In general what do you do with books you've read?

I read mostly on my Kindle, but when I buy a paper book that I don’t want to keep, I’ll donate it to my library. If they don’t want it, they sell it.

I keep the books that I consider to be great (by my own very subjective standards) or useful. Books that I may want to revisit for whatever reason. Anything else I will donate.

I tend to keep books I particularly like, and some others, and sometimes offer them to friends or donate them (particularly the ones I don’t like so much or don’t think I’ll use again) to libraries or neighborhood “little free library” boxes.

I have kept over a thousand books, but neither my son nor any of my grandchildren have shown any interest in them, so I am considering donating them to charity.

Pass them on. I keep my faves, and classics. Maybe one suitcase full.

I gave two or three boxes away this year.

I donate them to the library. They in turn sell them for $5.00 for a bag full of books. This money goes to various activities for kids.

I also donate to the Friends of the Library. I just have to be careful when I donate a dozen books to not leave with a half a dozen more I buy off the resale shelf.

Ones that I own, if I like the book, will go on my shelves. It its something I didn’t particularly like, I stick it in a box, and once or twice a year I go to one of these book-swap stores, trade the titles in, and get credit for future purchases.

My local library Friends group has gotten out of the book sale business – what they do now is hold gala black tie balls instead.

A bit of enerything – pass on to friends, donateto my congregation’s book swap or keep to potentially refead. I binge and purge.

I used to keep them all but it was getting to be too much so I sold most of them. If it’s a really good book that I may read again or gift to someone who would like reading it I keep them.

Can’t answer in General what I do with them, since this is in Social

But I save everything and put on shelves as this displays one’s preferences, personality, tastes, etc. Eventually, I store them in the attic. If something is currently popular I will donate it to a library / exchange program at The Smith Clinic near me. But most books I read are not exactly what most others would read, and I tend to mark them up a bit

Academic books go to university used book stores. Literary and art books go to Pegasus. Filler books go to Goodwill or local vintage store for credit. Children’s books go to Little Free Libraries. Damaged books go to East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse.

Though currently starting a box to donate to a low income reading program in Hayward.

I do most of my recreational reading on a device now, but culling the mass of titles in my paper collection is daunting. Some I will keep forever, but slowly, slowly I am filling boxes and donating. Some to libraries, some to Senior Centers, a few boxes of hand-picked titles go to friends.
It’s so hard to let them go!!!

Most of the books I buy for myself are cookbooks, I have about 300. I use Nook which is Barnes and Noble’s equivalent to Kindle, an E-reader too.

@Tropical_Willie I’ve been reading on a nook for almost a decade, now. I love it!

@canidmajor I started reading on my cell before I bought a E-reader.

The ones that brought entertainment, uniqueness,insight ,and knowledge I tend to keep for years ( usually only two or three shelves worth).

Especially if the books were made into movies as well, I keep a collection of books & DVD movies beside each.
I prefer to read the books then get the DVD of them knowing full well that much of the book was deleted or condensed since most movies run 120 min.
Books & DVD movies that I have are:
1. The Count of Monte Cristo & DVD Movie.
2. The Time Traveler’s Wife & DVD Movie.
3.The Time Machine & DVD (2002 version) Movie.
4. The entire” Outlander” Series & DVD movies. (ongoing).
5. Lord of the Rings (book series) & DVD Movies.
6. Timeline & DVD Movie
7. Papillon & DVD Movie.
8. Les Miserables Book only . Would like to get the PBS version that I saw on TV soon.
9.Origins and some others of Dan Brown ( books only).
10. The Goldfinch Book only .( will check out when DVD becomes available)
12 . I have a row on the self of antique books that obtained years ago ( from 1700’s +)
Many more books but the rest I gave to the local Museum Book sale.

Unless I absolutely hated the book, I tend to keep it. Too many times I’ve donated or sold a book, only to find I want to read it again at some later date, and then I have to buy it again.

If I have the means I would preserve all the books I’ve ever bought and read in a really neat looking family library. No such luck. I only buy books I intend to collect. The few times I’ve lost interest in keeping books I bought I think I donated them.

I have a very large book collection. My family will often go back and read them again so we rarely part with them.

I am in a book group in a library that is out of my state, and I’m not sure what the rules would be for me to obtain a library card there, so once a month I buy the book from Amazon. I tend to keep them. Rarely do I buy other books, maybe a craft book here and there, or adult coloring books which are in my daughter’s room.

I always thought that if I had a big house, I would have a media room with a big TV, speakers and built in shelves with lots of books. It would have a couch and chairs and it would be like the hangout room.

I wonder if anyone here, unless I missed it, has one of the beautiful home libraries with the fireplace? Sounds soooo lovely.

Whether I keep a book depends largely on if I have enough bookshelves at the time, but there are plenty that were so poorly written they weren’t even worth donating somewhere.

@KNOWITALL we used to, although t wasn’t big enough to hold all my books.