Reader Mailbag: Books You’ll Never Get Rid Of

In the December 2024 newsletter I asked our readers what books they have in their collection that they will never get rid of.

Here are the responses:

Louise: I have just a small number of books now as I took most of my paperbacks to charity shops in 2009 before I packed up and moved abroad to China, the below are still on my shelf ready to be consumed again when I feel the need to reminisce.

In an attempt to try to understand the culture and struggles of many, before I departed, I read the classic Wild Swans by Jung Chang and The Good Earth by Pearl Buck amongst others. I considered them a necessary education.

Whilst there I read more modern themes. My favourites were Little Miss Chopsticks by Xinran and The Street of Eternal Happiness by Rob Schmitz stories set in Nanjing and Shanghai respectively; two cities which I had the fortune to live in so I can relate to the real lives they depicted.

It is now over three years since my return to the UK and I continue to source additions to my ‘Chinese Collection.’ My life there has ended but I remain fascinated about this country and its amazing people.

Corinne: The physical books on my ‘never to be gotten rid of’ bookshelf are all from my childhood: a box set of paperback Little House on the Prairie, another box set of paperback Anne of Green Gables, and every Pern book Anne McCaffery ever wrote (just her, I don’t like the ones her son wrote/co-wrote). I got an omnibus of the original three books in the Dragonriders of Pern series at a library book sale in 1978 and have never gotten a newer one to replace it. (Dragonflight started a life-long love of dragons and dragon books that has not cooled in 46 years!)

Sure I could get all these books on my kindle, but there is just something about holding a book you loved SO MUCH as a child. They cannot be replaced by digital! I also have a very, very nice leather-bound set of LOTR (including The Hobbit) that I got from Easton Press in the early ’90’s that are just too nice to be replaced by digital. 🙂

Tracey: In answer to the question of which books would you never get rid of, well, none of them, haha! Since that’s not really an option space wise, I would say first and foremost, the obvious- Stephen King. Then there would be the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich, they are just so funny, they have to be read over and over. Then there are my bird books, so much great knowledge in those volumes. And finally my favorite old children’s books, Jane Emily by Patricia Clapp, and The Ghost of Windy Hill by Clyde Robert Bulla, ones that I will buy a copy of if I happen to find one, no matter how many copies I already have, and those wonderful Nancy Drew books, which were the books that made me the avid reader I am today. Oh, I almost forgot one – the Peanuts! Anything by the late, great Charles Schulz is always a treat!

Chris: Hi Graeme. I fully agree with you on how great Stephen King’s book
“11/22/63” is. I love that book and still think about different aspects of the story. As for which books I’ll never part with, that’s complicated for me. We lost a lot of books to a flood almost ten years ago and I couldn’t just go out and replace all of them. So now, most of my favorites are on my Kindle except for a few hardbacks on my shelf like Diana Gabaldon’s books, some classics like “Jane Eyre” and “Pride and Prejudice” and favorite gardening books and titles like “On Writing” by Stephen King. As long as I can access the books, no matter where they are, it works for me.

Rosemary: Anyway, There are many books I will never part with:

Any “Warrior Cat” series books by Erin Hunter, regular series books, super editions and any extra books that come out.
And I only buy them new as well so they can be in perfect condition. And there is another series starting in Jan so I do need a bigger house.

Diary of a Cat by Leigh Rutledge Which is a very charming little book. As a cat person, I’m sure you would enjoy it. I reread it every couple of months.

