Quantity, Quality, and the Home Library

I love reading, but I find there are very few things worth saving. This is my personality. (And evidence of the impact reading Walden Pond had on me.) Stuff drains energy. 

Now a book you love, that you would read again, that you want your children to love - that isn't stuff, it's a treasure, an heirloom. I own a few books that are out of print and ADORE them. But we also read them, yes even though they are novels, about once a year or so. 

I don't, however, like keeping anything without immediate utility. (Okay, I do save some things - clothes,etc. that I rather not go buy when their time of utility comes, but not too often, and not in great volume.) We regularly make trips to the DI with the things we've outgrown. And by outgrown I mean clothes, toys that have lost interest, and books that the kids aren't interested in anymore. 

I recently went to my grandpa's house and the kids had a blast playing with old toys, and for a moment, I wondered if my children's children would miss their parents toys. But when I came home and LOOKED at their parents toys, I discovered they just don't make them like they used to. So I save a few sturdy "classics," but the rest are trashed or recycled or given away. 

I feel the same way about books, and ESPECIALLY children's books. For the fun pictures and newness of a book, there are few my kids have not shown an interest in at one time or another.That doesn't make them a work of art, a treasure, an heirloom, or give them permanent utility. Unless they are written and illustrated WELL and impart the sort of knowledge worth keeping, they aren't going to be around for the grandkids. 
Examples of ones we keep: The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein; Oh the Places You'll Go, by Dr. Seuss. 

I like getting books from the library. From what we check out, there are definitely some I put on my list of books to OWN. And I know that list will grow. And in the end, I like the idea of having a library that reflects our values as a family, who we are, the knowledge we've gained. But that sort of library can't be had in a moment. So we build slowly and lose the "stuff" and I find I keep and take care of our books, instead of them keeping me.