30 books Marie Kondo couldn't make me part with.

[@leenanorms]

Thanks for watching, folks! Let me know which books you'd never get rid of, I'm curious to know...

[@jmcosmos]

If my wife were to die before I do, I'd sell her Russian collection; if she survived me; she'd sell my Texana. She'd never get rid of her Russiana, and I SURE as fuck ain't getting rid of my Texana.

[@nunyabusiness3738]

The hunger games

[@taradreams3]

I'd never get rid of my Lord of the Rings box set, they're my favorite books and my dad got them for me years ago. Same with my Harry Potter books. I lost all my original copies when my childhood house burned down in a fire, but recently my mom bought me a whole set again, which make them really special to me. Other than that, "Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming one with the universe" by Yumi Sakugawa, which is a beautiful little book that makes me feel better every time I read it. Also "Living, Loving, and Learning" by Leo Buscaglia, who was a true genius in the field of love.

[@JB-hl7tu]

I am a librarian, so everyone seems to assume that I have a massive personal collection. Non! I have less than thirty personal books, and simply store the rest at work! I only keep two types of books. 1. The ones that are old friends, the ones that are always ready to comfort when I can't sleep at night, or am having a rough time. My Harry Potter set, Lord of the Rings, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. 2. The signed editions from all the children's authors and illustrators I've had the fortune to meet throughout my career. But those serve more as a decoration and joy than a book that I read. I think Marie Kondo's greatest contribution is to force us to see through our collective obsession with cheap crap and discover what we've merely acquired, rather than what we love. And that is powerful. It is so easy to sit on our collections like dragons in our hoards, only valuing something because it is ours. Touching, holding, and truly seeing our items is something we never seem to do, but obviously need, otherwise she wouldn't be such an international sensation.

[@rimun5235]

I used to read often when I was younger and loved my books and kept them. I even spent about $100 to ship them out of state but after having to move around a few times, what a pain that was. Donated them to the local library, got a kindle. Had one of my apartments flood and my books were unharmed but when moving all one needs is a kindle. I do confess though, I just have about 15 books I simply cannot part with.

[@ellux87]

I agree with you. Some books are special but the rest can be loaned or acquired when actually needed. I always have some books from the library and now only after reading a book I might consider investing in my personal tangible copy of it.

[@asteriisky]

"if the kondo comes knocking, what books would you keep?" why did this sound creepy

[@emmajane8393]

1. Although I am by NO means a minimalist, and I love collecting my books, when I first saw the video I was afraid that it would be another take bashing Marie Kondo. How foolish of me! You turned this faux-controversy into a wonderful video, which I should have expected all along. 2. Love the thumbnail. Cackled.

[@quieroviernes]

"If a publisher really cared about a book, it wouldn't give it an ugly cover" THIS 👏👏👏

[@nrt523]

This is the single best video idea ever. The cross-over I didn't know I wanted.

[@nrt523]

Also you can't get the The Gracekeepers hardcover ANYWHERE and I have TRIED

[@leenanorms]

@@nrt523 I think it's here but who knows if its true! www.amazon.co.uk/Gracekeepers-Kirsty-Logan-2015-04-23/dp/B017MYAOWK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1547933048&sr=8-2&keywords=gracekeepers

[@leenanorms]

Aw thank you!

[@jaedyn225]

she doesn't even talk about "getting rid of" books she just talks about departing with things that don't make you happy. she just says that that's her preference and it's ridiculous that people are getting upset at her. she never once says that you should throw things out for the sake of throwing things out! I mean if that were true then she would have made that one baseball card collector just chuck all his cards out!!!!!!!!!! people said on her show how she doesnt judge you for the things you keep honestly, I might be way too angry but I WILL NOT BE SORRY

[@jaedyn225]

also, if she were a white female she would probably get less backlash. imagine if she was a white man; everyone would probably be calling this revolutionary, sustainable, hip !!!

[@Mwoods2272]

Agreed. If you love the Harry Potter books keep them but if you have a book, you read once and probably won't read again, you should not "get rid of them" but donate them because that book might bring joy to someone else.

