Am I being unreasonable where books are concerned?

Finnrock

I am hoping to immigrate to Finland and have lot of books in Finnish language but don’t know what to do with them as don’t want to through them to bin or take them with me. Any ideas how I can find who would want them

After my stepfather died, we found a lot of books in Russian and we found that Hull University were interested in having and using them so we delivered the books to them one day.
Maybe you could find a University that has a need for Finnish books?

I buy children's books on Ebay. My daughter is partially sighted and I read and record them for her onto cassettes. Some books are quite expensive. If you decide to sell yours on Ebay, please pm me. I am always on the look out for stories about school days.

I'm sure that's true. But I have felt trapped over the last 2 years...going through my mother's stuff. Still wondering what to do with 3 bin bags full of thread. I don't have children either but I do think there is something in the idea of Swedish Death Cleaning where people start whittling down their possessions after the age of 50.

I am hoping to immigrate to Finland and have lot of books in Finnish language but don’t know what to do with them as don’t want to through them to bin or take them with me. Any ideas how I can find who would want them

I absolutely agree with you! There is an online site called Ziffit where you can sell books - haven’t used it myself but was recommended. You download their app, scan in the book code and it gives you a value. then it gives you a prepaid label and you can send them off.

I could cry over the amount of books I’ve had to throw out this morning. Most were classics.
Other local charity shops didn’t want them and we are very restricted on space. Together with that we are inundated with donations. Some donation bags had to be put outside ( at back of shop) so that we didn’t block fire exit.

My daughter donated a lot of her books to the local school, they were more than happy to take them as each class has their own little library

I’m the opposite in my attitude and not just with books, if I’ve not used it for s year then out it goes. I’ve not regretted it with anything but I do have a bit of an exception with books-if I want to read again or swap with s friend out they go, if charity shops don’t want them then a couple of large chain shop branches take them and sell for charity. We also have a local market stall than buys, sells and exchanges books

I found 'freegle' group in my mother's town the best when I had to clear her house of all manner of items. People responded promptly and arrived at door to collect. Over the years I have sourced old copies of books online for example to replace a tattered copy of a favourite book for my mother, usually for small cost and postage.Sometimes I lend a precious book and if not returned I can replace. There is a definite market out there for old out of print books.

For 27 years I volunteered at a charity shop! I processed all donated books . Over the years those ‘upstairs’ decided books were not a good thing so had more & more rules thrust at us & prices were crazy. So sales declined! Over Lockdowns because of inactivity my health has declined so much that I could not return! A friend who still volunteers there says there are very few books being sold now as they are not considered worth it! So who is too blame for this? Maybe the Charities are becoming too fussy & ok have to make money for the Charities but it is upsetting that as I spent my life working in Libraries until Medical Retirement hit the place that sold 100’s of books per week now does not want them! My friend said many people have asked why there are so few books available now? Probably because we do not want to just throw away all our memories?

The after school and holiday club that I help run is always after books. Toddler groups might like them too?

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Disclaimer: I love books! Can't live without them. I'm in the process of sorting and disposing of tons of them for my children's sake.

Niucla97 I think what your son and daughter-in-law might be struggling not to say is that they will have the job of getting rid of the books when 'you are gone', so to speak. The books are no good to anyone (including you) in suitcases in the loft. If they are really that important to you, get them down, put them on shelves and read them! Otherwise, since no one else wants them, they are so much useless clutter. why not do your son a favour, be ruthless with yourself, make the decision and dump the books and any other stuff you neither want or need? I'm in the process of doing this myself, inspired by an upcoming, village car boot sale. With my son's help, I've emptied all the junk out of a walk-in wardrobe and created a lovely sewing room out of the space. I've made a decision not to use the room until all the junk is gone. I'm getting there and I promise you, it's cathartic! I won't post a photo of the junk that used to live behind those doors. I'm ashamed of it!

I take books to my local Oxfam bookshop and they ll happily accept any. Other than that a car boot sale, plus there are still second hand bookshops around, you might have something valuable if you ve got any first editions

I put unwanted books on my garden wall for people to take. This worked really well till the last time, when well-meaning folks assumed they needed to leave their own contributions in exchange!
Have a look at some of the earliest of your books. Some might be first editions and worth a bit. You never know..

My son recently was very excited to find that I still had his old Rupert annual and book of Giles cartoons. So there must still be a market for books.

I don’t know if this would be any help to you, but it might be to others. I’ve seen some lovely little village book libraries over the years. I’ve found a picture online of one.

There is a company called Ziffit who will either buy them or recycle them, I run a library and they are brilliant

Thanks Annehinkly. I like the idea but I feel it would be too expensive to have them restored. One has its heavy metal cover detached.

My family have always been concerned with books. My mother was a bookbinder before the advent of machinery. Grandfather printer of books and then husband sold bookbinding machinery until he was made redundant. I have always loved books and have loads of reference books and books of all the famous artists Monet etc. my son has a leather bound set of Dickens which belonged to my father. I gave him the Biggles and Enid Books he had as a child.
It is so sad that youngsters now hardly know what a book looks like and books just go on the bonfire.

Ask your local children’s Services if they know of any local charities catering for women and children who might want them - or ask them if there is a Women’s Refuge in the area who’d want them.
When I ran a refuge we would have snapped them up.

I've seen old telephone boxes turned into libraries where people donate books. Also, little cupboards in the street for the local residents to place and borrow books. But if you love these books, keep them. One day, it will be someone else's problem, but not such a bad one. ☺️

Do you have a local Freegle or Freecycle group near you? I advertised some on our local group and was surprised at how many replies I got asking for them.
I was surprised that people wanted old videos of my husband’s as well.

Here in France there are display cases in the village for book exchange. They are filled with books. One takes a book and replaces it with another, or read and put back. Absolutely fantastic way of "read and pass me on".

Books are sacred. Why do they have to help you de-clutter? Their standards or yours? Car boot sounds great

Do you have a Freecycle group?