Many Books

We have so many books. I think we've kept every single book we've ever purchased from when the kids were infants. (Books we had before that are stored in boxes, in the basement.) Our bookcases were groaning under everything from Goodnight, Moon to Harry Potter.

Today's yet another rainy day and the kids were ordered to go through the various bookcases so we could donate books to our library and hopefully free up some space (for yet more books). There was much arguing over what to keep and what to give away. A lot of the really childish books went into the donate pile, but a surprising number didn't. Do we really need the complete Dr. Seuss set? Or The Velveteen Rabbit, board book edition? I mean, my youngest is 12 and my oldest is looking at colleges.

In the end, I let them hash it out, and we've kept a lot of their individual childhood favorites. And I understand this, as I still have all my favorite childhood books (although a much smaller number than they do). Somehow, however, despite the clean-up, there's still isn't much room on the bookcases. We haven't even started on the bedroom bookcases, either.

A long time ago, I purchased the book Parents Who Love Reading, Kids Who Don't by Mary Leonhardt. I was worried about DS15, when he was about 6 or 7. He seemed much less of a reader than the other two, and still has definite preferences (non-fiction, sports). One section of the book still resonates for me: if you want your kids to read, have lots of books around and be prepared for a messy house. So true, I think. And while my house is clean, the clutter of books in every room can make it look messy. As the kids get older, I realize it's been a small price to pay to encourage a life-long love of reading.