[@BreakingProtocol]

Is it acceptable that instead of paring down my book collection, I’ve added at least 4 of these to my ‘to buy’ list?

[@ArianeLaurentSmith]

it's compulsory :P

[@killhannaah]

Same !! Hahah

[@Pumpkin31000]

One of the reasons I watched lol x

[@rowanwax]

I’ve noticed a lot of people seem to miss the part where Kondo says it’s personal preference for happiness... some people are happy owning four books and using the library for all their reading needs, others are happy with an entire wall of books, etc. She only has you check with yourself that the reason you own the things you do are for happiness or true necessities... not guilt or pain or anger or fear...

[@strangekat2840]

If I ever have just 30 books, send help. I have in excess of a thousand. My daughter has way more than 30 books and she's not even 2 yet. I've got a lot of books that I loved as a kid that I'm saving for her as she grows up. She's recently started picking up her picture books and talking to herself. She started talking at about 9 months and now talks in full sentences, which is way ahead of her age, so I have no doubt that she'll be reading before she goes to school and she'll probably be as much a bookworm as I am. Books are good things to have around. I love sitting in my book lined living room with a cup of tea, my daughter and reading with her. Or with my dog after she's gone to bed and reading for myself. Getting rid of books would cause me more anxiety and stress than I have with all of them. Surrounding me.

[@callummunro7380]

My process of buying books (excluding sequels, etc) is as follows: - Does it seem like a good premise? - Does it have a good cover? - Is it actually a good book? If the answer to two of those things is "yes", or the answer to "good cover" is yes, then I will seriously consider buying it. In answer to the question at the end: - I will always keep my "The Expanse" series because they have inspired me so much (in writing, and got me properly in to sci-fi), and the covers are really nice too - Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series (those covers!) - Fahrenheit 451 (hardback) such a gorgeous cover and a classic dystopian novel - The Wall, John Lanchester; has a gorgeous dustjacket, and it seems pretty good (I only started it yesterday) - Ursual K. Le Guin's Earthsea quartet edition, it's lovely.

[@annamonson212]

I have a book I bought ENTIRELY for its cover, it's gorgeous, and then I read it and hated it. So then I turned it into one of those secret book boxes just so I could justify keeping the cover. BTW, making into the box was a lot more work than I expected. Even so, I don't think I could ever part with this book, and I don't even keep anything in it!

[@emeline_4]

This story is the best haha

[@callydecherd]

Gone with the Wind was one of the first books I read where the main character was genuinely a horrible woman who I still empathized with. I tried reading it again recently, but I got distracted / didn’t have the emotional energy to deal with how racist the book is (it is about the South from a Southern perspective). If you want an understanding of the American Southern woman, or white women in general, I think it tells you so much of what you need to know.

[@caitlinclark-mcclure1347]

A little late, but I have to agree with this. I read this as a naive 20-something woman from the American South. It was so different from what I usually read and I thought it was breath taking. When I finished reading it I felt like I had lost a friend and missed the hulking thing weighing down my bag every day. Nowadays I see it on my shelf and cringe. It's one of those books that represents African Americans as better off enslaved and fuels the myth that SO MANY formally enslaved people happily chose to stay at the plantations after the war because their masters were like family and treated them so well. I'm torn: Do I keep it around because of the historical work of literature that it is or bin it due to its wild racial inaccuracies? Unfortunately it also has a beautiful cover. Read at your own caution and with a mind towards the truth of the deep racial divide around the world and especially here in the US.

[@katarinakidd9450]

I feel like I could see Marie Kondo in my mind's eye enthusiastically nodding her lovely nod when you said you threw away the dust jacket for that that one Murakami jacket.

