If it doesn’t “spark joy” then let it go, advises tidying guru Marie Kondo, star of the recently released Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. But Kondo’s KonMari method – which gives books their own category – has not sparked joy among novel lovers, who have rebuked her tidying tips on social media for insinuating that books are clutter. But once you have read a book, is it worth keeping?
“I think editing your bookshelf is as important as editing your wardrobe or your pantry” says Sheena Murphy, founder of interior design studio Nune.
Writer and blogger Dale Darley had to be ruthless with her book collection when she moved to Spain “I had a decision to make about 100’s of books,” she said. Darley only saved her favourite books. “The rest went to friends and charity. I did also leave books in random places with a note,” Darley adds.
For Paul Johnson, solicitor at Johnson’s solicitors, it all depends on the book: “If it’s a run-of-the-mill novel that you read for entertainment then I suppose you could get rid of it, because it just clutters up your house,” Johnson says.
Dr Pragya Agarwal, author and CEO of social enterprise The Art Tiffin, says it makes sense to surround ourselves with things that bring us joy, but she would never just throw books out. “I don’t know if I can ever be on board with her very minimalist philosophy, because that’s not how I am,” Agarwal says. “I also don’t care that much about the whole ‘tidy place, tidy mind’ and productive life philosophy. There are better things to do in life than tidying up!”
Marie White, PR strategist, also insists that she would never just throw a book out. “Once a year I need to make some space on my bookshelves, specially the children’s one. So, I do what many people do and visit charity shops,” White says.
Despite a willingness to share their literature, most of them have at least one book they would never give away:
Pragya Agarwal: Plays by George Bernard Shaw.
“The copy I have belonged to my grandfather. He had a huge collection of books and this is my only connection to the man I did not know at all.”
Paul Johnson: L’Assommoir, by Émile Zola
“It’s probably the best novel that I’ve read. Having said that, the book I really wouldn’t get rid of is the Oxford English Dictionary.”
Sheena Murphy: My Country: A Syrian Memoir, by Kaseem Eid
“It’s eye-opening, heartbreaking and historically pertinent.”
Dale Darley: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
“I can’t read it any more as I don’t like the writing style, but it is precious to my heart and meant such a lot as I was growing up.”
Marie White: The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde
“I am Mexican, and I read this book for the first time when I was 14. I read it in Spanish and I fell in love with it.”
