Minimalism and books

How can you be a minimalist and have books? That’s a question I often get asked.

Books can pile up and create clutter. Books can be hard to shlep around and can slow you down. All this is true.

So what’s the answer? Don’t buy books? Buy them only in digital form?

I thought that only buying ebooks would be the answer, however I missed the feeling of a good bound book in my hands. I also found myself wanting to buy a hardcopy of a book when they were truly good.

So I found a middle ground. I found practical minimalism.

I decided that I would only get a hardcopy of a book when that book is truly amazing, when it becomes a favorite and I know I will read it many times. So I divided the books in two categories: favs and normal books. Favs will have a hardcopy and maybe also a digital version, normal will be only available in digital format. If, down the road, a book fails to be my fav anymore, then I’d donate the hardcopy.
I reduced the size of my library considerably. I have many books, but I don’t have books I won’t read again. I also don’t have books waiting to be read. I read about one book a week, when I am done with that one then I get the next one.

A note about book quality. I am a huge believer of what my friend Patrick Rhone call Final Choices:

Anywhere I can make a buying choice that I, with proper care and maintenance, will never have to make again for the rest of my life, I do. In those cases, I’m willing to pay far more for an item if I know it will last a lifetime and, even more importantly to me, I will never have to spend the mental energy making a choice again.

So I buy the best copy I can find of that book. Yes, it’s more expensive, but hopefully that book will be read by my daughter when she is older, the same way I read some of the books my father had growing up (they survived floods, wars and incredible cold winters, yet they still remain in my library, they are quality books).