[@arguchik]

I hated to click "like" on this video because you had 666 likes. But I had to, so as of this post you now have 667. And a new subscriber. Thanks for making good content, and for setting the record straight about Marie Kondo. :) As for my answer...well, I do have a few books that I would never get rid of. One is The City & The City by China Mieville because I love the cover (I have it hardbound) and because I love the novel. And yeah, the author is punky gorgeous and super smart. Sigh. I saw him read once and I may have swooned, but I got over it quickly because he's so warm and funny and approachable. Another book I'll never get rid of is my vintage copy of Frank Herbert's Dune. Again, it's a beautiful edition (if I could find the rest of the series in aesthetically matching editions, I'd keep that, too) and it's one of my favorite books ever. And I have an old, somewhat worse for wear copy of Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye that is full of my marginalia because I wrote a paper about this book for a seminar (the year before I started graduate school), and it's one of my favorite papers that I've written. I think it's my favorite of her books, too. There are a few others, but I would have to consult my bookshelves to expand this list. Oh! A few years ago I purchased a gorgeous box edition of the complete Calvin & Hobbes cartoons. It has literally every one of Watterson's C&H comics, and it's beautiful, and it will be mine until I die. And that's enough for now. Thanks again! :)

[@leenanorms]

haha welcome and thank you for saving me from the curse of 666 ;) xxx

[@BehindLiliesEyes]

*Adds all the books from this video to reading list* A lot of my books are in storage boxes as I am in between houses but I am excited for when I can unpack them all and give them their rightful place on the shelves

[@seamonkeyl9061]

Kia ora from Aotearoa (NZ), here's a few I LOVE 1)Phosphorescence by Julia Baird (for the beauty and the content) 2) The Signature of All Things by Liz Gilbert 3) A Child Across The Sky by Jonathan Carroll (had it for 25 years) 4) A second hand Birthday Book I got op shopping (it was purchased in October 1917) 5) Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson (and that whole series)

[@musiclistner94]

I have gotten rid of a bunch of books, and now I get happy and almost proud when I look at my shelves. I keep either books I know I will reread or books that have meant a great deal to me. Like I know I won't read twilight again - but that book was EVERYTHing to me when I was 12-13. I used to hoard every book I could find, but now I am more mindful of them and that is way better :)

[@ellux87]

I first started with downsizing about 2 years ago (also using some of the Marie Kondo advice) and still keep discarding things that I don't care about any more. I probably couldn't stick to only 30 books as I have a 3.5 year old who is a bit too young and impatient to appreciate my wast collection of amazing children's books, but I would definitely like to keep all my books that are illustrated by Chris Riddell, any books by Neil Gaiman or Terry Pratchett, Harry Potter illustrated editions, Paddington Bear collection, Beatrix Potter's complete works, The Chronicles of Narnia, my first Bible, some of my favourite cook books and quite a lot of non-fiction books. For the rest I don't care that much. I only keep the books that I would want to read or find very useful. For fiction I usually try to go for audio books, e-books or loans from the library as I don't like to keep the books that I already read and would probably never read again. I always enjoy going to people's houses and look through their book collections as the books/journals one keeps is a reflection of a person they are or would like to be.

[@KathrynsRavens]

My books to keep that I have kept since I was a child are the Narnia books, I don't have a matching set, there's doodling in a couple but I love how they feel

[@lisamborras]

My Harry Potters, my Narnia collection, my Roald Dahls, How To Be a Woman by Catlin Moran, if we count comic books, my complete Sabrina The Teenage Witch vol 1 and my Chilling Adventures of Sabrina vol 1.

[@ellieberry]

I've reached a point where I watch the video through normally, then watch it at double speed so I can write down the names of all the books I want

[@Elizabeth-uu5tv]

Me too! I actually have a list on my phone and I split the screen so I can watch and write my list in real time 🤣🤓📚

[@ellieberry]

@@Elizabeth-uu5tv 😲 Oh I'm so jealous, I can't split screen on my phone! Just checked and my "2019 booklist" is now 54 books long 😂

[@leenanorms]

Haha sorry I couldn't list them all in the description - I'll go and do it at some point, I just think my hand might fall off! :)

[@leenanorms]

@@Elizabeth-uu5tv Such dedication!

[@ellieberry]

@@leenanorms ahah don't worry, it's just an excuse to watch twice!

[@sandrahenryauthor]

I am bankrupt after this video. So many books purchased... But I'm truly commenting because I've read Gone with the Wind in its entirety twice, wrote half of my master's thesis about it, and truly LOVE that book and story. Scarlett is such a strong, layered, intriguing character. Also, that edition is bloooooody gorgeous! In summary, yes, it is worth reading.

