Saturday, September 19, 2015

Can I Give Away Books I Haven't Read Yet?

Instead of talking about the general idea, I'm going to use a couple examples...

There are these two books I own. They are by the same author. I have only read one of them. Honestly, I didn't really like it.  It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't for me. Why do I have two books by the same author when I didn't like the first book I read? I got them at the same time. The author had one of their books turned into a movie and it was released around the time I made this purchase. Neither of the books were the movie book, but I was eager to give them a try.  After reading the first book, I am 99% confident I will not read the second. Why would I, when I have so many (MANY) books that I am eager, itching to read? I have books by authors I love, books by authors I've never read, but I'm excited to. I wrote about wanting to read first books so that I can know if I should buy an author's subsequent books.  This is one of those cases where it would have been a good idea. I would never have bought the second book if I had read the first. But then I let myself wonder, will I ever change my mind?  What if I meet someone who says they've read and loved the book, will I regret giving it away? The idea of that makes me wary.

My second example...

I have a book that was left at my house... around the time I graduated high school.  I won't tell you how many years ago that was. A classmate and I were working on a project and she forgot it. I tried to give it back, but she didn't want it.  Maybe she left it on purpose because she knew I liked books, or maybe she just wanted to get rid of it.  I've read the synopsis. It's a slim little thing. I honestly have no interest in reading it. I've dragged it around with me because of my book hoarding tendencies, but I think it is time I let it go. Though I fee guilty. I've never read anything by this author, but in all this time, if I can't muster enough interest to even eye the first page, I don't think I'll read it. Yet, guilt. How can I give away something I haven't read yet?

I can though, right?  I can give these and other books like these away.  I can.  I should.  I will. Maybe. If I know, really believe, that I am never going to read these books, then I should make some space on my overcrowded shelves. Bah!

2 comments:

  1. Yes, you can and you should. Life is just too short to read bad books (or books you're confident you won't like) and shelf space is finite - unlike outer space. Set them free... someone might actually like them and are waiting, right now, eager to read them. Spread the love!

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    1. I'm sure there are people who will like them, especially the author of my first example. I just have to make myself do it!

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