What Is It About Books?

Cleaning out, sorting, downsizing all seem to come to a standstill when it gets to the books. What is it about them that make me (us) hold onto them?  Why is it so hard to part with them?  They are heavy and take up so much space.  They seem to be almost an intellectual security blanket.

An article from one of my favorite blogs advises to remember why you love books, then give them away.
 http://bemorewithless.com/bookjoy/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BeMoreWithLess+%28Be+More+with+Less%29

What I love most about books is …

• discovering them
• curling up with them
• getting lost in them, and then sometimes found
• inspiration that sparks action
• finding one sentence that lingers for days
• giving them away

Both this article as well as a friend within the last week recommend reading:

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo.  

However, since I'm dealing with books right now, all the more reason to read it on my ereader!  It's just making that shift from the satisfying physical heft of a book to knowing I can read it in another format.  Maybe it's a generational thing?