Well I did it!!!

aftermidnight

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I just donated my extensive book library to the Rotary Club, every couple of years the have a massive book sale the proceeds go to help with their good works. These have been collected over decades, some are quite ordinary but some were very expensive and now out of print, looking on Amazon my jaw dropped at the prices that are being asked for them. A lot are on specific subjects, some general.
The only books I am keeping back for now are my books on Fuchsias, Perennial Asters and of course Beans. I came across my copy of Old Herbaceous and a copy of fun interpretations of gardening terms which I'd like to look through again so I'll hang on to those for awhile.

It was time to set these free in hopes the money they will bring will go to helping others. I hope they'll come soon to pick them up they're all stacked in the living room, we can hardly move in there right now. I pray we don't get company, this usually happens when I'm up to my neck in mess.

These books were all collected over the years, mostly used to educate myself and later used as a reference, this old brain can only retain so much ya' know. They were all acquired in the years before hubby let me loose on a computer, mind you he thinks he's still got me on a short leash, but when he's not looking over my shoulder, heh, heh, heh.

Annette
 
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baymule

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That is a very generous thing to do. I am sure that you have quit the collection and the sales from it will go far to benefit the good things that the Rotary Club does. But then, we wouldn't expect any less from our dear friend.
Annette, you are one fine lady.
 

Nyboy

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I love books. Who will price them ? Often I go to a sale where books would all have same price hard cover $ paper back $ I also have a large collection of books on gardening, One thing i have learned if you lend someone a book don;t expect to get it back.
 

flowerbug

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what will you do with all those empty bookshelves!? :) bean collection space? :) :) :)

i have a very hard time getting rid of books. eventually my goal is to turn some of my old college text books into worm food by shredding them, but as of yet i've only managed to do it to one very bad paperback book. i'll do my college papers/notes first, i know most of them aren't worth all the lugging around i've done through the years...

whenever i go to a used book sale it means i have to get rid of some to make space for the new ones.

i still have my bottle collection to give to the historical society. they've said they'll take it, but i haven't gotten around to moving it yet. it's pretty dusty and other things are more pressing...
 

digitS'

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I have an unshaken conviction that democracy can never be undermined if we maintain our library resources and a national intelligence capable of utilizing them. ~ F.Roosevelt
 

aftermidnight

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Most of mine are garden related, some are pretty dry reading but full of information. I agree with @Nyboy if you lend them out there's a good chance you'll never see them again. I had one on what to use for specific diseases of certain plants, lent it to my daughter when she was working for a won't name nursery and I'm sure the owner swiped it.
Clivias, chrysanthemums, brugmansias, pinks and carnations, epimediums, begonias, fuchsias, botanical dictionaries, succulents, perennial asters, and a LOT more.
I once imported 36? around that, aster varieties from Old Court Nurseries in the UK and have several books by Paul Picton on them, a must if you're into Michaelmas Daisies.
At one time I had over 60 varieties, not a great picture but my holding bed, first year's growth from single root cuttings... bare root cuttings are the only way they are allowed into the country.
Dcp_0660.jpg
When in full bloom the flowers were covered with honey bees, I'm sure they thought they had died and gone to heaven.
Google link to Old Court Nursery... https://www.google.com/search?q=Pic...3cndAhWBITQIHaTuCNoQ_AUIDygC&biw=1046&bih=719

Over the years I've imported a lot of plants but the importation from Old Court Nurseries was something else, In the end it turned out well but during we were pulling our hair out on both sides of the pond, it's a story all in itself.
If you're wondering the cost for something like this, take the price of the plants x 3, this covers the permit, phyto and shipping.

Some of the New Yorks (novi-belgii) are notorious for spreading in fact there are several varieties I won't grow because they're thugs but if you stick to the New England (novae-angliae) asters they don't run, they clump. With the New Yorks it's best to dig and divide every year or two. I have to say although I only have a couple of varieties now it's still my favorite flower. That last explosion of color before winter sets in is a wonder to see. Some of the OLD varieties are hard to find but still the best ones in my eyes.

Alex I have no idea how these books will be priced but I'm sure they'll be a steal for someone who knows what they're looking at.

Annette

I forgot to mention these too now have had a name change, now called Symphyotrichum, I wish the powers that be would leave them all to h*ll alone.
 
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thistlebloom

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Kind of hard to let old friends go isn't it?
I'm sure the people who pick up your treasures will be delighted with your generosity Annette.

Books are wonderful and the internet may have displaced them a bit, but can never replace them.
I just went through my books a little while ago and only kept the ones that would fit on the shelf above my desk in my office.
They are mostly my good garden reference books, but I admit to not thumbing through them often enough.
 

Nyboy

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If you have the time maybe list the books and their value and send with books. my father is tring to clear out some of the family home, every time he brings his dog in for grooming he drops off a couple of bags hes packed. Last grooming I got 24 ashtrays.
 

Ridgerunner

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In Arkansas my wife and I ran the book section in a charity thrift shop. Most of the books we got were from people moving, kids leaving home, or someone dying. We got a lot that were left over from yard sales. It varied by season but we probably averaged six or seven boxes of books a week. Those books covered every topic under the sun, from romances to a Swedish legal dictionary. Cookbooks were big, especially those one that different churches or organisations put together. Some were in great condition, some were trash. I hated getting the kids coloring books that had already been colored. A lot were put in the dumpster.

Our pricing was pretty basic. $1.00 for a hardback, $0.50 for a paperback, and $0.10 for kids books. The idea was that the books were free to us and anything we got was a profit. We really wanted to make books available to kids.

Occasionally we'd get an really nice one, possibly a collectible. My wife chatted with a used book store about those, to see iof they'd take it on commission or just give us a bit more for it. Their criteria was pretty rough, the book had to be in really good condition, which edition was important. Of all the thousands of books that came through over the years only a couple were of any interest to them.

Things like National Geographic and old encyclopedias, forget it. Those go straight to the dumpster. There are just too many copies available and no one buys them.

Annette those books would have been interesting. We had a certain section for that type. I'm sure they will be appreciated.
 

aftermidnight

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If you have the time maybe list the books and their value and send with books. my father is tring to clear out some of the family home, every time he brings his dog in for grooming he drops off a couple of bags hes packed. Last grooming I got 24 ashtrays.
Not in this lifetime, they get what they get, besides they're coming in an hour to pick them up:weee.
 
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