The Bookish Dilemma: When and What to Un-haul (10 Questions to Ask Yourself)

Now that yesterday's post, Controversial Bookish Topic: Un-hauling Your Books, is out of the way, let's talk about when and what to un-haul.

This is a bookish dilemma that can be tough for us readers: we want to un-haul some of our books, but we're not sure what to un-haul, how to do it, or even when to do it. This post is here to help with that.

Here are 10 questions to ask yourself with explanations so you can look through your bookshelf and see what books may fit these questions. You don't necessarily have to remove all of your books from your shelf/shelves. If doing this helps you process the books you have and haven't looked at, then go for it.

Are there any books you haven't touched at all since getting them? If you haven't touched a book since buying it, that would be a good book to un-haul.

Are there books you don't plan to pick up again? Similarly with the question above, if you read a book that you don't plan to pick up again, that might be a book to un-haul. Even if you were neutral about it or liked it, if you don't plan to pick it up again, then it's only taking up space on your shelf.

Are there any books you didn't like or even hated? In my opinion, there's no point in holding onto a book you didn't like or hated. Why? You didn't like it, and holding onto it doesn't reflect the types of books you do like.

Are there books that you liked but now aren't interested in anymore? This question connects with the second one (Are there books you don't plan to pick up again?), but I thought I'd put it on its own. My reasoning is that this can include books you have or haven't read yet. If you just aren't interested in a book on your bookshelf, it's likely that you won't pick it up, so why keep it?

Are there any books that are duplicates? If you like having duplicates of your favorite books, that is perfectly okay. But consider your duplicate copies if you have 3 or more: are there any covers that you don't like as much as the others? If so, that might be a good one to un-haul.

Are there any books that you preferred a different format of? Let's say you read the audio and physical versions of a book. If you preferred the audiobook format and now only read the book that way, you may want to un-haul the physical book.

Are there any book series that you don't plan on finishing? Whether or not you have the entire series, if you didn't really enjoy it and/or don't plan to finish it, that would be good to un-haul so you make more space on your shelves.

Are there any books that a friend or family member would enjoy more than you did? If you were neutral about a book, that would be a good book to un-haul. But if you know a friend or family member would enjoy it, then give the book to them.

Did you actually like the book, or did you only like the cover? This happens to a lot of us: we pick up a book because of the cover, read an interesting synopsis, buy the book, and then read it. But then . . . we finish the book and think about it for a while. If you only liked the book's cover, then that might be good to un-haul.

Was it a gift? If the book was a gift, it may be harder to let go of. But look at it this way: if the book gifted to you fits under any - and I mean any - of the questions above, then you can un-haul it. It is perfectly okay to un-haul a book you got as a present. (We do that with other things - clothes, shoes, etc. - so it's okay to do it with books.)