We have a lot of books–hundreds if not a thousand–in this household. I do buy increasing numbers of digital books and prefer those because I can access them easily on my iPad (and they attract no dust), but my daughter still prefers tangible books. We buy a lot of used books from eBay, a local used bookstore, and the stores run by the friends of our libraries. We buy new books for our kids, too, as do our family members, whom we encourage to buy books for our kids rather than toys. We also borrow books from two different library systems, both tangible books and digital books.
We have a lot of books.
I’ve started trying to thin out some of our collections to make way for new books. To do so, I had my kids jointly create a book rating system.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I love the book. I would like to own it. If I already have it, I want to keep it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ I like the book, but I don’t want a copy of it for my own. If I borrowed it from the library, I would like to read it at least one more time before we return it. If I have it, I would agree to donate it to our used bookstore for credit on a new book.
⭐⭐⭐ I think this book is okay. It doesn’t need to be in my personal collection. I might read it again before it is returned to the library. If I have it, we can donate it soon.
⭐⭐ This book isn’t my favorite. It was fine for a single read-through, but let’s put it in the return or donate stack now.
⭐ I don’t want to read this book again. (Maybe I didn’t even finish it the first time.) Let’s donate or return it ASAP and replace it with a new book.
(I’d like to note that I do not encourage my kids to finish books they do not like. Why waste time finishing a book you do not have to read when you could be reading one you love?)
This system is slowly helping us sort through the stacks. We prioritize what we love and donate what someone else might love more. I thought I’d share it for two reasons. First, I hope sharing our list might help you create your own and get those books that aren’t quite so loved into the hands of people who might really want them. Second, I intend to start posting book suggestions soon, and we will use this rating system.
Never stop reading!
Erin
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