End of (another) Era

Even before the last book arrived from PaperBackSwap with water damage, I’d been considering withdrawing from the two online book trading sites I belong to. I’m reading less these days, with the demands of a small business mixed with the demands of being a full-time single mother. Even my book club has suffered; we might be over, after 13 great years.

I’d love to continue to send books out, but even that, I’ve slowed down with. A request from BookMooch has been sitting here for over a week. I’m just not motivated anymore.

So it didn’t really surprise me when I looked up this morning and realized it was time. Time to delist my books and find some other way of getting them out of my house. I probably moved 200 books out of here and into boxes in the front hall and living room.

Now, the question becomes: what to do with them?

Option one: Take them to a library. Maybe not my library, which doesn’t struggle financially (much). There’s a library near-ish me that was closed due to a flood and is finally finding its footing once again. I could donate the books to them. Maybe some would find their way into circulation (some are in really good shape).

Option two: Let my kids sell them on eBay or the neighborhood garage sale and keep a percentage of the earnings. The rest could go either to charity or help seed my dream West of Mars Foundation.

Option three: Take the books to Half-Price Books. Let the kids trade them for credit and get something new to read (now, mind you, I’m already going to let them use up my credits at the book trading sites — over 170 books, right there!). Or take the cash and keep it for a rainy day, give it to charity, or let it seed the West of Mars Foundation.

Lots of options… What’s your suggestion?