I still get a lump in my throat when I think about it.
Why? I migrated across the world during the pandemic. And suddenly, shipping became impossibly expensive and chaotic.
Related: Shipping Large Boxes of Books Revisited
International shipping costs tripled over one year. Bottlenecks in ports all around the world also meant that if one was able to pay the exorbitant price, one would still be waiting for months with no certain date.
It is now cheaper to purchase all those books again than to ship them here.
The emotions connected to this very practical decision surprised me. And the decisions that remain are painful.
Books That Were Gifted to Me
These titles are attached to the memory of a special person or a special event. Birthday gifts. Awards from high school or university. Graduation gifts. Are they replaceable? Sure, I can buy a new copy, but some of them had a bookplate connected to the occasion. Many have a message inside. I call these irreplaceable.
Like my copies of My Country: Australian Poetry and Short Stories: Two Hundred Years, which I read over and over, which I won as a prize for my senior year English. I thought about shipping this set, but it is extremely heavy.
Books given as gifts tend to be pricier than those we buy for ourselves. They’re more often hardcover, too. So, in a sad twist, they cost more to bring along.
Books That Are Out of Print
It’s not too hard to find a new paperback copy of old classics. But sometimes you want it to be exactly the same as the original that you remember. My old copy of Jeannie Gunn’s books We of the Never Never and The Little Black Princess, bound together in one volume, for example. It was red. I cannot find it anywhere. Here it is in green.
Cookbooks with Food Stains
This to me is a badge of honor for a cookbook. My copy of The Cook’s Companion by Stephanie Alexander, an Australian classic, is quite grotty. But I don’t want a new copy. I want the one that has oil, Vegemite, and beetroot stains inside it.
Related: The Best Cookbooks to Consider Stocking
There’s also Food for Thought, a cookbook compiled by Aileen Morrow from Wycliffe Bible Translators in Kangaroo Ground, Australia. She traveled the world and spent time with ordinary women in their kitchens, gathering recipes. She printed a book in cheap spiral binding, and I love it so much. It’s not for sale anywhere.
Children’s books…they grow up so fast
Obviously, I need to repurchase the Calvin and Hobbes collections, The Far Side, Asterix and Obelix, and the Tintin sets.
But would you pay thousands to ship your younger children’s books if your kids are quickly getting past the appropriate age?
I had collected full sets of Dr. Seuss, Mo Willems, Beatrix Potter, Little Golden Books, Pamela Allen, Enid Blyton, Lynley Dodd, and Tomie De Paolo. Not to mention there were a couple of hundred other children’s books.
Wow, it hurts to part with those.
YA and Older Kids’ Fiction
This was an easy one.
Related: Literary Genres for Children
These books are cheap to buy in sets. The kids tend to read them more than once. So, we bought these sets afresh when we relocated.
Sets by Rick Riordan, Eoin Colfer, J.K. Rowling, Lemony Snicket, Roald Dahl, Horrible Histories, Jeff Kinney, Beverly Cleary, Paul Stewart, Madeleine L’Engle, Pseudonymous Bosch, R.A. Spratt, Anthony Horowitz, Annie Barrows, and more (in no particular order).
Wait…This Is a Great Opportunity!
So, now is my chance to seek out some new books. As most readers will notice, I could be a lot more creative in the books that I choose.
Maybe I can buy titles that are not best-sellers. I know there are thousands of hidden gems waiting to be read. I just need to find them.
My plan is to connect with bookshops and ask for some recommendations. I’m starting from scratch. What have I got to lose?
Any recommendations? Please!!!!
