Moving? 5 Reasons to Leave Your Books Behind  – Miss Write

When you move house, you’ll be faced with moving many, many pieces of furniture, appliances, suitcases of clothes and boxes. And some of these boxes (a fair few, in my case) will be full of books. Novels, non-fiction, recipe books, the odd bit of poetry… It’s all in there, and you know you’ll end up taking them all to your new pad. 

5 Reasons To Leave Your Books Behind When You Move House

1. They’re heavy – lifting a box of books can threaten to pull muscles you didn’t know you had. 
2. You know you won’t read them all any time soon. 
3. They’re dusty.
4. You’re down-sizing and need the precious shelf space. 
5. They’re shabby and won’t match the modern interior of the new house. 

JUST KIDDING. 

1. I’ll get El Husbandio to lift the boxes. 
2. I will read them all!!!
3. Love the smell of dusty books – achoo!
4. Put up more shelves, instead of using a bookcase.
5. Well-loved and second hand rough-looking books are all the more intriguing. 

So I’ve taken them all with me. Every single one. 

Before you chastise me for not using the opportunity to have a clear-out, I’d already had a culling session six months ago when we moved previously. I decided if I wasn’t going to read them again, or had only half read them and abandoned them, they were given to the local hospice charity shop.

El Husbandio is not impressed. He, unfortunately, grew up in a house devoid of books; he doesn’t ‘get it’. He cannot see why I need to keep my books. Well, I grew up surrounded by them. Both my parents are readers, and have double stacked bookcases I love to browse. And I’d love our kids to have the same influence. However, I’m not ‘with child’ and won’t be for a while hopefully, so let’s ignore that point. 

So why have I humped my books into a van, across Bristol, and out into our new house?

First of all, these books have cost me money. The price I paid ranges from 20p – £15, but that’s my hard-earned cash. Some were free (gifts) – always welcome! – but most of them I picked up in a charity shop somewhere. 

Another reason I’m hanging onto my books is the view of my bookshelf inspires me. I believe, rightly or wrongly, being surrounded by great books written by a variety of writers I enjoy helps me with my own writing. I feel like I’m in good company. 

Bookcases are for books. The clue is in the name. If you have a bookcase without books, you’re doing it an injustice. Yes, this one to the left looks very pretty but it’s not displaying what it was intended to. 

Some of my books remind me of a person or a memory. I have an old copy of ‘A House For Mr Biswas‘ (V.S. Naipaul). When I learned, at her funeral in 2009, this was my grandma’s favourite book, I had to get a copy. I hated it all the way through, but I can’t get rid of it. 

Keep your books purely because books furnish a room. El Husbandio is dead organised and tidied away our DVD collection into a sleeved folder, but this is even more reason why books should be proudly displayed in a living room or bedroom. Both, in our case.

Don’t feel guilty about not getting rid of your books. Society is too much about consumerism and disposable items nowadays, so hang on to your books as long as you want to. People keep crockery they never use, so why not do the same for books? They can stay on your growing ‘to read’ list indefinitely. 

Some of my books have got to be on their eighth or ninth journey into a new place, and no doubt will go on more journeys in the future. 

Keep your books for no other reason than you love them. 

Lou x

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