Tea Shop mysteries by Laura Childs because of her recipes in the back of every book

Magical Cats series Sophie Kelly

Catswold Portal and all the Joe Grey mysteries by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

Tailchaser’s Song Tad Williams plus some of his fantasy books

Age of Fire Books EE Knight

Wings of Fire Tui Sutherland

The Hobbit and LOTR

Any of my “Aliens” or “Predator” books (obsessed with xenomorphs)

Autographed books by Jane Goodall and Scott Kelly

Mysteries of Max by Nic Saint

Dragoncat books by Chris Behrsin

Any animal books (picture books as well), biome books since I use them as a Buffalo Zoo docent

James Herriott books

Redwall series Brian Jacques

There are probably a few more I could add. With my birthday and Christmas coming up, I only had books on my lists. Those can all be from Thrift books

My best friend volunteers for a UB group of women who have a universe size book sale every year to raise money for scholarships for women. I just gave her 2 huge bags of books for next years sale. At least half of them were books I bought from them already so they can make money over again on them. Gave her some cozy mystery books that look brand new since I’m so careful reading them. She is worse than I am with books and since I was visibly shaking when I gave her the bags, and she sympathizes with me, she put the bags in her trunk and left immediately!!

Donna: My father got me started on Science Fiction/Fantasy. I have collected Andre Norton books since I was 13. Would never give them up. I also have Edgar Rice Burroughs books that no one is allowed to touch.

Jay: > I would never part with my copy of Daphne du Maurier’s book THE SCAPECOAT.
it speaks to me since I am an identical twin and some of the situations that happen in the book I am quite familiar with since they happened to us.

Sharon: Like you said, I switched to ebooks quite a few years ago. For a couple of reasons;
We took our retirement in Jamaica WI 16 years ago this month, and when we were unpacking I had so many books that I just didn’t have the room to store them all in our new home. So systematically, I donated them to a local library. Now I am not sure everyone got to a shelf, mainly because apparently, staff had to read the books to determine if the book was appropriate for the shelf. I am not sure that ever happened. The library itself was not like libraries in Canada. The books were well dated, and most of the books were from donations as well from overseas. I was able to pick up a few to re-read but most were not of my interest. I now belong to the Ontario Consortium library in Canada and choose my ebooks from there. I do not buy books as I am not fond of re-reading a book so I do not see any sense in keeping one on my tablet.
I guess the second reason I switched was because I couldn’t hold a book for so long and they are much too heavy.
The only complaint I have with my library is that they do not carry a lot of British authors. I love to read mystery, espionage and thrillers. The Brits seem to have a knack for that. I also have a need to read J.L.Burke, Craig Johnson, Wm. Kent Krueger and C.J. Box., Ken Bruen , I could go on in those genres forever.
So no, I do not have a physical library, not a digital library. I do subscribe to the free monthly book on Kindle. It’s my backup should I be waiting for a hold from the Library.

Linda: Answer to question of the month. Before I had to pare down all of my hardback books because I am moving next year, I did save books. I had the whole series of Vince Flynn and the authors who continued his Mitch Rapp books. I also had a whole series of “The Ladies of Covington send Their Love”. Then I had a few random books. One was 11:23:63 by King. I absolutely loved that book. I am glad you are reading it now. But, alas, those books are gone now. I do, however, still have a few strange old childhood books. Some were my dads., They are “Little men”, “Little Women”, Cheaper by the Dozen”, “Heidi”, “The Five” and a copy of the original “McGuffy’s Reader”. They sort of have a sentimental reason for saving. One is inscribed to my dad from his teacher. Can’t part with that.

Kathleen: I will never part with any book that is currently out of print and can’t be replaced by an ebook (obviously) or one whose ebook edition is way outside my price range ($4 is pretty much my limit). Anything else is fair game.

Roger: I will never part with my Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling. They will be passed down to my grand children and great grandchildren.

Chris: In regards to the question Which Books Would I Never Part With? That’s easy, the Kent Family Chronicles by John Jakes. I received the set of them for my 18th birthday 44 years ago and have cherished them ever since. Although I have a total of 600 books (so far), those are dear to me.

Kathy: When my partner of 30 years passed away he was reading Infinite Jest/DF Wallace. I cannot part with his book. He was a reader.

