I’m packing up my books this month to move into a new apartment. There’s nothing worse than moving when you own as many books as I do. It’s a blessing and a curse to have such a LARGE personal library.
How does one decide what books to hold on to and what to give up?
I think the answer is that I need to become a billionaire and have a fancy library in my home like Jay Walker.
Reading is Breathing 
Yes! I had to do the same several months ago. It was horrible. I feel your pain!
My books are actually the one thing I like to pack when moving — going through and sorting books is so much more pleasant than going through clothes or dishes…
I just moved in March and I had about 600 book to bring along with me. I tried to get rid of as much as I could before the move, which of course wasn’t much at all.
I love books and I own a bookstore, but I have never understood the need to possess so many books at one time, especially if you live in a city with a good library.
Ever since I started buying books I have always limited my personal library to around 200 books, and in the past few years have cut it down to a total of only around ten books at any one time in my house.
I do also agree with Molly’s comment that books are the most pleasurable item to pack when moving!
You think books are a problem when moving? I also collect rocks. No one wants to help me move!
I feel your pain. The link to that library was mind-blowing…
at least books don’t break when you drop the box – of course, it’s hard to lift such a box SO HEAVY! Happy Moving.
oh – june is when this was posted! oh well. Hope the move was smooth.
I had the same problem when I moved from Charleston to Austin in January. I spent almost 2 months culling my books down from 600+ to less than 300. My biggest piles were “books I own and might want to read again,” but I solved the problem because I had been cataloging the books I owned on LibraryThing.com for a few years (thank god I didn’t have to start from scratch) and had a list of the books I owned online. My biggest fear about getting rid of the “might re-read someday” piles is that I’d forget about them. It was a lot easier to donate them knowing I can peruse my “library” virtually and can always pick up a copy at the actual library to re-read. LibraryThing was a lot easier than creating a spreadsheet of the 600-something books I owned. Of course, I still packed up the 300+ I could not part with to take with me. Finally found the perfect bookshelves on craigslist last month and my home finally feels complete here!