Hello and welcome back to Let’s Talk Bookish for September! Today is actually my birthday, so this post has been pre-scheduled.

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish discussion meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and Dini @DiniPandaReads. Each Friday, bloggers will write posts about a particular topic and share on their blog.

How do you manage your digital library (Kindle, Kobo, etc.)—do you delete books you won’t read, or do you let them pile up?

I don’t generally buy a ton of digital books in the first place, so I don’t have masses of them to keep organised. I own a Kobo, and if I want a digital book, I buy it on my Kobo to start then and there, so digital books aren’t particularly accumulating into an unseen tbr. I also borrow library books using my Kobo, so again, it’s all kept in the device. When I do make a purchase, I will download the book from my account to store in Calibre, which is my organisational tool of choice. I do have all my digital books stored there going all the way back to 2011 when I first got a Kindle. I don’t sort them in any particular way aside from oldest to newest, so at least I can see my historical tbr. A lot of those older books I probably won’t read now, but they live in Calibre anyway. I have deleted a few over the years, but not many. I think my entire Calibre library is 400 books, a third of which are actually my mum’s books, and the majority of which have been read.

Do you feel less guilty about owning too many digital books versus physical ones?

I don’t feel guilty about owning books, full stop. I own less digital books than I do physical, so it’s not ever been an issue or something I have ever thought about. If anything, I would probably feel more guilty if I had an out-of-hand digital library because I know what I am like and if I can’t see it, I really struggle to remember it exists, so it would end up being a problem.

Which is harder to let go of: a well-loved physical book or a purchased e-book?

Neither! I am pretty ruthless when it comes to cleaning up my tbr and bookshelves. I never used to be, but over the last couple of years I have become very okay with unhauling. I have really come to understand the kinds of things I am likely to pick up, and am more than okay to say goodbye to the rest. I do periodic sort-out’s and often ask friends if anything I am not interested in catches their interest. If I have a ‘maybe’ book that a friend wants, then they can just take it too. Books exist in so many forms, and if I ever regret an unhaul I can very probably find it at the library or on Vinted for a bargain. I do cling on to my favourites of course, even if I don’t plan to reread them, but I am sure all of us have a handful of those!

You Tell Me: Do you unhaul your books or hang on to them?