Bonnie: Here’s the list of the books that I will never ever give away or donate.
The authors of the series that I saved are Charles McCarry, Elizabeth George, Debra Crombie, P D James, Thomas Chastain and Whitley Schreiber.
Some authors have written more than one book so I would include John D McDonald’s Travis McGee series, Susan Kay’s Phantom, Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian, and Susan Howatch’s The Wheel of Fortune.

I didn’t save my other favorites because they’re so readily available. Those authors are Vince Flynn, Lee Child, Rex Stout, John Lescroart, Michael Connelly, Ridley Pearson and Agatha Christie. I couldn’t save the John Connolly series because it terrified me and I didn’t think I should keep it in the house.

Christine: I will never part with my Sue Grafton books. A lot of them are signed and I did meet Sue Grafton several times at book signings. Sometimes I reread the books just because.

John: I have a full shelf of books that are signed by the authors, including a couple that are inscribed to me. They will never, ever leave me. I won’t even lend them to anyone! I also have several nicely bound books that comprise the entire “Holmes” canon. The Great Man has moved with me through several apartments, until I got married and we moved into our “forever” house. Finally, the bottom shelf of my bookcase has some reference books, covering some of my interests and passions (crime detection textbooks, biographies of people whom I admire, and wine education and appreciation, and Shakespeare.)

The bookcase covers one wall of our little study. Down in the rec room, my TBR’s are housed on a bookcase, arranged alphabetically. Since they number a bit over four hundred, there’s no telling how many of them will find their way to the “permanent shelves” upstairs!

Christine: The only book collection I ever kept was Carolyn Keene’s wonderful Nancy Drew Books. I had them stored in this beautiful painted chest for many years, but eventually they were passed down to other family members. Even though I no longer have that collection I have many happy memories of opening that chest a diving into a new adventure with Nancy and her friends.

Toni: Oddly enough, my books that I won’t part with are series that I thought a grandchild would enjoy. Gregor the Overlander, Twilight, Harry Potter, Charlie Bone, Christopher Paolini’s Eragon ( which my 30 year old son STILL enjoys). I still have books from my childhood Sea Star, Dr. Doolittle, Peter Rabbit and the required readings for high school!

Jenny: I have a shelf of books that I treasure for their illustrations.

THE BOUNTY TRILOGY illustrated by N.C.Wyeth
TREASURE ISLAND illustrated by Frank Godwin
STORIES FROM THE ARABIAN NIGHTS illustrated by Edmund Dulac and F.E. Schoonover
ALICE IN WONDERLAND illustrated by John Tenniel
THE BOY’S KING ARTHUR illustrated by N.C. Wyeth

Pam: Good morning. When I retired, 10 years ago, I had to make room for some other things so donated 500 books to the local library. Some I now regret donating, but I needed the room.

I fell down the e-book rabbit hole when I got my first Kindle – not sure when that was, but the oldest ones still working are from 2010 and there were a few before then. Just thought to check digital content and the first books I got were in May of 2009. Kind of neat to see how my tastes have changed over the years.

I have over 3000 books on my Kindle and a couple thousand more on the bookshelves in all but two rooms of my house. Some are Little Golden books from when I was young, many others are beloved gifts from friends no longer with us. I haven’t read all of either the physical or digital books and I do donate physical books to the library after I’ve read them. I also borrow from the library – physical and digital. I like owning the book because I can wait to read them til I have time, but with those I borrow, I have to spend more time getting them read.

I learned years ago from one of my many librarian friends a trick to deciding if I’m going to finish a book or not. Don’t always do it, but sometimes. She taught high school and so when kids would ask how long they had to try to read a book before getting something different, she told them they had to read their age. That worked well for high school kids and for me for a while. However, now I have to read 73 pages so don’t always follow that advice.

II do start books and put them down for a while. I love James Michener, but only to a point. I enjoy the first part with the history of the development of the land, but get bogged down when it gets to people wandering around doing what it is that people do. Michener’s Chesapeake is a case in point. I stared it, marked my place about halfway through and put it down to finish later. Well, I did, but it took ten years to get back to it. Thoroughly enjoyed it, but it was a different time in my life so now more willing to finish it.

