Did I already mention my overly full bookcases? It unfortunately is a long and difficult process getting rid of anything that I don’t need anymore. No time to update the blog with royal books I’d like to sell (it is not online yet). And no space to store anything for a longer time, as my house is terribly small. I have a living room and a bed room, but the space to store anything is limited.
I decided to start with the stuff in the bedroom and my bookcase with regular books first. I just love thrillers, but decided I won’t reread most of them again, as there are simply too many good new books coming out I’d love to read also. All I have left now are a few good series, a few other books and a bunch of books from my youth and a few older ones, that once belonged to my late maternal grandmother. Although I haven’t fully finished yet, it looks already so much better. I was actually shocked to see how much books I had in that one bookcase. It also means selecting piles of magazines, although I haven’t finished yet. I bought a few new boxes for my collection of postcards, correspondence from royals and order of services.
Trying to sell the books and make at least a bit of money isn’t that easy however. I tried to offer them at a flea market in the area. Unfortunately the PR for the event was quite bad and there were hardly any visitors. I at least did manage to sell a few books, but less than I had hoped for. A few detectives were sold to a second-hand bookshop, while a friend of mine this week said she could pick up about half of the other books to sell on the market she is attending quite often. We could split the profits too. I could bring a few English books and some other books to a shop in another city, that I might pass a few times a year. And a German second-hand bookshop wouldn’t mind receiving the German books, but won’t pay. I might do it anyway.
If the whole process thus far has learnt me anything, it is that I really have too much stuff, and that it is also really hard to get rid of what I actually have. I already borrow quite a few books, mainly non-royal, from the library. How much I love buying books in bookstores and support them, as I don’t want them to close, I might have reached my limits at the moment. I have told myself I shouldn’t buy more books, unless I really want to have them (never do that shortly before attending a royalty weekend!). Although I have always been against it, I’ve also decided I will buy myself an e-reader and am going to buy more books digital. Whether that makes life easier is another story – as I might find too much of my liking – but at least it takes much less space. If anybody could recommend an e-reader …
I also have far too many books – there’s not a cookery book I can resist.
I now mainly use a Kindle Paperwhite for general reading and love it. The new version is usually released at this time of year and there are always great offers around Black Friday so I’d advise waiting until then. It is in black and white but the screen is great especially when reading at night. Font and size can be selected which is a great feature. I can take as many books on holiday with me as I like without having to haul several around with me. I did purchase the top-of-the range 10th Generation version last January with 4G and 32GB storage. You can purchase two versions – the cheaper version with special offers (advertising) or without. I’ve always purchased the version without advertising.
The main drawbacks for me are: flicking backwards and forwards is irritating in comparison with a real book, looking at maps or family trees usually at the front of a book is a tad annoying as well. It’s not the same as the look and feel of a real paper book but I love it. Amazon also do great offers such as the Kindle Daily Deal various books for 99p. If you have Amazon Prime then you have one free book per month and there is also Kindle Unlimited for a fee of £7.99 per month you have access to unlimited books. if you wanted the Kindle Unlimited feature then there’s usually a good deal to be had for a year around Black Friday as well.
If I wanted to download travel guides or cookery books then I’d probably consider using a Kindle Fire for the colour features.
If you have an iPad then don’t forget you can download the Kindle App and read books from there.
Good luck. You won’t be disappointed.
Thanks. It seems Kindle is great, but unfortunately very hard to get here. We mainly have Kobo and Pocketbook, as what is sold here are mainly epub books. I could still buy books from Amazon tough I was told, as you can convert them with programs like Calibre. And no, I don’t have an iPad. I could do it on my phone I was told, but probably the screen is too small for me (think I soon might need reading glasses).
You have a real good point with Good Friday, which is 29 November here (often up til 2 December). And it is the kind of shops that I would buy it that are participating.
Ik zou zeggen, kopen zo’n geval! Je huis is veel te klein voor al die boeken. Uiteraard is een boek in handen leuker, maar jij bent zo’n verwoede lezer, dus dan is dit v eel handiger! Desnoods koop je nog eens een interessant koninklijk boek.
Get a Kindle Paperwhite with no advertisements. I have over 500 on mine, it goes everywhere, Europe included and I can easily read it anywhere.
I will give it a thought. I have to order online (with advertisements) or go to Germany to buy it … I was planning to go in a few weeks anyway, so who knows …
Abe Book. com is a site for independent booksellers all over the world. The are worth looking into.