When we made the decision to move overseas, one very obvious thing that happened was that, at least for the duration of our travels, my massive library was going into storage.
I bought Gynn a Kindle for her birthday that Spring. This is the logical reading solution for someone living a traveling lifestyle: One small device, and access to books whenever you want one. She likes it, and gets some use out of it, probably about at the level of use she was getting taking books out of the public library back in the US.
I always had the collector's bug when it came to books. My library was like a trophy case to me, so I didn't borrow tend to books, and I was a bit reluctant to taking the plunge into digital reading. I did find that Goodreads made for a reasonably satisfactory alternative to the "trophy case" vibe, but I still had reservations about the Kindle. For one thing, I spend a lot of time staring at screens of various devices, and my reading time is a break from that. And there is a lot I do truly love about printed books.
So when we packed for Vietnam in the summer of 2014, I loaded up my suitcase with reading material. And soon discovered the joys of airline baggage weight limits. Fortunately I hadn't completely overdone it, and all that was required was some shifting and redistributing of books between suitcases.
Upon arrival, I soon discovered the local book shop, which had a decent-sized English-language section that at least covered classics and most current bestsellers. I also found a decent used book dealer in the backpacker district, and I discovered that there was a pretty decent selection available in my school's library.
With two summer trips back to the States under our belts, and starting on our third year in Vietnam, I feel like I have it down to something of a system. I buy books in the US, trying to stick mostly with things not available here, pack them evenly distributed through our bags, and haul them here. When I am done reading them, unless it's a book I'm keeping for specific sentimental reasons, I give it away, either directly to friends, or add it to the "leave/take" book shelf in my school's faculty room.
I buy books here on occasion, especially local interest stuff, and use the school library. I use my Kindle app on my iPad for the occasional ebook. I also bring a stack of comics from the US, and return those to storage each summer.
It's a reasonable compromise between my old-school collector mentality, and the digital-nomad approach that many of my fellow expats take. I've learned to let go quite a bit, but there's still the occasional thrill of finding something like my absolutely gorgeous Grosset & Dunlap Junior Illustrated Library edition of Jane Eyre that I found this summer on the West Roxbury MA public library's book sale shelf for a buck. That's sitting on my bookshelf here in Saigon, and it's coming home with me next June to go into storage for someday when we're done wandering the planet and I get my library set up again.
