The Mast-Head: Too Many Pages
One of the real puzzles as our children get older and our tastes in reading change is what to do about all the books we have outgrown.
There are classics, of course, like my own copy of “Charlotte’s Web,” which was inscribed to me when I was small by a family friend. But then there are seemingly endless school book-fair purchases of dubious lasting value and duplicate paperback versions of such children’s series as “Little House on the Prairie.”
As for novels, Lisa only recently began reading on a Kindle in earnest, but her previous years’ pile of contemporary fiction is considerable, as is my accumulation of biography, history, and duplicate bird books.
There is only so much room on our shelves. I tend to want to keep the true classics, as well as the nature guides, and what had been my father’s extensive collection of whaling and seafaring books — most of which I have read at this point. The rest deserve a new home. Besides, we need space for our new acquisitions.
In addition to the personal books, this is a host of old review copies on the second floor of the Star building that no one looks at any more. Some of these unneeded volumes might go to the Ladies Village Improvement Society Bargain Books shop. However, as more than a few are dog-eared or missing part of a dust jacket, I hardly expect the L.V.I.S. to accept the lot. My mother and stepfather admit that from time to time they have left their unwanted books among others just inside the East Hampton Library’s back door. But I don’t think our voluminous volumes would be welcome there.
As an alternative or supplement, some of the books on The Star’s second floor might simply be brought down to be pawed through in the front office. I am toying with the idea of declaring Free Book Fridays at The Star, perhaps on the first or last Friday of each month. Readers and our friends on social media might be invited to stop in and help themselves. Those interested should watch this space for an announcement, though other ideas would be welcomed, too.