What to do with all the books? Where to put the ones you've already read
8.8.2017
Translation: machine translated
There comes a time when you have to be very brave, because in extreme cases you have to part with books you love. Here's a guide to how your books can still please someone once their life in your library is over.
I'm going to have to move house soon. There's one thing I'm already dreading: the question of books. Where to put all the paperbacks I read when I was at school? What to do with the collection of XY's works that I bought at a flea market? And what will become of last summer's bestsellers? I love keeping my books. Often, when I move house, at best I manage to part with a small booklet. When one resurfaces, I also part with a paperback that once fell into the bath. But this time it's different and it has to change - I have an e-reader.
The embarrassment of choice in the library - which books to give away?
I find it very hard to part with books. There are so many in my library that I still want to read. Classics that I've collected. Books that have been recommended to me and that I've wanted to read for a long time. The only thing these books have in common is the dust that has accumulated. What was it Modest Mouse used to say? "All them books I didn't read. They just sat there on my shelf looking much smarter than me."
At the same time, my bookshelf is full to the brim. Piles of books pile up next to it and a few runaways even litter the floor of the room. Even the bed is surrounded. I have to face the truth. I've got too many books and not enough space. This realisation isn't easy. I like saving books and I find it very hard to walk past a pile of papers to be recycled without picking up the book that's in the middle of the newspapers. A book in the middle of paper to be recycled is horrible. It really didn't deserve to end its life there. Well, it's true that there are a few exceptions, but we'll come back to that later.
So I decide to part with the books I'm still not going to read any time soon. All of Proust's works? They're clearing out. I've been lugging them around for three house moves and I still haven't found the time to read them. James Joyce's Ulysses in the original language? Maybe in ten years' time. I'm a master at acquiring books for later. After much debate, I've still managed to fill a big bag with books that I'm going to part with.
Taking them to a flea market - a second chance for unwanted books
As soon as the books have been sorted, the question arises: where to put them? I don't want to throw them away, so I take them to a book flea market. It's the first place I think of. There are book fairs all over Switzerland, and a trip there is often well worth it. My favourite, the Bücher-Brocky is in Zurich, Bederstrasse 4.
I didn't just choose this place because I can't carry my big bag of books too far. There's a huge selection of books here. From general literature to essays to collectables - it's all there. This is also the danger of book fairs. On more than one occasion, I've taken five books to the Bücher and brought home three new ones. Another advantage of the Bücher-Brocky: if you've gone overboard and brought back a bag full of new books, fortunately Enge station isn't too far away.
A cupboard full of books
Those who want to give away their books for free can deposit them in a book cupboard. You can simply put your books there. They are not sold, but you can take them for free. As well as feeling like you're doing someone a favour, we also like the idea that these books are most of the time found in unexpected places: sometimes old telephone boxes, other times metal crates that protect the books from the elements, etc.
My favourite is the "Stadtbibliothek 9¾" at Rheinfelden station. In a former telephone box, next to the shelter between tracks 3 and 4, Rheinfelden's municipal library has placed a book cabinet. As well as titles that used to be available to borrow from the library, there are also books donated by private individuals. On Wikipedia (in German), there is a list of book cupboards in Switzerland.
There are many other opportunities to give books you've already read to other people. Retirement homes are also often very grateful, and some charities sometimes accept book donations too.
Book Art - new works of art from old books
Book Art - a completely different way of recycling books you want to get rid of. The term encompasses everything from artistic folding to paper sculpture. The 1000 old pages metamorphose into filigree silhouettes. A pile of old paperbacks is transformed into an amusing bust. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at handicrafts. But Book Art is perfect for all DIY hobbyists and arts and crafts enthusiasts. Pinterest, but also galleries and museums are praising this new art form.
They still end up in the pile of paper to be recycled
They exist. Those few books that even junk shops refuse to take back. The ones that, in the book cupboards, always remain on the shelf and find no takers. Books that even experienced DIY enthusiasts don't know what to do with. Books that can be thrown away with the paper for recycling. They've been sitting in a banana box in the attic for years. We pull them out from time to time, but we don't read them anyway. They're often linked to memories and so defend their place in the library. But there comes a time when everything becomes clear: you can get rid of this book.
My top contenders for the recycling paper award: recipes from the 1970s for Römertopf. Of course, with old grease stains. A book you often get as a gift from your grandparents, even if you don't have a Römertopf. We continue with Windows 98 for dummies. In 1998, I was ten years old and still a long way from owning my own computer. There are also biographies of singers, for me the story of the Kelly Family. Finally, a travel guide to Italy dating from 1989. With yellowed pages and restaurants that haven't existed for a long time.
But who knows, maybe these books will also find takers once they're out with the rest of the paper to be recycled.
Tabea Graf
Freie Autorin
tabeagraf@gmx.netAs an author and passionate reader, a large part of my time belongs to the world of words. I like to travel and discover the world, always with a book in my luggage. Languages of all kinds inspire me, almost as much as the prospect of the next coffee.
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