The Sunday Salon and Moving Madness... or what to do with ALL THOSE BOOKS!

Welcome to The Sunday Salon! And The Sunday Post (which is hosted by Kim at The Caffeinated Book Reviewer) It's been a while... So, why has it been a while? The simple answer that comes to mind is that I'm retiring from my day job... this is the simple answer. The not so simple answer is I'm retiring from my day job, moving 817 miles away and trying to pack all my worldly possessions! This simple act of retiring and moving has created utter havoc and chaos in what was a somewhat "normal" life.

Along with all the normal things I am packing, (dishes, glassware, cookware, clothing, pottery...), I have an amazing number of books. Paperbacks, hardcovers, galleys, comic books... I love books... I love REAL books... But what am I going to do? Too many books. Really, I understand I'm a bit obsessive about books. 

I have always donated to the local library. One of my book club members moved and donated a bookcase where we work, so I donate books to our work library. I give books away to people I know will enjoy a particular book too... but it's hard sometimes to let go... What about those books on the TBR pile that you just know you'll read "one of those days"... How about now that I'm retiring, I can read ALL of those books someday?! Enough! I need to learn to let go and now! So, I bought a book. What?! You bought a book to help you get rid of books?! Sounds like I'm still feeding that obsession, doesn't it? But no, this book is different and actually helped me let go...

The life-changing manga of tidying up, a magical story, by Marie Kondo... Yes, a manga of that
popular book that taught everyone how to tidy up their lives. I actually bought the original cute little book and opened it up, but that was about it. I like Manga and when I went to see if there was any new Manga at my local bookstore, I saw Marie Kondo's Manga version of "Tidying Up" sitting on the shelf. And it was cute... and I bought it.

So, now that I have THAT book, where do I begin... In 3 easy steps, here's the gist of what Marie Kondo tells you to do...

1. Take all your books, ALL of them, and put them on the floor. 

2.  Standing in front of ALL your books, wake them up! Yes, clap your hands and wake those books up! 

3. Pick up each book and hold it close... does it spark joy?! If it sparks joy, keep it!

I did just that... I pulled all my books from all the bookshelves and layed them on the sofa. I picked each one up and held it close. And I actually felt joy with some and nothing with others. Marie Kondo points out that you may have missed the timing on some books... those books that you bought at the time to read that you really aren't interested in reading any more. Those books are the ones it's time to let go of. So, I did. They all went into a donate pile and I felt better for it. Of course, I still have a lot of books, but I've helped weed down my pile quite a bit. I also felt good letting those books go. In a way they were a burden because I felt "obligated" to read them because I bought them, even though I may not be interested in reading them anymore. Don't we have TBR books that have been collecting dust waiting for us to read them?!

I still need to get into our storage unit and go through books. It's going to warm up a bit next week so I might be able to tackle that. Otherwise,  I may be moving more books than I need to.

What do you think about Books sparking joy? Have you ever gone through your books to see if they still spark joy?

In a nutshell, that's what I've been doing... How about you?! What new bookish things have you been doing and what new books have you found that moved you? (okay, bad joke, but seriously, I'd love to hear about the great books y'all have been reading!) I'm still reading, although not as voraciously as usual, and I'm planning to get back to more reading after "the move". I'm also still blogging and will be back to "normal" after "the move"...

Until then... Happy Reading... Suzanne