Don't Book Me, Dano

I made mention of this on Facebook earlier, but I think it warrants a slightly longer rant: I wish it were possible to opt-out of receiving phone books.

I'm sure they're useful to somebody, but to me, phone books are as outmoded as the rotary-dial phones they used to serve. If I want a phone number, I get it from the Internet--and if I do so on my iPhone, I can usually just click a link on the webpage to make the call; no more writing down or memorizing numbers anymore.

The worst thing about phone books is their bulk, along with the fact that, at least in my city, you can't put them out with regular recycling. Instead, they can only be dropped off at the big recycling center, which is almost never open when I'm not working. There's a grocery store that will take them about twice a year, but I always seem to miss it.

They used to just sit in a messy pile at the edge of my dining room, but I finally realized that there was an unused kitchen cabinet where they could go. Still, that cabinet is almost full, and it's almost as if "out of sight, out of mind" has taken over, because I always forget to take them to the center even if it's a day off.

So I'd be a happy camper to never receive another phone book again. How about you--any use for them, or have they gone the way of the dodo for you as well?