What to do with those beloved books?

Re KonMari or tsundoku? The unbearable lightness of getting rid of books, Jan. 12 Two apparently conflicting articles in the books section of Saturday’s Star caught my attention. As an admitted “bookophile,” I have been addicted to books for a long time. I used to buy them until I ran out of space. I tried culling (as in the KonMari article “The Unbearable Lightness of getting rid of books”) and turned to the Toronto Public Library for my book fix. But then I read the article about the Loan Stars program where librarians publish lists of must reads. What’s a bookophile like me to do? And now I have another problem. I’ve become interested in cooking. So now I’ve got books (and magazines) and paper in piles around my apartment. But I love books and love recipes (and food). I am going to cull everything — sometime soon — or maybe not. Stephen Bloom, Toronto When our daughter decided it was time to move from the only home she had known into a shoebox size condo, many of her possessions would need to abandoned, tossed, donated or somehow forgotten, but I was pleased that she remembered to pack the well-worn copy of Salinger’s tour de force, Catcher in the Rye! She remains the family custodian of her beloved deceased uncle’s high school treasure, still with the handwritten notes on the torn back cover. My older brother first handed me that book when I was flat on my back in a Toronto hospital completely paralyzed on my left side body. It was a loan and not a present. I cannot envision any circumstance when treasured books would need to be tossed as suggested by lifestyle guru Marie Kondo! A life without baggage is an incomplete life! Jerry C. Hom, Toronto