There is news in the World of Red! (That's right, I live in my own world and it's important enough to warrant capitalization.) Boyfriend got a new job
(Yay!) in Long Island
(Ya- wait, what?...well I guess that's kind of like NYC). To answer your thoughts: Yes yay!, I know, and no, it isn't but I'm learning to get over that. (Yup, those italicized parenthetical comments are your thoughts. Bet you didn't realize I'm psychic too.) Boyfriend will be heading down there very soon, but I have one of those job thingys up here in Boston so I'll be hanging around Beantown for awhile longer. Which means Boyfriend and I need to split our stuff up and figure out who gets what.
 |
| How do I choose?? |
Seeing how this is my book blog I will be keeping the post mostly about books. In this case, how am I supposed to decide what to bring with me? I get one lil half bookshelf thing to bring with me. How can I decide what gets shipped down to LI and what will stay with me? Splitting up all of the other possessions was easy. Boyfriend is taking all of the important things, like furniture and kitchen equipment, and I'm taking the toys like the various Nintendo systems (oh yes, I have from regular NES through Wii), the Back to the Future trilogy on DVD and martini glasses (which count as toys in World of Red). But my limited amount of space means a limited amount of books. I re-read a lot of books because I'm cheap and lazy. I tend to just stare at my bookshelf while I make my next selection. Oh, to the untrained eye it may look like staring off into space, but I assure you I'm deep in thought figuring out what I recently have read, what I'm in the mood for and what will help me forget I'm on the subway (most of my reading is done during my commute). I'm no good at keeping TBR lists. I go with the "in the moment" method of choosing a book. This is how
Eclectic Indulgence describes the process and this sounds far better than the ADD method as I've previously described it. You know, like I'm seizing the day instead of being too lazy to walk outside to a bookstore.
So how would you choose what books to keep? Obviously this isn't as dire as desert island reads, although I've been fretting over this decision like it is. I also need to keep in mind I should save some shelf space for the new books I'm sure to acquire.
While I'm on the topic of this move Boyfriend is making happen, I want to include this Calvin & Hobbes panel, which pretty much sums up me and Boyfriend. I wish I could say I was Hobbes in this relationship but I'm most definitely Calvin.
If you didn't notice, I'm super into parenthetical comments in this post. Probably because my mind keeps jumping to lots of different points and I know you don't want to miss a thing. And now that I've typed that I have the Aerosmith song stuck in my head.
That's a tough one. Good luck :)
ReplyDeleteI've had to split up my book collections a couple of times in the past and what I usually find best is to pick out a few of my favorite books that I like to flip through every so often and take as many books that I own and haven't read with me. That's my system, it isn't flawless but it's worked fairly well over the years.
ReplyDeleteBrenna - Thanks for the well wishes. I can bet a bit of a whiner (I hear boyfriend already scoffing at the "bit" part) but I'll try to keep my moving woes to a minimum in future posts.
ReplyDeleteLetter4no1 - I'm going to attempt that method! I've tried to find books I know I pick up a lot and books I haven't read in awhile and bring them along. I've got a box packed but not taped yet. I have a feeling I might dig through it and make some changes as the moving day gets closer.
Do you have an idea how long you will be separated from your books...not to minimize the boyfriend :)?
ReplyDeleteIf it's a while, then I would try to include a fair amount of things that you haven't read, but have been around for a long time...as a way to maybe eliminate a TBR backlog...if those are the only books you have, you'll be forced to read them?
I would probably choose the books I can post on my blog, if it was me!!
ReplyDeleteBest of both worlds,Boston and NY!!!
Hmm, that is tough. I have to deal with this every time I head back to college for the school year. The method I usually use is I look at the book I'm currently reading and see how much I like it. If I like it, I will bring similar books to that one. For example, if I'm reading Othello and like it, I will be in the mood for Shakespeare plays for a while so I'll bring a few more. Then I throw myself a few curve balls in case I want a huge change of pace, and bring along some books that are at the complete opposite end of the spectrum.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to your boyfriend, by the way!
BookGirl - No definite time yet. We're doing the whole play-it-by-year thing. I'm thinking during some of the visits to see Boyfriend (and the books!) I might do some swapping of my piles. I'm also thinking only having a few books with me will give me a good excuse to buy some more
ReplyDeleteBookQuoter - Excellent idea :) I'll look for re-reads that I think will make interesting posts
Krista! - (I love the exclamation point in your name btw) I think I'm going to do your method of bringing groups of similar books. I tend to read a bunch of one topic/genre/style and then do a 180 and pick something else so I like this method!
When I moved eleven years ago I "allowed" myself to keep three boxes of books and the rest (6 or 7 boxes) I donated to the children's hospital book sale. The process of deciding which books to keep took longer than any of my other packing/moving chores, but eventually I made the decision to keep books that I would read again (though I don't think I have!) and those that were by Canadian authors (I moved from Canada to the US).
ReplyDeleteOf course if I had to move now I have no clue what I would do -- so I wish you luck.
Suzanne - Oo giving away books. I admire your charity. I'm being far more selfish and I'll be keeping all of the books, though some will be 6+ hours away from me. I'm sure Boyfriend would like me to start giving boxes away though!
ReplyDelete