[@juliacastillo1935]

“If a publisher really loved a book they wouldn’t give it an ugly cover” 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@BookBreak]

This is such a lovely idea and I'm glad you went down this approach to the silly debate over the lovelyyy Marie Kondo! Also given me a lot to add to my list as I've barely read any of these!

[@13BlueNight]

Absolutely thrilled to see Yaron Matras' book in there despite not actually knowing he'd written a book until this video! I've read some of his papers and been lucky enough to work with children from the Roma community during my degree. A genuinely lovely group of kids who still face a horrible amount of discrimination in their home countries and unfortunately at times in England too. I will be on the look out for this book!

[@juliak5149]

I love the library in my village and the one in the next city, so I only buy the books I borrowed at least three times already and would never get rid of them: charlie bone - children books that I can always read again, alex rider, patricia briggs dragon curse, everything from adrian tchaikovsky and 2 russian inspired folktales❤❤

[@karolines.9136]

I have a couple of STUNNING books by my favourite Austrian publisher (Kremayr & Scheriau). They are amazing hardcovers, beautiful inside and out and I keep them in a special little shrine on my shelf. I would absolutely recommend getting them even if you don't understand German because they simply are stunning and could definitely function as decor.

[@dorkboi267]

1 reference book I’ve read all the way through is Robert Peltons “Most Dangerous Places” 1 off my TBR is Moneyland by Oliver Bullough I’d also keep Executive Orders by Tom Clancy in Hardback... mostly because that book got me through a difficult time in my life

[@theHanilu]

Fantastic video! I loved hearing your thoughts and reasons for the posession of books, as there are so many, just like you said. As Murakami is on of my favourite authors, I was just wondering what exatly (or tbh also generally) you dont like about his books/writing, I'd love to hear your perspective as I do think we agree on many things, personal and literary. Thank you!

[@leenanorms]

It's more that when I say I'm not a big fan, I haven't read enough of him to know? I read The Strange Library but I want to read some of his big ones like Kafka on the Shore etc before I suss out what I think :)

[@theHanilu]

@@leenanorms hahaha, well that is an acceptable reason. but you really should read kafka on the shore, its definitely one of my books to never give away. it felt like it was MY book. an incredible feeling, on of the best in the world, i might say. ;) keep it up!

[@gaber4476]

also big murakami fan who was going to ask her the same thing haha

[@italianbookworm]

If I ever had to downsize my book collection, the first one I would grab for my keep pile would be The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Not only do I absolutely adore that book, I managed to find a signed copy in a secondhand bookshop. Best buy ever. I feel like my 'I'll fight you for it' list would either by 10 long or 100 long, but this one would definitely be first.

[@AnneleenRoesems]

I would never get rid of my copy of the book thief. It's the Dutch translation and the cover is the movie poster (it was a gift, I would be picked an English copy with a different cover) but I just loved reading it so much and it was the first time I actually made notes in a book for fun (as opposed to university purposes). I also never would get rid of my copy of Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald. I read it for university and it was the only book I had to read for uni in my 4 years of studying literature that I absolutely loved. And I wrote a lot in it too :)

[@kaddelicious]

I bought "We the drowned" years ago because I was intrigued by the beautiful cover and then truly loved it when I read it! I recognized it on your bookshelf in the background of some of your videos and was wondering whether you liked it, too. It was funny to actually see you talking about the book now :-)

[@MissCaraMint]

Is that the Norwegian novel, or another of the same name which also happens to have a beautiful cover?

[@melissajanemoore8869]

That's my favourite edition of Geek Love! Mine fell apart years ago and I can't find the same edition anywhere.

[@sarahgillard1291]

I will always keep my copy of Graceling because I read it when I was in middle school and it’s the book that made me fall in love with reading. It’s super destroyed too because of all the times I’ve read it and borrowed it out to other people to read it when I was a kid!

[@libraryofkayla]

I've konmarie'd my books and ended up getting rid of 75. Still have over a 100 though! Any one getting mad about her suggesting we only have 30 books is being silly so thanks for adding some reason.

