I was hanging out in the hallway at the Nebula Awards weekend last Friday when I ran into my friend Rahul. He proceeded to completely floor me by mentioning that he throws books away when he finishes them.
“But you don’t literally throw them away, right?” I couldn’t help asking. “I mean, you don’t put them in the garbage, do you?”
“Actually,” he said, “I put them in the dumpster.”
After a few minutes of spluttering, I said, “I’m totally going to blog about this!” So here I am.
As appalled as I am by the idea of actually throwing books away (as opposed to giving them to Goodwill or selling them to the used bookstore), my constant struggle to stay within my allotted shelf space gives the idea a certain shine. Plus, there is no denying it’s easier to walk down to my garage and chuck some books in the dumpster than it is to make a trip to Goodwill. But really Rahul’s strategy highlights a key question:
Are books disposable objects? What value do they retain once we’ve read them? What value do they have if they sit on our shelves for years without ever being read? (My to-read shelves have expanded to encompass an entire tall bookshelf so I’m sure some of them will never be exposed to my eyeballs.)
I approach the ownership of books from a position of scarcity. I remember when I could only afford to buy a couple of (mass market paperback) books per year. This meant that my small personal library acquired an almost sacred feel to it, and I never got rid of any books, even ones that I really didn’t like. Even now, when I do sell books back to my local used bookstore, it’s not an activity without a certain element of pain (which also means I procrastinate about doing it). And I hardly ever remove an e-book from my Kindle and dread the day when I fill it up so I’ll be forced to curate my collection.
On the other hand, even while I adored my small personal library, I turned to the public library for the bulk of my reading. And heavy library usage does support the idea of books as disposable objects for the individual, if not for society. I kept my library books for two weeks or a month, and then the vast majority of them I never checked out again. Is Rahul’s practice of chucking his read books into the dumpster so much different, given that many libraries use donated books to raise funds through book sales instead of actually cataloguing and storing them? Sure, the library will receive fifty cents or a couple of dollars for that book donation, but not enough money to get anyone really excited.
So maybe books really are disposable objects. But I still can’t imagine throwing mine in the trash can; they have too much of an aura of magic and possibility for that. I’ve imbued these objects with so much meaning that I can’t bear to part with them, just as another person saves ticket stubs or theater programs. Except they’re not quite the same; books represent not only an experience I had in a past, but an experience I can choose to have again, albeit perhaps in an altered form since each reading of a book can expose new layers.
What do you think? Are books disposable? Do you throw books in the trash when you’re through with them? Should you start?
At the very least, recycle them. Sheesh.
I cannot fathom throwing away a book. Like you mentioned, donate it. Give it to a friend. Anything other than throw it away. It’s just so wasteful on so many levels. Does this person do the same with DVDs?
First, to answer the question: yes, books are disposable objects. Most are not made to be kept for long periods. They are made of recyclable materials (for the most part; you have to take the covers off of hardcovers to recycle them properly). Certain types are obviously designed to be throwaways.
That said, I was pretty appalled by that cavalier attitude of your friend’s. I hope that by “dumpster” he means recycling bin, because at the very least if you are going to dispose of a book you should do it properly. Merely tossing them in the trash isn’t just dismissive, it’s irresponsible. It is not very difficult to find a way to at least keep the books out of a landfill.
As to the philosophical aspects of this discussion, there is much more to say than I can here. That attitude to books makes me sad. I regularly rescue books, yet at my job I also help cull and dispose of books for patrons. A book that is in poor condition or cannot be read needs to be dealt with appropriately. There are many books that no one wants to read, as we discover quite often when we weed out books from out $1 carts. So, yes, books can and sometimes should be disposed of, But just tossing one in the trash when you’re done with it? It makes no sense to me.
I couldn’t do that. I’d at least give the books to someone else and if they choose to toss them, then that’s their choice.
Someone once gave me a copy of Richard Bach’s Illusions. He found it abandoned in hallway after everyone emptied their lockers and passed it to me. He thought it would be cool that a book goes from person to person. So I read it and gave it to a friend, who gave it to someone else. I like to think there’s someone laying on his back, staring at the sky, trying to alter the clouds because of this book of unknown origin which has been changing hands for 20+ years.
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Haha. You forgot to mention that I started treating books as disposable (by which I do also mean putting them in the recycling, when that’s an option) after I went to a number of library book sales where books were literally treated like bulk objects: for $5 you could carry away as many as would fit in a bag. At the end of the day, the room was still FULL of books. I think that people feel this responsibility towards their books, but they fail to recognize that if they don’t want something then other people probably won’t either. It’s exactly like donating your clothes to the Goodwill. They really only use a small fraction of the clothes that are donated to them. Some are boxed up and sold by the pound to people who ship them to Africa to be re-sold. But many are thrown away. There _is_ some money in our discarded objects, but not nearly as much as we _think_ there is.
I think that for many people, giving away objects to charities is mostly about avoiding the moral stain of having thrown something away. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But I think that the practical difference between giving something away and throwing it away is much less than people imagine it is.
I think that leaving a book in a hall is much less defensible than throwing it away. When you leave it in a hall or in the street, you’re cluttering up a common environment.
Rahul – Do you know about book thing? (http://www.bookthing.org/) They would likely love to meet you.
The $5 boxes of books are sometimes a lifeline for kids who have saved a very little money and want to have books to call their own. Seanan McGuire writes about this in her essay on poverty: “My bedroom was an ocean of books. Almost all of them were acquired second-hand, through used bookstores, garage sales, flea markets, and library booksales, which I viewed as being just this side of Heaven itself.” (about halfway down the page http://seanan-mcguire.livejournal.com/390067.html)
I’m going to write more beyond this reply, because the idea of found books (which you write about eloquently above), and books that you don’t throw away — that are made to be heirlooms, is a broader set of thoughts and I need time to mull.
