My unofficial blog series on reading is turning into an "official" series, I think. We've talked about our reading quirks and how we choose the books we read aloud to our kids. We've talked about whether we quit books we hate or soldier on , whether we prefer fiction or non-fiction, and what specific genres are our favorites. We also discussed whether we prefer to borrow or buy our books.
So today I'm wondering...
If you decide to buy a book, what do you do with it after you finish reading it? Does it automatically go on your bookshelf? What about if you didn't like it?
After I read a book, I ask myself 2 questions:
- Will I read this again?
- Will I recommend this to someone?
If I can answer yes to either question, I give it a home on the bookshelf. If not, out it goes!
It's trickier with kids' books because I have a few hoarders among my children (and it drives their very un-hoarder-ish mother crazy!). If I pick up a book that we've never read and I'm not sure if I'll love enough to keep, I'll put it with the borrowed books in our library basket. That way, I can read it once and if I don't like it or can't imagine myself reading it over and over, I "return" it to the library as a donation and the kids are none the wiser.
It's trickier with kids' books because I have a few hoarders among my children (and it drives their very un-hoarder-ish mother crazy!). If I pick up a book that we've never read and I'm not sure if I'll love enough to keep, I'll put it with the borrowed books in our library basket. That way, I can read it once and if I don't like it or can't imagine myself reading it over and over, I "return" it to the library as a donation and the kids are none the wiser.
I ask myself the same two questions when deciding to keep a book I've finished. If it's a book I enjoyed, I will usually loan it out to others I think might like or benefit from it.
ReplyDeleteIf it's something I wouldn't read again or share I usually just drop it off at Goodwill, although I still want to try Paperback Swap.