After receiving some rather barbed comments about owning my own book depository, I decided to sort out the wheat from the chaff and give to charity any volumes that were no longer required in the Ffrench library.
I usually find myself slightly traumatised by this unpleasant but necessary cull but on this occasion it was remarkably trouble-free.
The only sticking point came when my wife insisted on keeping a couple of the volumes I had started to pack into big shopping bags.
I managed to find about 15 books which I no longer needed, including the following:
The Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin
Stand & Deliver by Adam Ant
If I Don't Write It, Nobody Else Will by Eric Sykes
Growing Out of Trouble by Monty Don
Occupational Hazards by Rory Stewart
The Other Side of You by Salley Vickers
The Meaning of Recognition by Clive James
The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde
The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
The Bedroom Secrets of the Masterchef by Irvine Welsh
Well-Remembered Friends: Eulogies on Celebrated Lives, edited by Angela Huth
Johnny Come Home by Jake Arnott.
My seven-year-old pleaded for a stay of execution for Stand & Deliver, having been introduced to the rhythmic delights of Ant Music, but I stood firm.
Lorna Hill's horsey tale for girls, Marjorie & Co, and Giles Foden's The Last King of Scotland, were saved by my wife.
Have you ever chucked out a book and then regretted it later? Do let me know. And if I have made a mistake with one of the above titles there may still be time for a reprieve.