It pains me to have to admit it, but I have come to the point in my life when I have to own up to the fact that I have too many books.

There. I said it.

Now the question is: What do I do about it?

When I stand back and look at my bookcases full of the books I love and want to read again; and books I want to keep forever; and books just waiting to be read for the first time—I honestly wonder how I can ever part with any of them.

But I have to, because there just isn’t room in my home for any new books. So I’ve come up with a plan to help me make the tough decision about which books stay and which books go.

Now that the weather is nice, I set up a little reading nook on my screened porch, with a small bookcase and a comfy chair. The window blinds help shield me from passersby, but I can adjust them to let in the right amount of reading light. And the rug on the floor brings a bit of warmth to the cold concrete floor.

On the shelves are a variety of books:

• Some I have not yet read, but they’ve been sitting on the top of my To-Be-Read pile.

• Some I have read, but I read them so long ago, I need to refresh my memory in order to decide if they’re still keepers.

Of course, I had to organize them by genre, then by author last name (don’t ask me why; I just had to).

And I added this little lady to keep watch over the historical romance shelf:

Once I’ve worked my way through a re-read of these books, I’ll be able to make that crucial decision of which books to keep and which to donate or share with others. Then I’ll restock the book nook shelves with the next round of books to re-read.

I tried it out yesterday with a cup of tea and had a very nice hour of reading time. This may turn out to be a very good system. What do you think?