I work with librarians and I have heard them say that sometimes an old worn out book is just a bunch of paper. Would you keep a bunch of paper lying around? Librarians throw out a lot of books.
I don’t have a direct answer, but I will say be careful about giving them to Goodwill or what-have-you, or at least check first. I donated a mound of great contemporary books and the guy receiving them said they throw out anything that has marks on the page side or any wear on the cover.
Not to say all thrift shops toss them, but some do.
Edit: Look for local “free libraries”! Some cities will have random little boxes put up around neighbourhoods, and those won’t get scrapped.
Although i think it’s great that secondhand places are concerned about the condition of items, i feel like it’s gotten a bit ridiculous.
I’ve gotten brand new things straight from the manufacturer that were in poorer conditon than some of the things they’ve turned down. And I’m not really comfortable using craigslist or facebook marketplace or the like so i end up feelling bad about tossing perfectly fine stuff.
I think a lot of the secondhand places have problems in both directions. On one hand, it’s as you say. On the other hand, I’ve seen places that charge more than new prices for some things. One secondhand store I visited was in the same parking lot as a walmart. I looked at the t-shirts they had for sale (not fancy ones or anything) and they cost more than the brand new ones at the walmart.
Goodwill is also … objectionable, to say the least. And many alternatives fund insidious “missionary” work or anti-choice women’s housing. Check your charities closely to make sure they align with your values, whatever they may be.
Was about to say. Burn them. They make great fire starter. Arguably one of the densest and best. I’d love the thought as an author to have my words burned away for someone’s enjoyment too.
Personally, I think immolation – burning – is an elegant way of returning something to the world without taking space or requiring much effort. I know people have an aversion to burning books, bit I think the difference is similar to that difference between burying a loved one after they pass and burying an enemy alive.
If your city offers industrial composting, I’d compost your books.
Lastly, you can do any of these, including throwing books in the trash with a statement of gratitude. Mari Kondo advises that we thank or belongings for their service and then throw them in the trash.
Since these are inanimate objects that are incapable of comprehending respect or disrespect by themselves, this meaning is imposed solely by the humans involved in this process.
A common analogous situation is the burning of American flags. Lots of Americans freak out over it, the official “Flag Code” says burning is actually the respectful way to dispose of them, and most non-Americans just roll their eyes over the whole kerfuffle.
That said, I have a bunch of books I’d like to get rid of and that I know there’d be no demand for and I’ve got them stashed away because I know I’m going to have soooo much trouble actually physically dropping them into the recycler. Humans are irrational and superstitious, even when we realize that we’re irrational and superstitious.
Some libraries take book donations (either for adding to the collection, or for book sales), little free libraries (you can find local ones here), ‘Friends of the Library’ will sell them and donate the proceeds to the library, second hand book shops, thrift shops, charity shops, and of course there’s always throwing them out.
In our country we have these peddlers who buy papers, books, metal items for cheap and then they resell them to recycle then ultimately or for other uses.
I’d definitely recommend just leaving them in a book box. The concept is easy: leave a book, take a book. But there’s nothing saying you can’t just leave book. Don’t have one nearby? Create one. 🥰
Recycle them. Or call up your local library and ask if they want them. Usually libraries will have an attached used book store, sometimes they put donated books there.
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I work with librarians and I have heard them say that sometimes an old worn out book is just a bunch of paper. Would you keep a bunch of paper lying around? Librarians throw out a lot of books.
Leave them on the table in a coffee shop, one or two at a time.
Tiny libraries, second hand books, organisations, maybe even art schools.
I don’t have a direct answer, but I will say be careful about giving them to Goodwill or what-have-you, or at least check first. I donated a mound of great contemporary books and the guy receiving them said they throw out anything that has marks on the page side or any wear on the cover.
Not to say all thrift shops toss them, but some do.
Edit: Look for local “free libraries”! Some cities will have random little boxes put up around neighbourhoods, and those won’t get scrapped.
Although i think it’s great that secondhand places are concerned about the condition of items, i feel like it’s gotten a bit ridiculous.
I’ve gotten brand new things straight from the manufacturer that were in poorer conditon than some of the things they’ve turned down. And I’m not really comfortable using craigslist or facebook marketplace or the like so i end up feelling bad about tossing perfectly fine stuff.
Sounds like they are pickier than a Peruvian money changer.
I think a lot of the secondhand places have problems in both directions. On one hand, it’s as you say. On the other hand, I’ve seen places that charge more than new prices for some things. One secondhand store I visited was in the same parking lot as a walmart. I looked at the t-shirts they had for sale (not fancy ones or anything) and they cost more than the brand new ones at the walmart.
Goodwill is also … objectionable, to say the least. And many alternatives fund insidious “missionary” work or anti-choice women’s housing. Check your charities closely to make sure they align with your values, whatever they may be.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwill_Industries
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/goodwill-head-who-makes-164000-fired-disabled-workers-after-minimum-wage-hike/
https://socialistworker.org/2017/09/25/why-goodwill-goes-bad
https://www.cracked.com/article_33357_15-impressively-evil-things-goodwill-has-done.html
If they’re in good condition, selling them to a used bookstore or donating them to a library are good ideas.
fire
Was about to say. Burn them. They make great fire starter. Arguably one of the densest and best. I’d love the thought as an author to have my words burned away for someone’s enjoyment too.
In Jewish tradition, the answer is burial.
Personally, I think immolation – burning – is an elegant way of returning something to the world without taking space or requiring much effort. I know people have an aversion to burning books, bit I think the difference is similar to that difference between burying a loved one after they pass and burying an enemy alive.
If your city offers industrial composting, I’d compost your books.
Lastly, you can do any of these, including throwing books in the trash with a statement of gratitude. Mari Kondo advises that we thank or belongings for their service and then throw them in the trash.
None of those seem like respectful uses of books.
Yeah when I burned Ethan Frome it was specifically to be disrespectful
Since these are inanimate objects that are incapable of comprehending respect or disrespect by themselves, this meaning is imposed solely by the humans involved in this process.
A common analogous situation is the burning of American flags. Lots of Americans freak out over it, the official “Flag Code” says burning is actually the respectful way to dispose of them, and most non-Americans just roll their eyes over the whole kerfuffle.
That said, I have a bunch of books I’d like to get rid of and that I know there’d be no demand for and I’ve got them stashed away because I know I’m going to have soooo much trouble actually physically dropping them into the recycler. Humans are irrational and superstitious, even when we realize that we’re irrational and superstitious.
Some libraries take book donations (either for adding to the collection, or for book sales), little free libraries (you can find local ones here), ‘Friends of the Library’ will sell them and donate the proceeds to the library, second hand book shops, thrift shops, charity shops, and of course there’s always throwing them out.
Here in Toronto we have free little libraries. I would just put them in there.
They have them in Vancouver too. I love the idea of this being more widespread!
In our country we have these peddlers who buy papers, books, metal items for cheap and then they resell them to recycle then ultimately or for other uses.
I’d definitely recommend just leaving them in a book box. The concept is easy: leave a book, take a book. But there’s nothing saying you can’t just leave book. Don’t have one nearby? Create one. 🥰
Based on Fahrenheit 451: Call your local Firefighter.
This is the service the library I used to work at used for discards. https://services.betterworldbooks.com/individuals/
Recycle them. Or call up your local library and ask if they want them. Usually libraries will have an attached used book store, sometimes they put donated books there.
Do your best impression of a Christian Nationalist and have a book burning.