[@Vickynger]

i have a collection of old, linen-bound classics (and semi-classics) that ive found at flea markets all over town and that i will probably never read but theyre just so beautiful and have soft, earthy colors that looks unintrusively beautiful on my bookshelf so... yeah, im never parting with those.

[@funfuz]

I'd definitely keep my copy of Daddy- Long-legs (it's called "Vadertje Langbeen" in Dutch) and before it was mine, it was my auntie's and then my mama's. They both read it as a child and so did I. It's not a special edition, but I loved reading it and I love that it was handed down.

[@CharrFrears]

I loooooove this video and what you did with this concept! That edition of The Virgin Suicides is goooorgeous! 😱 I love how you put in TBR books on this list too. This is fab.

[@gracecarter1469]

Some of the books I will always keep Beautiful/well-made: Tree or Codes and Don Quixote both published by Visual Editions and S. by Doug Dorst and JJ Abrams Sentimental: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger, The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan

[@aisling_90]

Plates with cliff richards face on 😂👌🏽

[@laura__5544]

You should definitely read Gone with the Wind! I first read it in 8th or 9th grade (and re-read maybe two times before graduating high school) and it became my favorite book for several years. That being said, I don't know if I would enjoy it as much as the 27 year old woman I am now, but still - read it!

[@ellieangharad]

If I *had* to (and I know that's not what Marie is actually preaching, I have her book), I could easily get rid of a good amount of books. However I have whole collections of books that I couldn't part with! Discworld series, Harry Potter Series. I will (when they publish them all) also have the illustrated editions of HP, as they are beautiful! Books bring me joy, even just having them around!

[@isabelnecessary5915]

My entire collection or Diana Wynne Jones books because no matter how old I get I will always need them in my life.

[@iHanna]

I wouldn't part with my copy of Gone with the wind, because I read in early teens and it made me vowe to never ever ever read another book again because the end was SO sad to my 13 (?) Year old mind! Luckely the promise to never read a book again only held for about a week, but I still remember my first heart break by it.... 😊💔

[@ASparkleyPenguin]

There are a couple of books from my childhood that I wouldn’t get rid of, the first of these being The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo. I have it in the paperback and i absolutely adore the outside as well as the inside. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (just the first one, I didn’t care for the others.) was given to me by a friend and I also love that story. In general though, I don’t really want to own books. I feel that owning books is a burden (well, owning a lot of books). I’d much rather check it out from the library and then be done with it.

[@june_as_in_the_month]

You've got some great books there; the Murakami one looks amazing! I, too, have We The Drowned in my bookshelf but haven't yet read it - maybe this year. As for Gone with the Wind - it's one of my top 15 books of all time. Absolutely loved it, especially Mitchell's vivid descriptions of the landscape and on-point characterisations. Give it a go - the storyline moves so quickly you won't know you've read a weighty tome.

[@shenvalla]

i loved the elegance of the hedgehog! it took me a bit to get used to it and i thought it was weird and pretentious for a while but after getting into it it has become one of my favourite books

[@julieannelovesbooks]

I’m very much an audiobook + ebook reader. I own 40 books I think? And I’m moving soon so I’m trying to read everything I’m not sure I want to keep and piling some of them up to donate to a library in my area. Makes me feel so much less stressed. I see people like ‘booksandlala’ here on youtube, her books are ordered beautifully but it’s just so many books and it stresses me out.

[@Cpark1401]

I have been watching your videos for the past couple of days and love your book recommendations, thank youuuuu

[@leenanorms]

Aw yey, I’m glad they’re useful 🧡

[@paulwinchell6904]

Currently reading Harry Leslie Smith's Don't let my past be your future. Harry's Last Stand is on my tbr. That you worked with this man is amazing. Because ive moved a lot i pretty ruthless about what i keep. ive got about 15 that ive kept.

