Brutal Book Unhaul (Let's make room for more books! 🤪)

It's time to get rid of books and make room for more books!

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[ezradeering]

As I age and get more comfortable with who I am as a person I feel I am able to disconnect and unhaul books I felt I needed to keep years previous, and bit by bit I build a book collection that more accurately reflects me and what I love most.

[abs..]

Videos like this are so helpful for me!!! So many booktok videos are about buying more books which can be super fun to watch, but it’s nice to have videos that remind you to get rid of books that don’t serve you as well:)<3

[leoniesliberi]

„WHAT IS WITH ALL THE PISS?“ 😂😂 thank God I watched this with earphones in

[livslibrary]

Here for the unhauling yap. 👏🏻 I just did another big unhaul too & it’s so satisfying going into the new year only having books you’re truly excited about!

[wandering-reader]

I love seeing this and feel validated in going through my own books. I have recently realized that my habit in collecting books was based on if it was popular, not always if I truly wanted to read it. Plus I had this weird sense of "I'm not a true book reader if I don't own a lot of books." (This is a terrible combo lol) Since going through my shelf and trying to read my physical tbr, I have never felt more free in just dnf'ing and letting books go that I don't want.
The downside is that I also took the dust jackets off of quite few books a while ago, and I'm pretty sure I threw them away in a move. There are books I want to keep, but also want the dust jackets 😭😭

[isakohan]

I respect your unhauling decisions. Letting go of books can be hard! I've gone through several major book declutters/unhauls in my life, and there's books that I miss from every single one of them. I go through phases, especially when doing any kind of major move or life transition, where I feel like I need to purge and reinvent myself. I want to cut ties to the past, etc, etc. In the process, I've departed with some books that were actually really special to me, I was just stubbornly refusing to hold on to that sentiment, or something, idk. Now I miss my Norwegian hardback copies of the Twilight Saga from my teens. I miss a Tove Jansson book that is actually not Moomin-related at all, and large, impractical books, and books from when I went to university.

Sure, I got on the minimalism hype train. Sure, I live in a caravan atm with very limited space, but my mom's house is right across the yard and I can store stuff there. Sure, I may want to live in a tiny house one day, but I can probably fit a lot of bookshelves in there, if I'm smart about it. Maybe I won't end up in a tiny house at all. Who knows?! Certainly not me eight years ago. I didn't know.

Here's what I've learned recently, after half a dozen big book declutters, and countless attempts at "reinventing" and "finding" myself, at the ripe age of 29 years: I'm trans. Wow. Shocker. Took me long enough. I never want to declutter another book again, lol. I'm keeping them all!!! Even if my rusty caravan starts to buckle, even if it'll be a hassle whenever I have to move, I'm keeping my books! And I'm getting more! Special editions, hardbacks, paperbacks, used books, new books, multiple editions of the same book, books I'll never read, books I'll re-read again and again. Books in English, and Norwegian, and perhaps one day a third language. As many genres as I can think of. As long as I enjoy the books, I'm keeping the books. Because I'm not a miserable Twilight-obsessed teenage girl, I'm a semi-depressed bookish dude with a soft spot for urban fantasy.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[chronosunflower]

I, too, have started (sort of) decluttering my library. I've realised the best way to part with books I feel neutral about or which I haven't necessarily enjoyed is to gift them to friends or donate them to the local library. That way I know they end up in a good place. And my childhood best friend does the same, which is why I ended up with books I wouldn't have necessarily bought myself but which I enjoyed reading!

[KatiesBookNook]

Omg yes the whole feeling like you have to buy a book to hold it up is so real 😂 i found that popping up the cover on my kindle and then holding up my kindle helps because then i still have something physical in my hands while i chat about said book!!

[OliviasCatastrophe]

Good on you for unhauling more and more! The more you do it the more it becomes natural 😇 I’m glad you feel lighter when you do it. I felt similar about starling house tbh

[barbarawilson]

Your unhaul made me feel good about my recent unhaul which also included The Mortal Instruments series. It had sparked my love of YA books which is going on 7 years now. But buying every book I read is so costly and wasteful. I got myself a library card a few months ago. I’m also enjoying Kindle and Audible. Good on ya Jesse for having this epiphany earlier in life than me. I’m proud of you. And I’m sure you are encouraging a lot of readers. 👏🏻

[lauf]

You perfectly described my feelings for a study in drawning and legends and lattes 😂

[josietalksaboutbooks]

I always encourage a good shelf clean^^ I love bookshelves that represent who a person is as a reader! Personally I unhaul books I've read that I didn't enjoy, or books that I've lost interest in. If I can see myself (re)reading a book in the future I keep it, but otherwise it's got to go – I hate seeing books I didn't love on my bookshelves😆

[Leelys_l]

Its also changed my life to borrow from the library ! And it's easier to read the book bc of the due date. I only buy books if I really want them or if they're not available. Game changer.

[JamesLawner]

I totally understand getting rid of The Mortal Instruments. For me, personally, I only liked City of Fallen Angels and City of Heavenly Fire.

Also, lately, I’ve been removing books from my Want to Read on Goodreads, and I had titles on there for 10 years and I never got to read them (plus, I removed some comic titles just to replace them with oversized/omnibus editions and it’s been very liberating for me 😅)

[louisity]

I haven't read any book in the Shadowhunters series. It gives commitment vibes.

[gearheadthegreat]

I used to own every book. Now I either get it on e-reader or buy it and sell it on thrift books if I don't love it. I always buy books I love and tend to go for special editions. Since I only own copies of my 5 stars all my books fit on one bookshelf which is essential for someone as transient as I am.

[briellejunee]

I've been working on unhauling books as well, but it's tough with the ones that give me nostalgia. But I'm working on it lol.

[Tockie]

I find it sooo hard to unhaul books! Even when there are ones that weren't great, they still may have taught me something, like a quote from it stuck with me and seeing that book reminds me of that quote.

I feel like I've become better with this over the years (and space has dictated a cull 😅) but the process takes a long time.

I might even share books with friends so I can see if I missed that book or not without actually having to get rid of it entirely. Kind of a fail safe 🤣

[craftyyams]

A door romance?! I’m intrigued. I like the point you made about not feeling pressured to buy books for the sake of making a video. I find it hard to do that, but having a photo of the book works just as well most of the time.

[scionsilverbeat]

Shadowhunters was a phase for sure. It feels like it's something so many people have moved on from in general honestly xD