What books should I keep when trying to embrace minimalism?

[Olivia_J]

I’ve been trying to adopt a more minimalist mindset, but I keep hitting a wall with my books. I know I only truly re-read a few, yet letting go of the rest feels like I’m losing a part of myself. How do you decide what stays when each one holds a memory or a potential future read?

[Jonathan_M]

I did a real purge last year, kept only the handful I actually reread. The rest felt like a museum of who I used to be, not who I am now.

[OliverS]

I made little notes on the spines about why it mattered, and when the note faded I let it go.

[BrandonCS]

Sometimes the memory is in a line, not the book; I keep the idea from a book by borrowing it elsewhere, like a short essay or a friend's quote.

[AaronVR]

I still keep a future reads pile, but it grows slower; I measure it in weeks, not titles.

[Nora_G]

A concrete action I took: donated two big boxes; the relief was real and the shelf finally breathes.

[JasonUS]

Is the real problem maybe not how many books to keep but how I decide in the moment?

[LoganRJ]

Drift off topic a moment: I notice I do the same with clothes; maybe the issue is control, not space, and the books just mirror that.