Books and ego death: Part IV
This is my penultimate update on decluttering my personal library.
I've reduced my personal library from 190 books to 100. The current tally:
- 18 books on writing (both references and treatments on the craft)
- 20 books related to D&D (e.g., sourcebooks) and references for other hobbies
- 21 books related to my academic discipline
- 41 books for everything else (novels, short stories, non-fiction)
That I've settled on 100 is purely accidental. I still have until Saturday to finalize my stacks, and think I can cull a bit more.
Part of this process has felt like shedding; I'm letting go of outdated aspirations and hopes and dreams as represented by tomes. However, it's not entirely tragic, for what remains is a testament to the life I am living now and the (re)considered directions I want to take.
Certainly, from a meta angle, I'm learning to not be (overly) defined by objects or to derive my self-esteem and self-image from possessions. This is an attitude I want to expand into other aspects of my life.
More practically, I'm excited by the prospect of a "lighter" bookshelf. It's going to make cleaning and maintenance so much easier! I want to reach a point of equilibrium, at which new titles replace prior ones. I'm interested to see how strong the connection is between physical clutter and cognitive clutter.