But this year, as my walls groan with the weight of yet another hardback (yay, Christmas books in my stocking) I have to accept that in order to buy more, I probably needed to let some go.
That, and I probably need another shelf or two, because I am a great believer that there is no such thing as too many books, only not enough bookshelves.
This has been a resolution for many years, but it’s one thing making a plan – or even a pile of books – but getting around to doing something was much harder.
Add in a load of extra books from my rapidly growing children, and the pile has become a mountain.
Congratulations to the winners of our first-ever Sustainable Story Award! 💚🏆
📚Non-Fiction & Overall: Eleanor Thom & Oona Dooks
📚Fiction: @annabellesami
📚Children’s: @wren__jamesFind out more about the winners here: https://t.co/gavByrM8j6 #SustainableStoryAward pic.twitter.com/elPPNrKdom
— World of Books | The feel-good place to buy books (@worldofbookshq) September 11, 2025
I’ve donated as many as my local school library, book exchange and charity shops can cope with. The latter now has a sign in the window: “No more books” which I think may be entirely for my benefit.
I’ve looked at eBay – and yes, it’s great that it’s now free for personal sales, but the thought of carefully photographing, describing and listing each one takes more energy than my poor, tired brain can muster.
That’s before we get into finding somewhere to keep them while they’re waiting to sell and all the trips to the Post Office – all for a pound or two each time.
So, when I heard about World of Books , I saw a possible answer.
It’s brilliantly easy. I downloaded the app in a couple of minutes and up popped a scanner, which allowed me to scan every barcode and get a price in less than a second.
I’d whizzed through my selection in a couple of minutes, and while the prices weren’t huge – ranging from 50p for a book of Blackadder scripts to 10p for a David Walliams kids’ book – I’d quickly got up to £2.50. A few of the children’s books were a flat no – We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and Charlie and Lola books.
Most were added to my selling list with a satisfying ping
My children loved the ping so much that they had to scout around the house for more titles, and we got up to £5 in another 10 minutes.
I then had to box up the books and drop them off at a collection point) in my case, an InPost locker five minutes walk away). There is also an option to get the box picked up from your home if it weighs over 9kg.
Postage is free and you don’t pay any other fees or spend time answering messages like you’d have to on eBay. Also, you can send books in bulk, so you only have to do this once per box.
If you want to find out more or try it for yourself, visit the World of Books website .
Recommended reading:
Let’s be honest. I haven’t made my fortune. The books went for an average of 23p each. There’s not much bang for your books, but I have got rid of them, and hopefully, they can now go to someone who will love them.
I also made space on my poor old shelves for the books that arrived at Christmas.
Although, I did spot some bargains for sale on the site, so I may have to make more space when they arrive.
But, like I said earlier, there’s no such thing as too many books…
