Back in the summer of 2004 I realized I had way too many books, and was never going to do much with a lot of them. Rather than dumping the lot at a used bookstore, getting pennies on the dollar, I have been selling them on Amazon.com. This takes longer–sometimes a book will not sell for months–but I get a much more reasonable return. Also there is some satisfaction in knowing that the book is going to someone who cares.

Parting is hard. These books, mostly advanced math and physics, are part of the dreams of my youth, and I have been carrying them, in more than one way, for a long time. I was going to list one particular quantum mechanics book tonight, but glancing through it brought back so many happy memories of college and grad school studies (OK–you knew I was weird) that I put it back on the shelf. Still, I did list 9 others, and one has already sold for nearly $40.