Susan G: You asked which book I own that I would never part with – “The Complete Sherlock Holmes” by A. Conan Doyle. When I was a child I used to spend the occasional weekend with my dear Aunt Jane and Uncle Bill (they were really special people!) and at bedtime my Uncle would read from one of the stories. Sometimes we wouldn’t finish them but most of the time we continued the next day. I guess that’s when I fell in love with mysteries! Funny thing is when I met my husband, one of his special books was “The Complete Sherlock Holmes”, too! Maybe great minds DO think alike!

Sue: I keep all my James Patterson books and David baldacci books.
I also collect books until I have the whole series, currently I have Kathy Reichs books, and Lisa Jackson.
I have no room to keep the library I want and with my moving all the time I learned it is not worth the hassle of keeping all of them.

Martha: Here are the books that I wouldn’t part with:

Any of my copies of Georgette Heyer regency stories and mysteries. Read my first Georgette Heyer in the early 1970’s after discovering her at Stacy’s bookstore in San Francisco.

Any of my Charles Dickens books. It’s Dickens. What more could be said? But especially The Old Curiosity Shop and Tale of Two Cities.

Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. Great story of a modern detective trying to solve the mystery of the two princes in the tower. Modern being relative as this was originally published in 1951.

Greek Gods and Heroes by Robert Graves. This is a sentimental choice as it was given to me by my grandmother in 1961. I was going through a phase of reading only tales of the Greek gods at the time.

Funny how reading the question being asked, these are the books that instantly came to mind. Nothing from the current century which made me think about my choices. However, I’ll stick with these as they really are those that I couldn’t part with if choices had to be made.

Hollins: I have a large bookshelf full of books I would not want to part with. A very partial list:
The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Dune
7 Complete Nero Wolfe novels
The Harry Bosch novels – Volume 2
Bible
The Prodigal God – TImothy Keller
The Narnia Chronicles
Out to Canaan – Jan Karon (autographed copy)

Phil: Hi. Of all the books that I own the only one I would never part with would be the first Holy Bible I ever bought. It’s the King James Version and it’s hardest to understand of the six or seven different versions that I have now, but it means the most to me. Great question.

Dan: While I have been reading for so many years the only books, I still keep the following:

All of Robert A. Heinlein
have many hard cover books and Paperbacks

Alas, Babylon Pat Frank
My Paperback Copy is kept in a plastic sandwich bag I have lent it to so many people it is falling apart

Red Storm Rising Tom Clancey
Reread it about every 2 years

Phoenix: As for your question – One book I absolutely will NOT part with is Jan de Hartog’s “The Peaceable Kingdom.” It’s a two-parter. The first part is about how the Quakers got started in England. The second part is about a hundred years later, Quakers in America. I dasn’t open it because I’ll be sucked into the vortex and read it again. There are two other books in the series, and I’d hate to lose those, too.
Also on my shelf is the entire Sister Frivesse mysteries by Margaret Frazer. Would have to lose those.
I read both ebooks and physical copies. I love my library and borrow from them often. The library has a companion bookstore that often has amazing deals. Last week it was hard-back fiction books for twenty-five cents each or five for a dollar. A month or so ago, it was paperbacks for the same price. How could I not?

John: To answer your question, I hate to get rid of books. I did it once and gave over 100 pounds of paperback books to a library. And I felt sad, but they were taking up way too much room. On the other hand, I will never surrender a hardback book, which I mostly buy nowadays. I have a couple of very large book cases and they are over full. I did have to get rid of two books the other day, both coin books dated around 1995.

Louis: I have one shelf of books I haven’t read yet. These were created from reviewing all my moved books as a result of painting our room. I surprised myself as there were at least twenty or so. As I take one down, started it and recently – disliked the book after 74 pages – placed it in a pile of others which I then donate to our Book Nook, a local used bookshop whose dollars benefit a non/profit for emotionally and physically battered women and men. That is the Parting Part.

