Every so often, I sort through my books and other belongings in an attempt to keep the household chaos under control. One section I've been ignoring for a long time are the reference books I keep on my desk. Surely a writer should keep hard copies of dictionaries, a thesaurus, and name books on hand, even though it's easy to find online versions of them. I finally decided that that I was using the online versions more than the aforementioned paper books, plus the paper versions might be out-of-date. So I finally decided to sell them at Half Price. I am keeping several grammar guides and style references, along with a book on everyday life during the Victorian era and a German-English dictionary. I have to admit I don't use these books much anymore either, though I cling to the illusion that they might be useful. In the meantime, it's nice having a little more space on the top shelf of my desks.
What do you have on your reference shelf? Do you use paper books, electronic resources, or both? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
Since mine were out of date, the physical versions are long since gone. All electronic for me.
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