Less Books, More Reading

A few days ago I mentioned I am back in minimalist mode. I want to reduce the amount of possessions, or stuff that I do not need and appreciate what I have. I want to make everything I have useful and appreciate it. I’ve had a lot of success, donating clothes, shoes and trading in physical media like record albums, movie discs and yes, books. I know, I know. Getting rid of books is tantamount to blasphemy to some.

I enjoy reading, always have. If I am not reading a book, then I am reading content online or e-books. But I am drawn to books because of the tactile nature. The feel, the smell and the looks of them. Drop me off at a library or bookstore and pick me hours later.

Reading books transports me to the places I want to go and explore, it stimulates my mind, they relax me right before I go to sleep and they have been comforting while in my home office when I take a break, grab something from the bookshelf, sit in the comfy chair and relax.

I’m learning to let go of physical books for long periods of time. I don’t need an anti-library. But the process of removing them was easier than I hoped. I sorted what I wanted and parted with those I don’t. During a move across country, I would squeeze my vast library into about 25 totes that were a burden to carry and transport. I am down to sixteen physical books after ruthlessly culling the herd.

The winter season is almost here and I anticipate a lot of free time will be spent reading. So my thinking is to plan what to read specifically for the next few months.

A minimalist’s approach to reading can be just as rewarding as having your own physical library but without all the occupied space.

Here’s what I plan to do:

• Purge those books I haven’t gotten around to reading or are a one-time use.
• Borrow from the library, either physical or digital books.
• Seek and find books from the Little Free Library systems
• Sell, trade or give away the rest of the books I no longer need.
• Get comfortable reading from the iPad.
• Organize my digital library using my BookTrack software much like a librarian, or curator would. I can enjoy thousands of books on one space-saving, portable device wherever I go.
• I will no longer purchase digital books. After closing my Amazon and Google accounts a few years ago, I lost all ability to read them because I purchased a license and not a product.

Early this year I covered RSS and Read-It-Later apps in the past but I’ll be relying on these tools even more now.

I’ve mentioned books in this post but the same can be applied to all physical media like record albums, DVDs, etc. Streaming or borrowing digital media on multiple devices is quite liberating and minimal.