My “others” and “keepers” are those by Ed McBain, Michael Connelly, Robert B. Parker, John Sandford, Joe Gores, Kristen Hannah, Thomas Perry, Lee Child, John Grisham, Don Winslow, etc. I would also keep Hemingway and Roark as well as Lawrence Block. Pretty eclectic and I like it just fine.

Gail: Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, by T.S. Eliot
This book has travelled many miles with me.

Steve: I have 5 books that I have kept. Number one on the shelf is Watership Down. Rabbits rabbits rabbits

Joyce: I have two books that I read and re-read. I always take one of these books with me on trips when I want a familiar book to read and reread. (I’ve also reinforced these books with clear covers to protect them for the next 100 years (can’t be too careful with my best friends).
1. Restoree by Anne McCaffrey
2. The Passions of Medora Graeme by Elsie Lee

dhm: I have a love of LE Modesitt jr. Order of Recluse series. All in hard back (yes a bought the first book in a limited hardback) and Weber’ s Honor Herrington Series. Have read both series multiple times and would never get rid of them.

Ruth: Hi. After moving twice in two years my book collection was cut from shelves about 32 running feet times floor to ceiling height. I now have next to my bed the books to take with me always:

Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne – tattered hardcover from my childhood with Shepherd’s illustrations.

Outlander – Diana Gabaldon – I have read them all but only own the first one. (Paperback purchased used). It’s also tattered from many lendings and rereadings.

Gone to Earth (and her other titles) – Mary Webb – little known but OH! Webb can catch you, wring your heart, instil some hope, and knock you over again. Over 100 years old and the books are fresh, bring the natural world to life and draw you into day to day life in early 19th century Shropshire, England.

The Skin Map – Stephen Lawhead -after searching for this book for awhile I am not letting it go but the rest of the series I have on kindle – time and place travel via ley lines. Love the way coffee and coffee houses come to Europe.

Full Tilt – Dervla Murphy – Murphy biked on a balloon tire one speed from Ireland to India in the early 1960’s. She had very little stuff with her and she set out in a snow storm in the worst winter to date. The trip and book set her on a course to become a travel writer of a different sort.

The Book of Ebenezer LePage – GB Edwards – the only manuscript written by Edwards was found after his death by his son who did not know it was being written. The story of the fictional Ebenezer and his life on the Isle of Guernsey from the Boer War into the 1960’s. The inside flap says “an absorbing story of passionate friendships, sadness, joy and animosity to Jerseymen.” It’s amazing!

Free Days with George – Learning Life’s Little Lessons from one Very Big Dog – Colin Campbell – a feel good dog story (spoiler alert) where the dog is still alive at the end! Not all that well written but this is the true story of George the surfing dog. Long off the board but in his day he inspired dogs and owners to take to the waves on California’s western shore. Google ‘surfing dogs’ or ‘George the surfing dog’ for some feel good fun during a snow storm.

Oberon Zell-Ravenheart’s Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard – Grey School of Wizardry – the Grey School is a different place than when I first joined decades ago but the book is a wonderful mix of practical (how to meditate, harvest herbs, make a wand, make a model of the universe!) and magikal. For young and old this book will keep you entertained for months if not years.

The Complete Asian Cookbook – Charmaine Solomon – back in the 1970’s I couldn’t find half the specialty ingredients but now I can. Travel the Asian world from India to Thailand to Japan and all points in between. Authentic recipes, gorgeous photos, excellent directions and hints. I did buy a new revised edition in 1992 which is the same but better. 800 plus recipes. Still in print the last time I looked.

Ashtanga Yoga – David Swenson – practice the whole sequence with Ujjayi breath or use it to just learn a few postures – great photos, excellent variations and accommodations for beginners or the unbendy.

Jeanne: “The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife” by Anna Johnston. It’s about an elderly man who is becoming homeless and because of mistaken identity takes the place of another elderly man. It made me laugh, it made me cry, so heartwarming and touching in my opinion.