quote:

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Originally posted by Ariel:
I like books and think they should be a pleasure on more than one level. The look of a well-chosen typeface, the silkiness of the pages, the smell of a new book, the beauty of an attractive cover...

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quote:

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Originally posted by Schroedinger's cat:

[possible trigger]
I am still traumatised by a sketch in church where the "performers" tore apart a book.
[/trigger]

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WHAT THE?!?!

That is EVIL!

*ahem*

Hi. My name is comet and I'm a biblioholic. It's been... gosh, days! since I purchased my last book.

in the planning stages for a cabin and my friend (the builder) estimates the books will require a doubling in square footage required. I'm kind of pathetic.

and I've really cut back!
 

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Posted by Ian Climacus (# 944) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Og, King of Bashan:
The online tool that has curtailed my book collection is the Public Library's online hold system, which allows me to have any book in the city library system delivered to my local library branch, five minutes from my house. Any time I am tempted to buy a particular book, I look for it in the library catalog, and I can usually find it.

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Me also. Since I moved up here and make use of inter-delivery system between 3 local councils' libraries & I am in heaven. And I can also borrow some via download to my e-reader without even leaving the house.

Every 6 months or so I do a sweep of my shelves and off to the local library or charity shop they go.

I -- like Ariel -- like a nice layout and look: something pulls me in. I am reading a book on typefaces currently which is giving me a new insight into different typefaces and how they are used/abused.
 

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Posted by Nenya (# 16427) on :
 
Yes, there's a very large number of books in our house and the vast majority of them are mine. I find it very hard indeed to get rid of them and even to lend them - some books are too precious to be lent, even to good friends. And the most traumatic thing about clearing out my parents' house after my mum died was sorting their books. We brought some back with us and took boxfuls of others to Mum's favourite charity shop but some very old, very tattered, very yellow-paged ones we had to take to the recycling. I cried long and hard over it.

I try not to keep buying them but some just need to be owned. And books collect wherever I am in the house, kitchen, lounge, bathrooms; there are several piles on my bedside table. A while ago I wasn't well and spent several nights in the spare bed. Books started to pile up on the floor in there as well (no bedside table ).

Kindles are good, they assist in the reading without having to add to the pile of books that you realise you're not going to read or enjoy, and need to find a home for. But if I've really enjoyed a book on the Kindle I'll need to buy a paper copy.

Some years ago I got rid of my very old set of the Narnia books because I had a nice new one - all the right illustrations, but with different covers. Subsequently I had to buy a copy of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" at a charity shop... because I need a copy with that particular cover.

Nen - needing counselling after the description of the sketch in the OP.
 

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Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
Comet - marry me.
 

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Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 
Rejoice with me fellow bibliophiles, yesterday the new temporary southern central city library was opened We had another one, but it was demolished in November as part of the rebuilding of the city. I have been going to a branch suburban library, but it's not really the same. The permanent Central City Library, will be built in 2017

The interesting thing about the branch library is that when the stand alone building was damaged they opened in the shopping mall (which had lost tenants after the quakes). This has led to the library being used by a wider cross section of the community than previously.

Huia
 

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Posted by Fredegund (# 17952) on :
 
Another hopelessly addicted to books. Especially old ones languishing on National Trust stalls. We actually moved house last time because we were out of bookcase space. It was that or build shelves on the stairs.
Kindles are for out of copyright items from gutenberg. Ah the joys of Mrs Humphrey Ward on the early train...
 

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Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 
Me too. And my addiction has become much worse since I started working in a local charity shop and can buy nearly new hardbacks - especially travel books and biographies - for 99p each!
 

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Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :
 
A bibliophile or a Literature Abuser ?

I'm redecorating an office at the moment and am thinking of putting bookshelves perpendicular to the wall, library-style, instead of flush, in order to increase shelf space.
 

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Posted by Augustine the Aleut (# 1472) on :
 
With stacks of them hovering about and my house a candidate for an episode of horders, I have a fairly strict rule of now purchasing only to give away. The only exception being books by friends as I get them lavishly and warmly (but rarely lasciviously) inscribed, so as to enrich my heirs.

As well, a few times a year I place a box of volumes at the end of my walk, and most of them seem to disappear fairly quickly--- mysteries go like hotcakes (as did the 1984 Parliamentary Guide), although Desmond Bowen's excellent On the Idea of the Victorian Church took three tries to get rid of.
 

