Am I being unreasonable where books are concerned?

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Put your foot down. Young people just want to erase all things historic to us. Perhaps there are charities that would like books like these for toddlers in third world countries. I have about 2000 family photos going back to great- and great-great relatives. I don't even know who they are but I love sepia photos and find it difficult to get rid, even though my older brother would be quite happy to put them in a skip.

Someone locally was collecting for a charity book fair. Seriously I donated bags and bags. Then I had a birthday and was given 6 more books! ?I found out about the collection on the local Facebook page. You could always ask on there if any one could use them. I also gave away a number of gardening books to someone on a FB gardening group. Alternatively you can ask your son to take the books to the local recycling centre.

My local Tesco takes in books they are on a stand/ bookshelf with an honesty box for customers to but. They then donate the money to local charities. I take all my books there old and new and buy others to read as well

They are your books if you want to keep them then keep them.

Some younger people do not appreciate books. I love them old and new. I too have lots of books that were mine and my children's and now my grandchildren are reading them when at my house and enjoying them too.

Keep them and enjoy them again yourself.

@Bijou- I love the sound of the art reference books. Hour after hour of reading and art♥️-perfect.

Nurserys and playgroups might be interested if right age group of books

Websites such as a FreeCycle are very useful for disposing of unwanted items. You can also put notices in some shops - local shops or Wilko for example. There are probably play groups, community centers or child minders who would like to take them - our neighbour is a child minder and was delighted when we gave her some of our grandchildren’s old books, art materials etc.

Take them to acorns charity shop. They sell lots of old used books. Check for first editions first. Some can be valuable.
I regularly buy my three books from charity shops and usually buy the old style ladybird books, classics as well as picture books for the youngest. I have thousands of books here. I have never ever given any away. I did a literature degree too, so there really is an awful lot. I wish I lived closer to you. I would love to see which titles you have. ?

When I downsized, I used Ziffit and Music Magpie to get rid of books and CDs. Older books with no barcodes may have an ISBN number, which you can type in. Didn't make a lot of money, but the couriers will come to your house to collect them, so it's handy.

You could put them on Freecycle or Facebook marketplace.

One of my neighbours just put out a decorating table in front of the house and let people help themselves to her unwanted books.

I had a sort out of children's books a few months ago. I kept our much loved favourites, put battered books in the recyling box and the rest went to the local primary school to give out to children who often do not have books at home (I warned the head that some of them would not be politically correct these days!).

Dear Niucla97

I know you have had some sensible suggestions so can I offer a silly one?

If you are happy with them in the house then leave them there but be sure to leave a note with your last Will saying you have tucked the details of your private savings in one of the books - the title of which is . . . (tear off the paper here).

My local Salvation Army charity shop had a big box of Rupert annuals on sale toda, at £5 each. I was told that they are selling well.
I also found that old Ladybird books fetch a good price, when searching for one on Amazon for my GD.
I always treasured my books, and put paper covers on them all. Being born just pre-war books were hard to get, and cherished. When I moved out of the family home I left my books behind until I was settled in my new home. On returning to collect them I found that my younger sister had thrown them all out. I was devastated. 60 years later it still grieves me.
I certainly wouldn't dump your books. There are plenty of people who would appreciate them, I'm sure.

You may have issues with the company but I always personally pass my old books to the Oxfam group. They have wonderful record and book shops where they sell books at a proportion of their value as new but dedicated to one or other subject - music and/or books. I also regularly buy things there too. You can gifaid your contributions so that when they are sold the charity gets extra money from the Government, I don’t really understand how but it is related to tax.

We're lucky because we live on a development where there is a bookcase, undercover, where we can leave unwanted books. There are children here and the children's books are taken very quickly, as are fiction paperbacks and cookery books.
Otherwise there are a few Oxfam shops that specialise in books.

Just fyi- I have a lovely children’s book that I used to read with my children. A friend of my daughter’s asked to borrow it- her kids loved it and I considered giving it to her but thought I would check online if it was possible buy her a new one. i found that it has been out of print for some years and secondhand copies are worth over £100, even in “used” condition! So definitely worth checking! Xx

I take my used books to various charity shops and they are always well received. Is there another one in the locality you could try?
We also have second hand books for sale in Morrisons supermarket and in almost all village churches we have visited.
National Trust houses too, think that’s been mentioned. The village hall too!
A box by front gate a good idea!
Or just put them back in their boxes and keep them! They are yours after all!

I would never let a book go to the skip I often look on Amazon and Ebay at children's books, I'm looking for one in particular which is made especially difficult as i dont know either the name of the book or the author. I did see something online once where someone found a book on a wall, inside was a note to the finder saying they hoped they would enjoy reading it. Releasing a book to the wild. You could try that in areas parens and children would frequent if you reallyneed the space. Better than just throwing them away. bookcrossing.com/

Abe Books website will tell you if your books have any value - you never know.
I have been decluttering and have found the voluntary organisation called Freegle invaluable. You post your offers of items including books and see if anyone will take them - no money changes hands. There is a similar organisation called Freecycle plus Gumtree have a similar option on their website. Some National Trust properties have second-hand bookshops and I have donated to them as well. I hate to dump anything that someone else may be able to use.

Our local B&Q have a charity book table and the charity shops take them too. What about a car boot sale or a stall at your local market if it's cheap enough. Our local park has a drop off place for used books, it's like a large bird house and people can take any they want. It's a great idea, I've used it myself.

I used Freecycle to get rid of loads of books. Was amazed at how many responses I received. There’s someone out there who will want them.

The trouble is that mine were published in the fifties and would not appeal to modern youngsters.A pity because there is a breadth of vocabulary not found in books written today.

Tesco take books and donate the donations people give when the take any books to their local charities, which works very well here.

You could think about your local women's aid group. Children's and adult books may be useful.
A local parent and toddler group?
Our local Tesco sells second hand books, you put money in a charity tin. They normally accept donations as far as I know.
It would be a shame for books to go to landfill.

There’s also a site called ziffit.co.uk