Books and Identity

Challenge #1 get rid of 48 book - exceeded ... I'm aiming for 96 now ;-)
   The blog Nourishing minimalism made this comment ... "Decluttering books can be especially difficult because often times our identities are bound to what we read — or what we plan to read someday."  The blog Becoming Peculiar had a similar message "I am a pretentious douche who hangs onto material possessions because I derive my self-worth from them."
   For a long time I have had a copy of Satre's Being and Nothingness.  I tell this story "I read the first 48 pages six times and still didn't understand what he was saying."  I have said goodbye to that book this cull.  It sat on my shelf for over a decade because I thought it made me look smart.  Even though I would happily tell the above story that made me look dumb.  In fact I probably needed to tell the "I'm dumb" story in order to make a visitor notice the "I'm smart" book. Go figure.
   I have culled a stack of theological dictionaries from my library. They were attached to my life as a pastor and an Old Testament Lecturer; both careers to which I am unlikely to return. Even if I did return, the works may be too out of date by the time I did, or available electronically. Letting go of those books and that identity has been more cathartic than I expected and perhaps a little less grief inducing than I feared.
   Farewelling of these books was assisted by the  amazing social media skills of my wife who sold them for $48 on facebook in about 15 minutes.  And yes that $48 went to charity to support TEAR's relief efforts after the Nepal earthquake (hence the image at the top of this post).  Here is a link if you feel inspired.