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Posted by Yangtze (# 4965) on :
 
Count me in too. The books far outnumber the available space on bookshelves.

I get very twitchy if ever I'm at the house of someone who doesn't have books. Feels very weird. Anyone else get that?
 

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Posted by Hilda of Whitby (# 7341) on :
 
I'm a professional librarian.

My husband and I have lots of books but we also have a "one in one out" policy. We donate books, CDs and videos to a local public library-operated bookstore. They take donations and sell them in the shop or online. Books they don't have use for are pulped, I'm sure.

As a librarian, I do see the need for weeding or culling a collection from time to time. My workplace is a very specialized library (legislative research) so we do not need to keep absolutely everything that the library has ever acquired. We do put our discards on a list. Other libraries can ask for them if they want them. We don't just trash weeded materials; we try to find homes for them if we can.

When Mr. Hilda and I retire in 2 years, we'll be downsizing even more and moving to an apartment. At that point, only books we downright LOVE will make the cut. For me, that's certain books that are illustrated, some books from Germany, and some religious books. Things like novels and run of the mill nonfiction will get the heave-ho--those can be reacquired as electronic books on Kindle or Nook. We intend to making great use of the local public library and interlibrary loan.

I love books and have made a career out working with them, but man, as possessions, they can be such an anchor around your neck if you ever have to move ...
 

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Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Hilda of Whitby:
I love books and have made a career out working with them, but man, as possessions, they can be such an anchor around your neck if you ever have to move ...

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quote:

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Originally posted by comet:
[Hi. My name is comet and I'm a biblioholic. It's been... gosh, days! since I purchased my last book.

in the planning stages for a cabin and my friend (the builder) estimates the books will require a doubling in square footage required. I'm kind of pathetic.

and I've really cut back!

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quote:

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Originally posted by Yangtze:
Count me in too. The books far outnumber the available space on bookshelves.

I get very twitchy if ever I'm at the house of someone who doesn't have books. Feels very weird. Anyone else get that?

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Abso-blooming-lutely - it's like being in a house with no cats .

We have quite a number of antiquarian things/early editions, and recently got two more bookcases to put in the bedroom. While out with some friends they commented that bedrooms should be relaxed places, not full of books. But, but, quoth I, I lie in bed looking at my lovely old books on their lovely new shelves and I think ahhhhh...and I'm totally relaxed .
 

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Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :
 
Hello, my name is Jane and I am a book addict, married to another book addict and busy corrupting - I mean, raising - another book addict.

Last time we estimated the number of books in the house it was about six thousand. It's probably more than that now because Mother-in-Law is downsizing her collection and there are a lot of books in her house that we just can't bear to get rid of...

Meanwhile, Daughter has discovered the delights of second hand bookshops. She had her first trip to Hay-on-Wye last year and came back with about 25 books (more than either of us).

I think the floors in the house may need reinforcing.

[ 23. January 2014, 12:46: Message edited by: Jane R ]
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
When we had this house built we had a lot [>75 metres] of reinforced concrete shelving built-in - it doesn't sag no matter how much weight we add

Alarmingly we don't have much space left, probably less than 5 metres

If we split the big upstairs room, as we are likely to do, that will give us more wall space and my plan, not yet shared with Himself, is more built in concrete bookshelves - I think that we can easily get another 25 metres of run, possibly more
 

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Posted by Freelance Monotheist (# 8990) on :
 
I am also a bibliophile/biblioholic!
I have a KIndle, and, while it's brilliant as it means not lugging round several paper options as reading material, I really miss having a cover to be drawn to and the actual feel of paper!
I still buy the odd paper version though, if my Kindle is charging or nothing on it appeals to me!
I still buy books as presents for the children who are/have been in my care, as I enjoy sharing books I enjoyed in my childhood & getting them hooked on reading too!
 

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Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :
 
And what about 'signed by the author'? How do you get the author's signature on a digital copy? Marketing opportunity lost there.

Digital books are Just Not The Same. Though I am considering getting a reader, because when I go on holiday I have to take about a dozen or so with me, which means I don't have much room in my bag for anything else... (I read fast).
 

