last week. Now I’ve gone through my shelves and picked out what I’m going to be giving away, I wanted to feature those for the last time in this 2023 Unhaul post to tell you why!

The books on my 2023 unhaul list range from physical copies I thought I’d love, but didn’t end up enjoying and so DNF’d, to those that I did enjoy, but I’m unlikely to read again and therefore need to keep. I’ll break down the list into different sections for reasons why I’m unhauling.

Let’s get to it!

 

DNF’s

There are a few books that I bought or acquired fully expecting to love them. However, sometimes I’m wrong and as a result, I’ve ended up with a few books and series that I’ve ultimately decided to DNF.

I’m not continuing with the Dune series as they are very heavily political and in its classical science-fiction setting… it’s a bit much. It’s not that I have a problem with political elements in other books – in fact, there are several in which I really enjoy this. It’s the combination of the genre (and being a very complex and serious sci-fi) that isn’t working for me any more.

 

Average Reads – Won’t Read Again

A small handful of these books didn’t end up achieving as high a rating as I would have hoped for. Again, they all had a lot of promise, but the execution didn’t quite do it for me. It shouldn’t surprise you then that I have no plans to re-read them, and so they can make their way to a new home. 

 

Read and Enjoyed, But Won’t Read Again

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The section probably has the most books in it. Generally, I have a great experience with reading, and for the most part, a good idea of what will work for me. Yet, there are a few examples where my mind has changed over time or I’ve not loved a book as much as I thought I would. However, broadly, that’s not the case.

The section is for the books that I have really enjoyed when I read them. Some of them have even gotten five-star ratings from me. Even so, I enjoyed them at the time, but I’m not likely to read them again. In terms of physical books, I try to limit my shelves to have more books that I love and I’m likely to re-read. These books definitely got the love, but aren’t going to be picked up again. With that in mind, I’d like to make sure they go to a new home and can benefit a charity in their re-sale.

 

Additional Copies

There are a small number of books for which I have since received nicer editions. Family are treating me real nice with these books, as I’ve now received copies of all the penguin paperbacks in clothbound editions instead.

My sister also treated me to the beautiful colour-illustrated edition of Empire of the Vampire. The pictured edition is the one I took away and read last year. That’s beautiful enough… but I don’t need two copies – especially considering how chunky it is! I’m obviously keeping the nicer one.

 

ARCs

A couple of exceptions to the charity shop haul are these advanced reader copies I am getting rid of – The Silent Patient and The God Game. There are restrictions around these that prevent me from being able to take them to the charity shop and have them sold on. In theory, I could give them to somebody if anybody expressed an interest, but they can’t be sold. With that in mind, I’ve actually already disposed of these.

That’s the end of my 2023 Unhaul post and those are the books that will be making their way to a brand new home soon!

Have you read any of the books on this list? Are any on your TBR?

 

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Discussion Post – How I Decide What Books to Unhaul

I have recently undertaken a project to free up some space on my bookshelves. I don’t have the most shelf space in the world. As much as I would love to have my very own dedicated library, I don’t feasibly have the space! I have plans to upgrade my shelf space in the future, but that’s a way off yet.

So, how do I go about deciding what I keep and what books I unhaul? That’s what I’ll be discussing today, as well as specific books I’m unhauling right now.

 

What books are on my shelf?

Generally speaking, I buy physical books that are parts of series or by authors that I know I love. They are books that I intend to read more than once. These are typically the books that will stay on my shelf.

That’s not always the case though. Sometimes I will use vouchers to buy something new, or something that caught my eye whilst shopping. Or, I’ll buy a physical copy of the book if the kindle price is negligibly different. That way, if I do go on to really like it, I’m not then having to buy the physical copy in addition to the electronic copy I would have bought.

I also have some advanced reader copies of books on my shelves, though not as many as I used to. Whilst I don’t actively seek these out anymore, or at least at the moment, I do have some on my shelves that I am yet to read.

These are the kinds of books that will typically come off my shelves and ultimately make their way to a new home with a friend, or more commonly, a charity shop.

 

What Am I Unhauling and Why?

My bookshelves don’t fill up too rapidly, so I can get away with a sort out every couple of years or so. The last time I went through the books on my shelf for an unhaul was before I moved into my current house in 2020.

With the shelves starting to fill up, I started going through what I had on my shelves on a bit of a whim. Turns out, there are quite a few books that I’ve decided to donate to a better cause than cluttering up my house!

Some examples include books by C.J. Tudor (The Chalk Man and The Taking of Annie Thorne), a few of my paperback penguin classics (as I’m now collecting clothbound), and other assorted books. The rest are books that I have read, but I’m not likely to pick up again.

For example, I have a book by Neil Gaiman in the pile to unhaul – Norse Mythology. Whilst I did enjoy this one more than any other book of his I’ve tried, I’m not so interested in his work that I want to keep it. A number of the books I’m unhauling fall into this category. Vox by Christina Dalcher, The War Within by Stephen Donaldson and The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker are all good examples.

There are a handful of books I am getting rid of because I didn’t enjoy them that much. Season of Storms by Andrzej Sapkowski and my recent read, The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean fall into this category.

I have to say, books don’t often fall into this category. But, it inevitably will happen at times. The best thing I can do is help them go to another good home.

What do you do with a book once you have finished it? Do you keep it? Do you unhaul books by giving them to a friend, or donating to a good cause?

 

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