Is There Such a Thing as Too Many Books?

I've mostly thought no. Books can be read and reread for years. Books can be shared with friends. Books can be more than just something to be read.

I remember taking my books from the shelves as a child and laying them across the floor of my bedroom. No longer books, but stepping stones to help me avoid the sharks and the crocodiles that were in the lake that had taken over my bedroom.

Books have, in my childhood, become houses for dolls, products in a bookstore, art projects. But a couple of weeks ago I was preparing for a garage sale and decided to weed through my children's books. We have a lot of books. A LOT. It felt good to go through the books and discover a stack of perhaps 30 books that I feel confident my children will not miss.

But it was hard. Books are always positive things to have around. Mostly they take up little space. I suppose there is such a thing as a bad book. I have experienced few books for which I have not found any redeeming qualities.

The fun part about the sale was seeing people dig through the books and find treasures. Several people found 4-8 books they wanted to add to their libraries. Seeing others find books they will love is part of the reward.

But am I wrong to weed out some books? Is there such a thing as too many books? For the most part, I think there is no such thing but I also wanted to condense our collection. There are some books my kids no longer read, or never have read. The older kids are moving on to big kid books.

I still have a love for books though that makes me want to keep them all.