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Posted by Barnabas Aus (# 15869) on :
 
I am a former teacher-librarian, but even before taking up that profession I was a biblioholic from childhood. My wife is an avid reader as well, and we possess thousands of books between us. These are scattered across almost every room in our fairly large house, with a very high proportion of non-fiction on our shelves. Many are boxed and in our storage.

Part of my problem is an almost photographic memory, which means that if I have read some light fiction, I get no pleasure from re-reading. We have an ever-increasing stock of mysteries, thrillers and the like, despite the fact that I now tend to acquire those as e-books.

A solution which seems to be coming to fruition is to establish a Little Free Library in our small town. We have an increasing RV trade, and our little visitor information centre has agreed to be the venue, with my offer to provide initial stock. That may be a possibility for others here. As you can see from the website, many have established these as personal projects on their own property.
 

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Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 
I now have far fewer books than I did as I got rid of a bookcase in an inappropriate place after the Feb 2011 quake. I also culled what I had, and bought a kindle. It doesn't have to be bolted to the wall, the books on it take up less space and don't block the exits to the house if another big quake happens.

That said there are some books that I enjoy best as tree books. I have inherited my mother's 3 volume Lord of the Rings with it's creamy paper, wide margins and easily read typeface. Dad bought the set book by book at a cost of $3 each, which was quite a lot of money in those days. Picture books too with their vibrant colours and lovely smells could (imo) never be as sensual delivered by e-reader.

By the way, the new South Central Library I mentioned above was a bit of a disappointment as it is quite cramped, unless they also open the bit upstairs that was roped off.

Huia
 

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Posted by sandushinka (# 13021) on :
 
I work in a library and am a bibliophile in real life too. My wife got me a Kindle last year for Christmas to try and control the book buying (she only reads non-fiction). I've also been purging -- some go to the library, some to the used book shop for buy-backs, some to storage. I buy paper too, though. Not everything is on Kindle. I also bought my first Russian Kindle books the other day. That was pretty cool.

My to-read list on Goodreads is now at 750 or so. I'm trying to keep it under control but it's not going well.
 

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Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
I have a Kindle and it's certainly useful to carry around in case I have to wait for someone and can read.

The insidious thing about the Kindle is that you don't have read books pile up in real space, but when you're reading a series of trash mysteries or fantasies in bed at night, you can finish one and order and get the next one without getting out of bed. It's not doing anything for my trying to get back to a conventional sleep schedule.

Part of the way I justify my book purchases is to say that Amazon is selling books at a discount in order to gain a monopoly on the market. The only sensible thing to do is to buy a lot of books now while they're cheap and have some in stock for when they collapse or jack up the price.

I'm actually listening to some talks about making better e-books. There's a bunch of stuff that hopefully will come out in the next three or four years that will allow web based books to have a lot more of the niceties of print; better hyphenation, textbook things like side notes and floating tables. Of course these are just promised. And Amazon has bought a company from Philips that does color e-ink. Right now, Kindle for me is the equivalent of cheap paperbacks. Anything fancier is usually better in Print.
 

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Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
I do find e-readers good for things that I wouldn't buy in print (the 50 shades effect, although that is one series I never want to read). As I like Sci-Fi, I am aware that e-books are very techy - the two I have written and published I fully expect people to buy as e-books. But real books are still better. You can't smell an e-book.

Pride of my collection, I think, is the entire 12 volume "History of Middle Earth" series, in hardback. And I have read them all. That is geekdom for you.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
We recently got a late Christmas gift of The Great Books. My father-in-law was kind enough to give us a bookshelf to store them on, with a little cupboard underneath for storage of lamps or games or "important" papers. We also still have a set of three encyclopaedic dictionaries from the time that our daughter won a regional spelling bee: she went on to compete for the state championships but stopped winning when she got there. We are still v. proud of her!

Slowly making our way through Sherlock Holmes on our Kindle App and Agatha Christie on Z's Nook.

Anyone else have interesting recent acquisitions?
 

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Posted by Jonah the Whale (# 1244) on :
 
My reading has plummeted since I started listening to audio books. I am quite a slow reader, so the difference in time it takes between listening and reading is not that great for me. And it's more interesting than the radio while driving, and I can also listen while cycling to work or out running.

