Victoria M. Johnson writes both fiction and non-fiction. The Substitute Bride, her short story collection out on Amazon and Smashwords, is Victoria’s debut in the arena of indie publishing. Her other publications include The Doctor’s Dilemma, a novel, and the nonfictional Grant Writing 101. Victoria is a blogger and film buff who writes and directs short films.
First a little background. Books are my weakness. A house we had lived in for 19 years featured an enormous library with about two thousand books—and when we moved it was a substantial task to go through all the books and decide which to donate. I parted company with more than half. Our new house had large bookcases and it didn’t take long to fill them up, in addition to bookcases in my office, and our bedroom bedside tables.
When we were forced to leave that lovely house due to foreclosure, it was a stressful time. We went from 1800 square feet to 800 square feet! Needless to say, I had difficulty culling through my book collection to make donations. But I did it, bringing only about 250 books with us. And I swore that I would only buy eBooks from then on. I haven’t exactly kept that promise, but I did keep the promise to have our bedroom clutter-free. No stacks of books and magazines and journals by the bed. Today I only have three items on my nightstand: a literary journal, a book of poetry, and a chapbook written by a friend.
The chapbook is Wild Place by Erica Goss. I thought it would be a good idea to read a few pages to help me unwind and fall asleep. Wrong. Her poems struck a cord with me. One in particular poked and nudged me and kept me up most of the night until I finally went to my office to write a poem. I don’t read this chapbook before bedtime anymore.
The journal is Quarter After Eight, Vol.18. It’s a quirky journal with unpredictable pieces of short fiction, essays, memoirs, and poetry. This volume gets my creative juices flowing and urges me to run to my office to write. Also not a good choice for reading before bedtime.
The poetry is The Curvature of Blue by Lucille Lang Day. One of her other books, Wild One, is my all-time favorite book of poetry. And that was on my table before this one arrived in the mail. Lucille’s poetry is many things: thought provoking, inspiring, intelligent, and deep. I always enjoy reading it.
Previously I would have stacks of non-fiction books, writer magazines, and blank journals to jot down my thoughts, as well as the single fiction book I was reading at the time, by the bedside. My fiction choices vary from romance to thrillers to short stories—those are all now kept in the office where they belong. I should also mention that we are planning another move, a good one, and I have to pare down even more—no more than two boxes of books. Wish me luck!
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Have you ever had to lighten the pulp load? How did you approach the great paring?
Thank you for your comments about my books! Also, I’m happy to know about Wild Place and Quarter After Eight as places to turn to for inspiration. As for paring down one’s library, my husband and I are bona fide book hoarders and certifiably incompetent to give such advice. We own about 5,000 books and in addition to having a houseful of books, we have books in rows of shelves like library stacks in the basement. Good luck with choosing among yours!
Lucille–
Thank you for stopping by. What a lovely home you must have! Good to hear I’m not the only one who feels at home with stacks and stacks of books everywhere.
Hi Victoria —
Good advice to refrain from reading poetry before bed! I usually read fiction. Before I go to sleep, I like to have a story running through my head. Poetry can be too stimulating.
Hi Erica–
I agree. I found out the hard way!
Ah, Quarter After Eight! I reviewed that on thereviewreview.com! I once had to move from an office where I’d kept books and papers for 12 years. Boy, that was hard. Stuffing them into my home office was not a treat and there are still some in the garage…
I applaud your ability to leave things of the past and move to the present, Victoria, something we all must do eventually–or leave the chore to our heirs–who seldom appreciate it.
Hi Lita–
Thank you for visiting and sharing your challenge of paring down. You are correct about heirs not appreciating the chore! Not a nice thing to do!!
Hi Victoria, I used to work in the book “biz” and received many free books, plus discounted titles and a slew of mass market paperbacks without their covers. I lived in about 600 sq feet and had about 3k books. Books everywhere! I loved it. Then I met someone and fell in love and needed to pare back. It was sooooooooooo hard. But since then, I’ve been ok with keeping books that I absolutely fall in love with and letting the rest go. It’s a lesson of sorts. I try to hold on to only those books that I think I can’t live without. Thanks for your great post.
Hi Parthenia–
Ah, the things we do for love! Good suggestion to keep only those I can’t live without. That will help me pare down for the next move.
Hi Victoria,
I enjoyed hearing your tale of liberation. That’s how I think of it when I cull through my possessions, not just books. Even if it is difficult, there is something liberating in the sorting and culling process. I like your idea of keeping only the ones you love. I also manage to part with ones I can get hold of elsewhere—like the library. But I have found it very difficult to let go of the ones from my previous life as a German Studies scholar and teacher, even if I know in my heart I won’t read them again. I’m talking secondary literature here, not the actual poems, novels, etc., which I do re-read.
And despite the pitfalls, I love to read poetry before bedtime. I like being in that world before I fall asleep, especially if I’ve been in the “real” world a lot that day.
Good luck with the upcoming paring down. It’s never easy.
Hello Renee–
I keep hoping some of my old favorites will become eBooks so that I won’t have as hard a time saying goodbye. You’re right it can be liberating, and donating also helps me know that someone else will get pleasure from reading them. I can see how some books, like your German Studies books, that were such a huge part of your life, are difficult to part with.
You are a brave woman reading poetry before sleep
Victoria–