On Reducing the Size of my Physical Library

I’m a book guy. I love books. But my love for books combined with an addictive personality have caused me to run out of room to shelf my books many times over the years. I always find a way to make room and get more books but I’m at the point where I just don’t want to anymore.

There’s a reason for this. The reason is that I got an 12.9″ iPad Pro and reading on it isn’t a chore. Not only is it not a chore, it’s a pleasure. Taking notes on the iPad pro is also amazing. Whether I’m using GoodNotes 5 or PDF Expert, I love the freedom to annotate the text and the various options I have in annotating.

So I’ve been making a conscious effort not to purchase a ton more physical books over the past few months. I’ve also seriously considered getting rid of all the hardcopies that I also have digital copies of. I don’t know if I’d sell them or give them away but I find myself grabbing the iPad before I grab the physical copy.

And I’d also note that I have my entire digital library in my iCloud drive, on a thumb drive, and another couple of external hard drives. The point is that I can carry it with me everywhere that I go. I never thought I’d see the day when I’d feel this way but the day has come.

A couple of months back I went on a Kindle Book binge. They’re fine, and so are the books I have in my Books app. I also like the ebooks on ScribD. But my preference is PDFs for the better annotation and proper pagination. I don’t mind other formats if I’m just looking to consume content but if I ever want to cite anything for any reason then referring to a Kindle location just wont cut it since I know everyone doesn’t have my settings saved on their reading devices.

In any event, while my library continues to grow, I think it’ll grow in a different way. And I’ll be sure to let those who still read this blog know if/when I sell any books. I already have plans on parting with most of my Greek lexicons (BDAG, Louw & Nida, Thayer). We’ll have to see what else can go.

B”H

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