[@TheDoodleHorse]

Getting rid of books is all fun and games till you want to re-read that 12 books series you gave away 10 years ago and can't get hold of anymore... A good way for me to start thinking though, lugging books to and from uni is hard enough without bringing ones that I probably should leave at home haha I think definite keeps are my Murakami books, my hardcover Great Gatsby (it's too pretty to lose), my Harry Potters (even though child me lost the dust jackets for the last 3), and various stand-alones that have impacted my life. Great video!

[@intentionallymadi1843]

I finally found a copy of one of my two favourite books of all time in a lovely secondhand bookstore: Dreamsnake, by Vonda McIntyre. It's out of print (who knows why, it's one of the most beautiful and thoughtful things to ever have been made) so I will never EVER part with it. It's one of those old sci-fi/fantasy novels that's smaller than most books, and it's wonderfully well loved, with a soft cover and slightly worn pages. It has some of the most beautiful writing I've ever encountered, and is a magical story with such interesting undertones about reproductive justice and medicine and cultural (mis)understanding. I read it for the first time probably about ten years ago because my dad had a copy, and I've been looking for my own copy ever since, and FINALLY found one. If you can find a copy of this book, PLEASE READ IT. It is truly wonderful in every way, and nobody could ever convince me to get rid of it

[@jumpincows]

I honestly loved Gone with the Wind. It’s hella problematic (understatement of the year) but I could feel myself sitting in a deep southern summer when reading it. Despite its length it honestly flew by and the writing is (in my humble opinion) glorious. It’s also so deftly captures a moment in time in of American history that I think, when read critically, is fascinating. Seriously, read it.

[@hanzib31]

I genuinely bought the Romanov book (the author escapes me) because the cover was gorgeous. I read about a chapter and then placed it carefully on a shelf, never to be opened again. But it matches my bedroom decor so... 🤷‍♀️

[@layma5113]

THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG IS FANTASTIC! PLEASE READ IT!😍 No, seriously, it's funny, heart-warming/breaking and also very educational, a lot to sink your teeth into 💥

[@AFrolicThroughFiction]

"This is not a binable cover" is a phrase I need to adopt 😂😂

[@norlingaslund1910]

I have a cheap, massmarket paperback boxset of the A Song of Ice and Fire series. I have read the first 4, and I have annotated them with colourcoded pens and probably hundreds of sticky notes. The thirdbook is heavily water damaged so I might consider getting a new one and just transfer all the things but I would never get rid of them all. The amount of hours I have put in to those flimsy, thinnpaged, cheap monstrosities are simply too many and they hold way too many good memories. Also my Swedish edition of Harry Potter and the deathly hallows, it's probably my favourite bookcover ever 🙌

[@helloelin]

Where can I read your dissertation? Would love a video of you talking about it and the book!

[@jessicaryan8393]

I loved this video!! My parents started on the “this woman thinks you should only have 30 books” and they don’t have Twitter; so this video was medicine for my despair 🤣 thank you!

[@trashbagtv8192]

With the whole 'never judge a book by it's cover' as an artist and illustrator I'm like '...no, I will...I'll still read an ugly book...but I'll still judge" :') sorry I keep commenting on your videos this week. I've just discovered your channel and I love it so much.

[@CharlesHeathcote]

I tried to figure out 30 books I'd keep but I was at 23 because of two book series, so then I ended up making loopholes for myself. I'm already quite good at removing books from my shelves so the majority tend to be the ones I can't part with. Strangely enough, I've had a similar relationship with The Elegance of the Hedgehog, in that I've bought and given the book the charity many times since it first came out but have never read it, though I think there's a possibility I'll like it.

[@MoonBeans]

What a great video! Definitely read Gone With the Wind. It's very good.

[@lizzie5337]

I have 40 books + 3 on loan from the library. I don't have much space and counted the books while watching this video. I would send the library books back. I would get rid of the 7 books on my TBR shelf, Miss Peregrines Home For Perculiar Children By Ransom Riggs, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, and The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I would keep the rest of my collection which includes all of the Harry Potter books.

[@MarleyMe95]

Kafka's The Metamorphosis, the Susan Bernofsky translation cover. It just gets me, man.

[@Arapoib]

It would be cool to see you chat with a cover designer who works in publishing.

