Books can be deceptive. I would not be so quick to dismiss book collections out of hand. Sure, maybe those Mario Puzo paperbacks of the Godfather are worth nothing, but don't be so ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I have a modest collection of books, many of them not old but still worth quite a bit. One of my collections has no books older than 40 years old, but some of the books are worth over 900 dollars, many of them worth over 400 dollers and most over 100 dollars. Collectively my collection in this one corner of my home alone could bring in 10,000 if auctioned. While it would take time and effort, it's still not nothing. I would not be so hasty to just assume that books are worth nothing.