My Own Moving Library

I’ve ever loved stories astir moving libraries — libraries carried connected the backs of mules done the Appalachian mountains oregon possibly a room carried connected the backmost of a dragon. But erstwhile it came clip for my room to go much mobile, I felt overwhelmed arsenic I faced this seemingly intolerable task. How connected world was I going to determination implicit 1,400 books?

My husband, the Corgis, and I were moving backmost location to the mountains aft spending 2 years successful the South Carolina Lowcountry. While we loved the beauteous scenery of the surrounding wetlands of the coast, there’s nary spot similar home. But, somehow, I had acquired adjacent much volumes since we moved down during the archetypal twelvemonth of the pandemic. My room sprawled crossed our house, spreading retired from our office, congregating connected broadside tables, publication carts, and the amusement center. I’d adjacent decorated with invisible bookshelves, hanging them arsenic decorations successful our surviving country truthful anyone who visited could spot stacks of my favourite books arsenic they walked in. I’d begun to fishy they were multiplying connected their ain erstwhile I wasn’t looking.

But portion radical mightiness person asked me, “Kendra, bash you person a occupation you’d similar to confess?” I felt perfectly blessed with my library. I’ve ever loved being surrounded by books. Plus, I’d joined different originative penning large who I’d met successful college, and we some had tiny libraries. But the superior acceleration of my publication collecting started erstwhile I started moving successful books, and my room doubled successful size successful the archetypal year. I was present coming crossed dozens of books that I couldn’t hold to get my hands on. I started scouring the shelves astatine room income and trolling overstock bookstores. It was heaven.

Fast guardant to this past fall, and I’m staring astatine the walls of bookshelves trying to fig retired however I was going to determination hundreds of books. My hubby and I weren’t utilizing a moving service. It would conscionable beryllium america and my parents loading the U-Haul and wrangling the Corgis into the car to thrust north. I needed to strategize. 

My spouse recovered immoderate 60 boxes from a section overstock bookstore, truthful astir 2 months earlier we moved, I started packing. First, I packed each of the books I’d already read, lovingly pulling down my galore copies of Mrs Dalloway and cautiously packing my postulation of novels by Jesmyn Ward. The full process felt similar visiting with aged friends, and successful my mind, I reassured them that they would marque it to their caller location okay. I culled a publication present and determination that I didn’t privation to keep, but I’d already combed done these books clip and clip again, truthful determination weren’t galore I didn’t privation to instrumentality with me.

After a month, I had 40 boxes lined up successful the eating room, a partition of brownish cardboard implicit 4 feet gangly that ran the magnitude of the room. I hoped that someway I’d beryllium capable to marque everything acceptable successful the remaining boxes. Sorting done my TBR was a antithetic story. I didn’t cognize these books successful the intimate mode a scholar understands oregon connects with a publication they’ve already read. Most of the publication felt similar imaginable friends astatine best, implicit strangers astatine worst. In the past period earlier the move, I had to marque immoderate hard calls and pulled retired astir 200 books that I didn’t privation to determination with me. Even with that, I had much than filled the remaining boxes. On moving day, I had implicit 75 boxes of books, which my ma astir totaled astatine implicit 1,400 books.

As a disabled idiosyncratic who is often homebound, it’s important that my location beryllium a refuge, a spot I bask surviving successful time successful and time out. My small libraries mightiness alteration locations, with antithetic decorations oregon bookshelves connected the walls, but they person each been a comforting abstraction that’s ever determination if I request it. One clip arsenic the minimalist plan trends started gearing up with a renewed intensity, idiosyncratic made a snarky remark astir books overtaking my house. After I smoothed down immoderate of my ruffled feathers, I realized I didn’t request to attraction astir what different radical thought astir my library. Books were 1 of my top joys successful life, truthful wherefore alteration that to acceptable my preferences into immoderate fleeting inclination of hating joyful clutter?

After we yet arrived astatine our caller place, the guys unloaded container aft box, recreating the never-ending partition of cardboard. But this clip arsenic the boxes began to heap astir me, I felt relieved. They had each made it. As I unpacked them implicit the adjacent fewer weeks, it was similar everything was arsenic it should be, each publication backmost successful its place. They each brought joy. And for me, that is enough.