So, okay, you've tried one or all of these organizations, your thrift store locks the doors when it sees you coming, your local librarian runs screaming when she sees you with that box of useless books, and you still have books that need to go bye bye. Here are a couple of last resorts. They say on their website, Earth's 911: "If donation options are not available or your books are not usable, please consider recycling used books. Earth's 911 may help identify a local recycler for used books in your area. For recycling, pollution prevention, and other environmental information in the United States, Earth's 911 provides a comprehensive database of local recycling programs by ZIP code. For more information, visit the Earth's 911 website or call 1-800-CLEANUP."
And the last interesting organization that I found, though there are many more out there, is www.bookrecycler.org. You need to belong to or be a part of a nonprofit organization to use this and no, just because your bookstore is not profitable that does not make you a nonprofit organization! This is a way for non-profit organizations to sell books. The bookrecycler.org system finds books in your inventory for which they already have a buyer waiting. They say that; "When a desired book is located in your inventory, you are given a price quote representing a resale value of that book. The price quote is the amount a buyer has already committed to pay for that particular book. In many cases, the price quote is much more than the amount the book would be priced for sale in a public sale. You have the option to send the book to bookrecycler.org for immediate sale, or to leave it in your inventory for sale at the nonprofit bookstore or in a public sale. Again, the advantage of using bookrecycler.org is immediate sale, 24/7, at a higher resale price."
I guess my point is that though we are all drowning in old books we cannot sell in our stores or online, there are lots of ways to see those books into the hands of people who want, need them, and would love them; they deserve the chance to give them a home.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
