Books: Who knew?

©2017 Lydia Hinshaw

My expensive shelves

My little e-reader can hold more books than those shelves

 ORMOND BEACH. FL -- In one of the later years of the last century, I found a cabinet maker and commissioned him to custom-build floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in my home office.

 I was a journalist who worked mostly at home.  I needed dictionaries, almanacs, atlases, all sorts of reference books in a collection that grew every year.

 By the time I left that job in 2005, almost all the shelves were full.

 Little did I realize that by 2016 I would own an electronic device that could store 3,000 books, and would fit in the cargo pocket of the hiking shorts that are a part of my daily uniform.

 I got my first e-reader in 2011, and since then have done my best not to acquire any more print books.

 Last week I tackled my former home office, which had become a room where I parked clothes and other items I wasn't ready to part with, but would likely never need again. Some of this junk had been up there gathering dust for more than 10 years.  It is long past time to let go.

 I donated a bunch of clothes to a nearby charity's thrift store.  I figure if I have second thoughts about a favorite sweatshirt, I can probably buy it back for cheap.

 The books?  Well, many of them are being donated to the local library's perpetual book sale.

 It's time to live simply and travel light.