My New Year´s Resolution has been modified. I no longer aim to read all my books, I aim to digitalize as much as possible of my bookstash.
What happened was, I bought a book that set off my asthma. What I have is an allergy to colofonium and different kinds of solvents, and this allergy triggers my asthma and fills my chest with phlegm. I´m all right, up to a point. This point I should avoid, because every reaction apparently makes me more sensitive. And while I have no symptoms I tend to "forget" or repress that there is any problem at all. Because I love books. I have a friend who is lactose intolerant and she has the exact same attitude towards cheese. She "forgets". My downfall, my Achille´s heel, is paper that is fresh and paper that is falling apart. Used paperback books can be deadly, but even good quality old books can be difficult. What set me off this time was an old cookbook from the 50´s. I love it, but I must get rid of it. Soon.
As it is, I have no good excuse to hoard books. There are e-book readers out there, a standard has now been set for libraries and most publishers (except amazon, of course, they run their own race) and the more people that start using them, the more books will be available. I should join. It doesn´t even cost a fortune any more. And most of the books I have on my to-read list are old books, many of which are available for free at the Gutenberg project.
So, that´s it. Give away, throw away. I have decided that books that do not fit behind the glass doors of my shelves will have to go. I will not keep books in any other place in the house.
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