The second in my new weekly slot (the first is here). Please feel free to add your own suggestions and let me know which items you are struggling to dispose in a suitably green fashion.
So here are some ideas about what to do with unwanted books...
The Charity Route
So long as you have a decent number of books that are in good shape, there are likely to be book charities that will collect them from you. Especially if you're London-based or in the South of England. Try Amnesty International for its chain of second-hand bookshops (call 020 7033 1688 to arrange collection).
Another charity that will pick up is Education Aid. It sends books and other materials to countries in the developing world, but the books need to be less than ten years old.
Book Swapping
Join a book-swapping forum, such as ReadItSwapIt. You submit the books you want to get rid of, which gives you access to its online library. When you've found something you like you are given the owner's e-mail so that you can offer your own titles. When you're both content with your choices, you post each other the books.
Given them as gifts
A friend recently wrote to me to tell me that she had found the perfect way of slimming her book collection. For her mother's birthday, she picked out a selection of novels that she thought she would enjoy and tied them up in ribbon and tissue paper. Since Mothers Day is coming up (2nd March), this strikes me as the perfect green gift. Thank you Mari.
Don't recycle them
The one thing you cannot do with books is to recycle them in the normal way. The glue that binds them messes up the paper recycling process. Stay away from the green bin.