What To Do With Your Old Textbooks

You’re going to have a lot of classes over the next four years, and each class usually has more than one required read.

 

After a few years, you’re going to have more textbooks than you can handle. Here are some ideas of what to do with your used books:

 

• DONATE THEM: Libraries love donations, and they aren’t the only ones. Homeless shelters, schools, penitentiaries, youth clubs, etc., could all benefit from donated books.

 

• HIDE THEM: Last year, Goodreads encouraged an event they called “hide a book,” and the purpose was to take a book and hide it somewhere in your local city for someone else to find – sort of like a treasure hunt.

 

• RECYCLE THEM: If you simply must throw them out, always be sure to recycle. If they’re too much for your apartment, they’re certainly not landfill friendly.

 

• USE THEM AS HOME DÉCOR: Not sure how to fill a shelf? It’s called a bookshelf for a reason. Impress your guests by proudly displaying your calculus and thermodynamics books on a wall in your apartment. Smart never goes out of style!

 

• SELL THEM: Used books stores will often buy your old books. You won’t get a lot of money for them, but you were never going to read about contemporary Turkish history again anyways.

 

• HOLLOW THEM OUT FOR STORAGE: Cut a deep square through the pages (hardback works best for this) and use it for creative storage. This can be a fun way to hide something small.

 

• KEEP THEM: Keep your old books so you’ll still have something to read when the power goes out. Maybe you are a fan of Turkish history. Maybe you had really great memories from a class and the books remind you of your friends. You paid a lot, after all.

 

About the author:

J.M. Robison is a fantasy author who’s written 8 fantasy novels to date (1 published, 3 more to be published in 2018.) She’s quested over foreign lands with the U.S. Army, and hopes to quit her day job to stay home and get paid to write. She makes her own shampoo, lotions, laundry soap, face wash, cleaners, and toothpaste. Someday she’ll pack the wagon and roam the mountains in search of dragons.