Tags
books, clutter, collections, HTML, libraries, reading, technology, usability, web, web design
As I sort through the books in the library of le petit apartment, I feel emotionally drained.
In addition to supporting a family, performing full time work and nestling into a new volunteer role, I have let this project take over a month and will likely let it drag on through the summer. I am letting it prepare me for a quest that is doubly draining and has suffered from my procrastination.
It’s a daunting task to sort and justify keeping or discarding books. Some brought joy, inspiration and comfort. They are like old friends.
Some brought knowledge and helped build skills. Some skills are transferable; some are no longer applicable in today’s job markets.
I think back to 20 years ago, to my foray into dialup connectivity, HTML web design and website usability. While I balanced family, work and survival, these books challenged my creativity, nurtured my fascination with hyperlinks and supported my appreciation of online communities.
The concepts in some of these books could still apply while some have been left in the dust due to fast-paced development and evolution of technology. Do I keep them out of nostalgia or donate to the community? Will they even be of value to somebody else?
Then there are the books that reinforced my love of nature, justified a moderately paced life style, and encouraged one to take action in preserving this earth for future generations. We can’t give up.
Personal library sorting dilemma. Keep these #books or donate? Some will stay. Some will find new readers to inspire. pic.twitter.com/olfmxuEEtI
— Theresa Jamone (@tjamone) July 26, 2015
Next time: We look at Biographies and Poetry.
Thanks for dropping by. What are you struggling with in your personal library or de-cluttering projects these days?
If you need a distraction from your projects, you can read the novel I wrote under my pen name. Flo is old school but she’s getting hip to the ways of Twitter. Please visit Smashwords to download a sample of the e-book for The Year of the Rabbit. You could choose to purchase a copy. It’s only 99 cents or you can pay what you feel is a fair price. It’s okay, I wrote it mainly to share a story. Some people liked reading it. If you enjoyed the novel, please mention it to others.
Although it is not quite the same, may you be spared the emotions of sorting through your e-book libraries one day.
T
Reblogged this on Deep Blonde Thoughts and commented:
Fast forward to 2021, more than five years after writing this blog post. I recently made the harsh decision to put old Internet and web related books for recycling. I am downsizing for the potential move to a smaller place this spring and have to put sentimental feelings aside. The content of the books is too old to be worthy of donating to the public library’s used book stores. Since the bookshops are still closed due to the pandemic, it would be cruel to add to the piles of donations that volunteers need to sort in anticipation for the day when things go back to “normal”. T
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Books present a GOLDMINE of knowledge and experience that are reflected in your personal essence. There are no limits. aloha
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I hate getting rid of my theatre books. Even though I haven’t looked at them in years I remember when they were my inspiration, especially Designing for the Theatre by Jo Mielziner. Jo @ Let’s Face the Music
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Thanks for dropping by, Jo 🙂 and sharing your comment.
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