From the comments: What to do with old books in era of Marie Kondo? Readers discuss the challenge of rehoming paperbacks

Today, readers are responding to a popular First Person essay, Who wants old books? No one it seems, these days. Readers are also discussing Doug Saunders' weekend read How the Huawei crisis has exploded Trudeau’s China policy.

Open this photo in gallery:

I can’t help but observe that you didn’t want those books. Why would someone else? The complaint is not so much that it is hard to get rid of stuff, the complaint is why is there so much stuff in the first place? - Bishenden

In response to Bishenden:

Because people need to downsize or are executors of an estate. Fie on Marie Kondo - there is nothing wrong with having a home library. But sometimes they need to be dismantled - theterrymurray

Thanks for this piece, Frank Daley. There are good reasons to pare down from more space to lessening the burden on future generations but I find books among the most difficult to part with. My advice to small children was to learn to read and the world would be their oyster. Giving up those pearls is hard. My new policy is to make a decision with each book that I read. Could I conceive of reading again? If not, I will give it away while it is "fresh". - res ipsa loquitor

Adding books to libraries carries a cost (cataloguing, labelling, storing) so librarians have to measure potential donations against cost and potential use. These days one can find a lifetime of reading at charity sales. But not all of us prefer paperbacks. I like paperbacks for one-time reading but hardbacks with acid-free paper for those special books I call "keepers". - Dianne440

Great article. I feel your pain. Take comfort in the fact you are not alone. Perhaps we could all move to the same town, and at night leave books on each other's doorsteps. Knowing they would be taken in, if just for a day or two. - David Carley

Keep your Opinions sharp and informed. Get the Opinion newsletter.

Take heart - my very tech savvy 21 year old son prefers the touch and feel of a real book to the digital format. They will find favour again, just as the LP has arisen from the abyss! - Kidster

Yes, tried to sell high quality books via amazon. similar results of selling one book in a few months. Book selling is a very slow business. Just recycled loads of books because it is time intensive to actually find homes for them. Our physical footprint for bookcases is shrinking. Digital disruption indeed. - HooDooYooThink

What else readers are discussing:

How the Huawei crisis has exploded Trudeau’s China policy

Open this photo in gallery:

The idea that, after the series of events in the past few weeks between China and Canada, Canada could somehow let Huawei off the hook to appease China, is incomprehensible. If the Trudeau government doesn’t come down firmly on the side of the “five eyes” and away from dealing with and capitulating to a Chinese dictatorship, they will have shamed themselves in the eyes of a huge number of Canadians, and humiliated themselves in the eyes of Canadian allies in the Western world. China is the enemy. Finally the mask is off. - MG59

If the Chinese government goes to great lengths to spy on its' own people why would they not use Huawei’s 5G technology to spy on us? - zuglo9

In response to zuglo9:

Lots of reasons, but the main one is that they don’t need to endanger the Huawei brand in order to spy on us. There actually is no evidence yet that Huawei equipment has been compromised in any way. ‘Five Eyes’ concern is based on the general difficulty in assuring that 5G networks are secure and they can be more easily compromised because of the way they distribute data around the network. - slofstra

Congrats to Doug Saunders. This is an exceptionally important article: articulate, balanced, well-researched, timely, accurate, deeply thought-out. Thanks! - HuronC

Dear Doug, You’ve written a good piece here. I differ on what I think is the fatal flaw. Your article is based, in large part, on our belief in your statement “the Huawei crisis has revealed just how dramatically China’s government has changed”. The 1989 Tiananmen Square Protest saw thousands gunned down, what’s changed? Nothing.

This whole story seems to have a bit of an apologist slant on it. The premise is that the Chinese were making progress towards a more open political system until recently is hooey. They’ve been continuously repressing their citizens and prioritizing the ongoing power of their communist leadership. They’ve only allowed the growth of their economic stature as a lever to more international power. The totalitarian fascists which control 1.4 billion Chinese have not change, and will not change. They’ve always been solely focused on power. Now, they’re using tech, as it becomes available, to monitor their citizens 24-7 in a new “social credit” scheme that chills the soul. The fatal flaw in this piece is the premise that China was looking to follow the political example of the West. - trishee1

From the Comments is designed to highlight interesting and thoughtful contributions from our readers. Some comments have been edited for clarity. Everyone can read the comments but only subscribers will be able to contribute. Thank you to everyone furthering debate across our site.