New York artist Shaheryar Malik's book piles take a new approach to decluttering

Minimalism is all the rage at the moment, but it begs the question: what do you do with the stuff you want to get rid of? Sell it on Ebay or Gumtree, donate it to charity, offload it to friends, leave it out for the council clean up, stick it on the footpath with a hopeful “take me!” note – whatever works?

An artist in New York has chosen a different approach, inspired by the thought of taking a selfie on a jaunt over the Brooklyn Bridge.

“… I stopped and thought: ‘Instead of taking the picture that has been taken millions of times, I’m going to share something different with the world,” he told The Guardian.

So a year ago Shaheryar Malik opted to put piles of his books around New York. With about 40 per pile on various subjects, his goal was to get rid of the books without a trace. He chose spots such as the Times Square subway station, Central Park, the High Line and Brooklyn Bridge, and took a photo of the books as part of the project.

Photo: Daniel Yim for The Reading Project.

With each pile of books was a note encouraging people to take them and to email him when they’d finished reading them.

Malik told Citylab that he estimates he’s given away about “250 of his own books”, and received around 50 emails back. He plans to keep the project going.

It’s a nice idea, and while leaving a mound of possessions for people take in the middle of the street might not necessarily be welcomed by your local council, the idea of finding out what happens to items after they have left your hands has a certain appeal.

As does shedding the books – or rather, sharing them. “I have given away something, but I’ve never really left them. What you’ve read becomes you and stays in you, and now they carry on and get extra lives.” Who doesn’t like the idea of their once-treasured possessions getting a second chance?