Academic

On clutter vs costs, when it comes to books

By Tung Yin

With our move to Oregon about a month away, we've started the packing process.  As you might expect, we have a lot of books.  And I have a penchant for collecting hardcover books (new, remainders, or used), which take up a lot of space and weigh a ton.

A few months ago, my wife got a Sony e-reader, which she calls the ultimate "declutter" device.  It carries up to 160 books on a thin device that's smaller than a trade paperback.  It would take me about two small moving boxes to fit that many paperbacks, and about seven to fit that many hardcovers.

However, I've been participating in Amazon's Vine program, through which I've been getting advance reader copies of various books, mostly fiction, for free to review.  The ARCs aren't as heavy as hardcovers, but they're about the same size, and therefore the same clutter.

It's hard to argue against free books.  But it's also hard to argue against decluttering . . . .  I'm not sure which of us is doing the better job.

Full post as published by The Yin Blog on June 08, 2009 (boomark / email).