Amy, I share your dream-library dream – blank walls in our house don’t need pictures, they need more shelves. This makes the idea of moving fraught because books are heavy. My ideal house somehow contains the Trinity College Library’s expanse (and its atmosphere) within a very small cottage.
I grew up making books – in art classes, for friends. It takes a lot of effort to put a book that lasts together, and those are treasures. Heirlooms, really. Beyond genre, an artist named Enid Mark (http://www.theelmpress.net/aboutelm.htm) who took this idea to another level entirely – using hand letterpressing, hand-lithographing, and hand-binding to create exquisite books. These were limited-run books, and they are valued in the thousands, if not hundreds of thousands.
Most paperback books aren’t meant for that. They aren’t necessarily designed to biodegrade, but they do fall apart. If you are a bathtub-reader (I totally am), this happens even faster. But some of those I keep because it shows me where I’ve been, and what I’ve treasured most. Even if it’s held together with rubber bands.
When I took a local train the other day, I found inside the station a small bookshelf labeled “Take a Book, Leave a Book,” – and people were using it as directed. Movements like the Little Free Library (http://www.littlefreelibrary.org/) are setting up (some really adorable) stations all around the world for book sharing.
So I guess, instead of disposable, I think books are sharable, exchangeable. Sometimes degradable. They make fine tables too. And forts. They are fun to find in unexpected places (train stations, hallways, mailbox-things) and discover new stories.
Hi Amy,
My experience working at a public library has changed my attitude about this. Every week we have people coming in attempting to donate rotted, yellowing, mildewed, smelly, grease-stained and buggy books that have obviously been stored in their attics, garages, basements, car trunks, etc. They never fail to act insulted when we tell them they should throw those books out (complete collections of National Geographic are also popular!). I always wonder who they think would want such books.
That said, I have trouble throwing out the books in my personal library, although I have no problem giving them away. There’s a certain mystique that lingers to a good book, whether its from good memories or the cost of purchase. Many times books are attached to childhood memories and learning, both things that have meaning to people, so there’s a certain guilt one feels when throwing them out.
I think the Kindle culture of books for two bucks (less than a cup of coffee!) might eventually devalue this mystique by making books more of a disposable commodity in our culture.
Best,
George
I’ve been to a couple of places – The Library Coffee Shop in Long Beach springs to mind – where they have a ‘bring a book, take a book’ policy. I love that; I get to (hopefully) pass on a book I like to another reader, and I get to pick a new book to read.
That said, the majority of my book shelves (and e-readers) are full of books I haven’t yet read, and am looking forward to. I generally keep the ones I love, even though I might not read them again for many years; the ones I’m ‘meh’ about I pass on to places like the Library or Goodwill.
I cannot abide the idea of throwing books away, even in the recycling, even though I know it’s probably not that big a deal. Gives me the willies something awful.
I donate most to friends, because not everyone can afford them new. But i’ve also tossed some, either because they are really beat up or because i don’t want to make it cheaper to read some books/authors (Orson Card).
I keep the most important ones and trade the rest to a quaint used book store. The old lady that runs it knows where every book in the store is. I guess I am sentimental even when I pass them on. The only books I have thrown away are the ones that have been destroyed by sharpie, general tearing in bad spots, liquids and outdoor exposure. Kids…
I could not imagine such a thing!
Tell your friend to start giving his books to me 😉
Some books I keep and cherish. Others, I donate. But I probably keep more than I should.
I have recycled books I didn’t like at all, but anything I liked or loved I have given away or sold off. While physical books are in some ways just paper to me, good books are sacred things; useful information and profound experiences are rare enough that I coudn’t imagine tossing the opportunity for others to get as much from a good book as I have.
This is one reason I like ebooks. I don’t need to worry about storage space, dust, mold or anything else that might keep me from having as many books as I might want. I don’t feel guilty for owning digital copies of a book that I might never get around to reading, because one could conceivably make an infinite number of copies of any given book (I always feel somewhat guilty leaving a physical book sitting around unread too long, as it feels Iike the paper’s going to waste if no one’s reading or has read that copy). But I still treat an ebook as a valuable thing, because the information and the experience are still just as valuable – so I kind of doubt that good books will be treated poorly in the future just because they aren’t necessarily physical things.
Hi Amy!
Thank you again for sharing this! It’s interesting that you should post this on the heels of a conversation I had recently with a neighbor. The neighbor said someone had broken into their hose, but that they’re not going to call the police. That aside, I told them all anyone would have the opportunity to steal in my hose are books, more books, and a ten year-old T.V.
I feel sorry for the person you know who sees books as disposable. Yes, they do get beaten up sometimes. Yet there is always the compost or the ripping the pages out and putting them in the recycling bin. His attitude unfortunately reflects our society as a whole where objects, inanimate or animate, or disposable.
Love your books.
For both monetary and practical reasons, I tend to purchase/keep very few books (i.e. one 4×3 ft shelve), and only ones that I know I’ll want to reference again. I’m a fan of donating old books to friends, the library, or Goodwill.
I’ve had friends who were working for the Bureau of Land Management as backwoods trail rangers use their books for kindling, so yes I think they’re disposable. Even though a library may only get $0.50 or $1 for a (decent condition) used book, that’s money they didn’t have before.
I’ve found the Boulder library to be somewhat lacking, so I’ll often buy a decent used copy of a book they don’t have, read it, and then donate it so that they can put it into circulation.
The idea of throwing away books that are in good condition horrifies me. If I want to get rid of a book, I will sell it or donate it. Of course, my local library system has an extensive “book depot” for donations and books removed from circulation. If they can’t sell something for a few bucks it eventually ends up on a freebie shelf and only ends up in the dumpster if people wont even take it for free.
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