[@kellyfitzgerald2688]

Geek Love is a true masterpiece. It's definitely my favorite book and I recommend it to absolutely everyone!

[@jadesham9401]

i would keep my annotated copy of the great Gatsby from junior year of high school because i loved reading it, the perks of being a wallflower just cuz it's my refuge, and all of my signed ones:)

[@aliciamuriel5044]

"The elegance of the hedgehog" is probably one of my favorite books of all time. I remember my lit teacher recommending it to me when I was about 16 years old and she is a person that had a pretty big impact in my life during a really dark period so I associate that book with not being alone and keep on living. It is one of the books that I would never get rid of even if Marie Kondo is threating me with burning my house down.

[@gracec010]

Your comment about throwing a dust jacket away made me think... I have a 15-month-old who LOVES books so I have taken all the dust jackets off our picture books and I'm storing them in a plastic tub in our basement. Are they worth keeping? Should I continue to hold onto them? It seems like they complete the book and I should hold onto them so I can put them back on before I pass books down to him (and maybe his children?) when he's older but also... the inside cover is what he'll remember, not the dust jacket. Maybe they don't hold enough significance to hold onto and move from home to home. Thoughts?

[@leenanorms]

Grace C the only reason to keep the dust jackets if you’re not using them day to day is that if you ever decide to sell them and you think they have potential to be really valuable (first editions or rare etc) they will be worth much more with their original jackets. If that’s not your thing or you purely want to pass them on for human/nostalgic reasons rather than monetary ones, feel free to chuck them dust jackets! I do! X

[@kenziep3337]

Thank you, Lenna! This is a wonderful video. I've also recently got an Audre Lorde book and can't wait to read it! One book I'm particularly attached to is Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver. If you've never read her work I HIGHLY recommend! She's an amazing and accessible American poet. Unfortunately, she died just a fews days ago.

[@kenziep3337]

For aesthetic reasons I always keep the 25th anniversary edition of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. The back cover is particularly beautiful!

[@TheDoododoo]

I like Marie Kondo’s method, I think it’s interesting and I understand that some people don’t need to have many books at home. But I just love to have lots of books - the books I’ve read and loved, and the books I’m excited to read but have no time for now whatsoever. They just make me happy, and I love to look at my shelves... my relatives think I have a problem and I may very well have, but I also don’t care and I’ll keep on exploring bookshops and used-books sales 😄

[@coal2k]

Oh man, so much love for so many of the books on this list! I read Undying in one sitting and it absolutely broke me. Fantastic though. Geek Love is also my second favourite book of all time and I have the same edition - love it. Have you read any other Katherine Dunn? I've had Attic and Truck on my TBR shelf for eons but just never get round to them!

[@anastasiaankudinova4136]

It's sad that I've read "gone with the wind" but I don't really remember anything about it. Like I think I liked it, but it was so long ago and I've changed. So would I recommend some book that I'm not sure if I'd liked it now?

[@Linaker22]

I’d keep my Fellowship of the Ring, despite the fact there are seawatery stains on some pages, and some other pages are falling out

[@emeline_4]

My Return of the King has water stains too, but they're tear stains, especially on the last chapter!! 😂😂 And I will also never get rid of it haha

[@alenemarie1726]

I will never get rid of my Eloise collection. They are some of my most cherished books. Also my Rookie Yearbook one and Rookie on Love collections. Bluets by Maggie Nelson, never parting with that EVER. And all my Eva Ibboston books. I love them and they are so fun and such good reads. And The Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Levine. That book holds a seriously amazing place in my heart. And my copy of Some Kind Of Happiness that my boyfriend currently has. He needs to give it back bc it’s actually my favorite book. And Never Let Me Go bc duh???

[@cheryllovestoread]

I KNEW there was a reason my seatbelt doesn’t fit right! I know medication is all researched with male human subjects. Aaaagggh. I will be buying Invisible Women.

[@TobiasTheHawk]

I've watched your videos for several years but I've never really commented, how are you Leena? I was cracking up at how you described The Nest. I'd hold onto my first copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales, it's a tattered old Puffin edition but I was really into it at the time and I've had it for years. -James from CO, US

[@MrArchiePancakes]

Loved this video! So many good recommendations! I think I'd want to protect all my books but the ones with particular meaning like Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen and Mrs Dallaway by Virginia Woolf would be top of the list, also books given as gifts like The Night Circus or I read growing up like the Obernewtyn chronicles.

