Among my bookshelves

So Wednesday night, I decided to choose 10 books to part with. Among them are biographies of the Beatles, Katharine Hepburn and JBKO that I read when I was very young and that I find too superficial to refer back to. That doesn't mean they won't appeal to someone just learning about these people, and so it makes me happy to put them in the Goodwill sack. If they engage or charm someone else, well, that's lovely.

But on the bottom shelf, by the window, I found a paperback biography of Barbara Stanwyck. By Al Diorio. That I bought approximately 35 years ago.

And that I purchased again 2 1/2 years ago.  I actually read it -- and didn't much care for it! -- during the summer of 2016.

So that's what a mess my personal library is! Two copies of a book I don't even like! I know Stanwyck has her aficionados -- my movie group moderator adores her -- so I wouldn't be surprised if the Diorio book is appreciated more elsewhere. So it makes me happy to toss it into the Goodwill bag.

Which is why I sent Surrender, Dorothy to Kathy. It's a book I appreciated more than liked, but I recognize it has value. Rather than let it languish in my den, I slipped it into a padded envelope and mailed it off to Dekalb. It's a thought provoking book, and I'm happy to give Kathy a crack at it.

I just finished it and January and WHOOSH! It's gone. That's a far cry from the Stanwyck paperback that I moved with me from one apartment to another but never read. (Or never recalled reading.)

Again, this is my version of Marie Kondo. For me, the question isn't, "Does this spark joy?" Instead, it's "would having this make someone else happier than it makes me?"