As my mom and I continue to clean out and organize our house, I'm finding that it's becoming easier than I ever imagined to get rid of stuff I once thought was so important that I had to keep it forever and ever. This weekend it was my book collection.

I've been hoarding hundreds of books, some for nearly twenty years! I love these books - have loved them all this time. However, they've mostly been sitting either in boxes in the garage or at the back of the book shelf collecting dust for many, many years; some I haven't even looked at or touched in ages! How is that love? Yeah, I know -- it isn't.

So, I decided it's time to let many of these beloved books go. Some I'll try to sell, others I'll just set free. Either way, other people will have the opportunity to enjoy them as much as I have.

Reading: You've Got to Read This ed. by Ron Hansen. This week's stories are "Packed Dirt, Churchgoing, a Dying Cat, a Traded Car" by John Updike, "Labor Day Dinner" by Alice Munro, and "The Flowers" by Alice Walker, plus the two short stories submitted by classmates.

Classic Book: Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens.

Previously: Animal Farm by George Orwell.

Listening to: KLIFE

Writing: Working on revisions for "False Memories".

Gratitude: Purging!