[@faegibb4043]

YES for Killing Commendatore and I also threw the dust jacket away 🤣🤣 for the same reason!

[@beckyharris2621]

I've really been slacking recently when it comes to reading. So I'll just have to go with 30 copies of Matt Haig's insightful 'Reasons To Stay Alive'. Such an important book!

[@leenanorms]

Yes I read that too and have given to a few people, really great :)

[@Autumn1988]

The link in the box about your external hard drive isn’t working. Could you please fix it? I’m in the market for a new one :)

[@fieldvole]

did you knock on the books to wake them up?

[@sarabyrneeyg1630]

Gone with the Wind is amazing and I NEED to get that edition!

[@rowanwax]

I have the first seven books in a manga series, GORGEOUS covers but such meh story.... I can’t seem to let them go, but it bugs me it’s an incomplete set! Haha, the other books on my shelf are keepers or tbr. Love your videos. Thanks!

[@nicolacurtis]

YES to Gone With The Wind. It's extraordinary.

[@LauraDFTBA]

Do read Gone! I worked with someone who worked on its editorial team (who was lovely, and proud of it) and it's really good!

[@madelineanderson96]

Suuuper old copy of complete Shakespeare works which is totally falling apart. STILL SO BEAUTIFUL

[@zozzy9664]

I would keep the old, worn out, mass market movie cover edition of Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. It was the first Murakami I've read so it has sentimental value for me.

[@Guruthosa]

Some people might feel lighter with 30 books. Other people have always wanted to live in a library. It would make me so desperately sad to abandon my books. And from experience, you always end up looking for and missing the ones you got rid off... Just no. I donate those I bought but didn't like. Otherwise they're mine foreverrr!!!!! (Five exclamation marks, the sure sign of an insane mind)

[@thuntz29]

You ABSOLUTELY must read Gone with The Wind, it will fly by! It’s so good! Please read it!

[@thefrancophilereader8943]

😅 I thought from the title of your video that this would be a criticism of Kondo’s book preferences. Thankfully, it isn’t. I love the idea of thinking about what 30 books I’d keep. With your permission, I would also like to make a video on the 30 books I wouldn’t want to part with. Finally, I’m so jealous that you knew Harry Leslie Smith. I follow his son on Twitter.

[@theo.g.b_striesand-_-5505]

I'd like an update please 😊 I really wanna know if youdid read all the ones yoy said you would and if this list has changed!

[@imangipan]

Late to the party on this video but i too have been reading elegance of the hedgehog for many years, but only because I dont want it to end...

[@kierajw]

Gone with the wind is fantastic. Absolutely read it!

[@leenanorms]

I think I'll have to read it sitting statically down in a large armchair with arm supports!

[@Tutankhamun18Reads]

read gone with the wind twice. i own my dads copy he had as a young man. its amazing! Loved this video idea!

[@thuntz29]

All! All of them... jajaja not really. I usually get rid off books I don’t find interesting anymore or have disappointed me. I wish I could only keep my favorites but there are a few that are sticking with me for unknown reasons. I left my Harry Potter Collection at home when I moved but my mother knows not to touch them.

[@joreads8782]

I liked Gone so much I bought the associated album that goes with it. It’s not perfect but hopefully you love it.

[@phoebeel]

When you talked about ugly covers being a sign for thepu lisher not caring about it, I thought of all the German fantasy books. There are about 3 cover styles that are used for 80% of the books (only the recent ones or really really successful in uk/us ones get original covers) and I realised how much Germany in general hates its novels. Just.. I never buy the German versions of books because I don't want to make my flat into a fugly place. Keeps my English kind of fit but then again... Why, German publishers, why? Even a ldy in a bookshop said she only buys English covers....

[@tigertwenty4]

Gone With the Wind is a good read...I read Scarlett as well, so that must be a testament to the story! 💙this video concept and execution.