The Case for Giving Away Your Books

[WinniWoman]

I used to use the car CD player. But now with Bluetooth connection, I just use the music files in my phone. If I'm in a car that doesn't have Bluetooth, I plug my phone into the auxiliary jack.

Things that I used to burn as a custom CD, I just do as a playlist.

Much less clunky than fumbling around with CDs, and I have many more music choices available.

Yeah- I know that's the modern way and I have done that with my Zune when I had one. I don't use my phone for music, but I could put the Amazon Music app on my phone and play it from there. However, I still like using the CD's. Now that I am not working I am not in the car much anyway and usually end up listening to talk shows when I am- IF I can even the stations in clearly. I guess that is why maybe I should use my phone for I Heart radio also through the Alexa app......I am lazy about setting all these things up....

 

[Patri]

Since the subject of this thread is books, and I need to go on a purge myself - let me ask this question. If one has some old books that might have some value, is there a reputable resource to turn to in order to see if the book might have some value? I know it is beyond a long shot, but if I did not check this out I'd feel like I left a stone unturned.

You are smart to investigate. I work part-time in a library, and we have to be selective in what we take. We don't let people dump their junk any more. A lady came in describing her inventory. It was not what we could use, but sounded like there would be value with collectors or buyers on eBay. She didn't do eBay, so we gave her other recommendations to find out the value. That is not something our staff gets involved in. Most people should have friends or family who know how to do eBay. In another setting I might have offered to take her boxes and split the proceeds, but it wasn't really ethical there.

 

[rapmarks]

I remember when I was teaching, another teacher donated about ten books, fiction, nothing special, and wanted me to sign a paper for her taxes valuing the books at $400.

 

[DebBrown]

My husband has to get all his favorite authors in hardback the moment they are published. These are popular and have practically zero resale value. Our library has a book sale every year and there are literally hundreds of Tom Clancys, John Grishams, etc.

I never reread so I pass my along to neighbors or, if appropriate, the high school where my daughter teaches. I have a small collection of my favorites. I don't like e-readers but love audiobooks.

 

[Glynda]

I love to read and usually enjoy more than a book a week....so I’m a dedicated library user. I don't feel any need to own or ever re-read most of the stuff I read for pleasure. But I do have one book shelf filled with cookbooks, because I worked in the food industry and have a sentimental attachment to some of them. I do pull them out to research new recipes or to return to some favorites, but I find I'm using internet searches of a couple favorite food sites more often for that, too, so I'll probably start to clean out more of the cookbooks also.

My mother and I are in the process of going through our cookbooks to get rid of many. I rarely hold on to fiction, as I rarely re-read fiction. Cookbooks, travel and decorating books I find hard to give up. Even though, like you, I use the Internet more for those now.