Have any of you bought a book purely from its cover, without knowing anything about the book or its author in advance? I did that with a couple of books that pleasantly surprised me - Mark Haddon's the curious incident of the dog in the night time and Marina Lewycka's Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian . With both of these books I don't know whether it was the title, the artwork, or the combination which intrigued me enough to buy them.
 

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Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on :
 
I've never fancied a kindle, it just doesn't seem right. I love the touch of a book, that certain smell, that wondrous pleasure of opening a new purchase and seeing the crisp, clean pages - or quite often the musty not-so-clean pages of an early edition, sometimes signed.

We have a book bank at church which people are encouraged to fill. Mr Marten sometimes helps load up our friend's car with these boxes and piles of books to take to Oxfam. Quite often we have, um, given a few of them a good home instead - always putting in a donation of course!
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Pine Marten:
I've never fancied a kindle, it just doesn't seem right. I love the touch of a book, that certain smell, that wondrous pleasure of opening a new purchase and seeing the crisp, clean pages - or quite often the musty not-so-clean pages of an early edition, sometimes signed.

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Quite right too. That's true bibliophilia, as opposed to kindleophilia. You lose all the personal element with e-books.

Besides, you can't sit on an e-reader, drop it in the bath, swat flies with it, or leave it on the train without seriously unhappy consequences, which you can with a book. A Kindle is just another gimmicky gadget that requires training on how to set it up and navigate it, then needs a constant supply of electricity, upgrades, and all the rest of it. A book is instantly accessible to anyone who can read and a good, attractive one is a pleasure to give as a gift.
 

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Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on :
 
Oh yes !
 

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Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :
 
You COULD drop an e-reader in the bath. But you'd only be able to do it once.
 

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Posted by Barefoot Friar (# 13100) on :
 
I would SO love to visit that library in the Dr. Who story, where he first met River.

I would SO love to be snowed in one Alaskan winter with nothing but a couple shelves of well-chosen books and plenty of firewood.

I believe that you can tell a lot about a person by the books on their shelf (and elsewhere).

I don't read nearly enough. I keep thinking that maybe when I get past the next life milestone I can start reading more, but each one brings new things that take me away from reading.
 

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Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Barefoot Friar:
...I believe that you can tell a lot about a person by the books on their shelf (and elsewhere)...

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I hope not. I've often thought that if the police ever had cause to take a close look at my bookcase, they'd probably lock me up and throw away the key.
 

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Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Books. Bookshops. Oh dear, don't get me started.

I love them. (And my spouse has had nightmares about the house collapsing under the weight of them--they're almost all mine!)

Actually that was our old house--I had to do an agonising cull when we moved. I still have thousands, though.

I try to keep only those I would read again. And have been shocked by the realisation that I won't live long enough to read them all again. And yet--I don't know which ones I might want to read again or dip into at any given moment.....Plus, they represent my life. If I get rid of them all, how do I know I've lived?

Bookshops--buying books online can be very handy, if you know what you want. But you can't browse properly online, there's too much. In a bookshop you can discover things you didn't even know you wanted!

Then the whole sensory thing. Paper, binding, pages.

I could go on. But this thread seems full of kindred spirits. We must do our utmost to make sure some bookshops remain, as I feel a world without them is hardly worth living in. And how do we do that? Well, buying more books in bookshops, I guess! It's good when something one loves to do becomes practically a moral duty....!

But. The whole thing is very sad. The ability to buy online, and to have electronic books--this is wonderful, especially if you're housebound, or need a book that's hard to find...but can't we have both? Can't we have bookshops, and real books, as WELL?

I'm encouraged by the way members of the younger generation like vinyl records and now seek them out, although for a while one might have assumed the cd killed vinyl.

Many young people feel strongly about books too.
 

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Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Cara:
Plus, they represent my life. If I get rid of them all, how do I know I've lived?

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quote:

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Originally posted by ArachnidinElmet:

quote:

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Originally posted by Barefoot Friar:
...I believe that you can tell a lot about a person by the books on their shelf (and elsewhere)...

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I hope not. I've often thought that if the police ever had cause to take a close look at my bookcase, they'd probably lock me up and throw away the key.

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Er...quite so. Mr Marten and I are also interested in arms & armour so we have a substantial number of um, medieval weapons displayed on the walls. What with those and the books... ...not to mention Mr Marten's collection of old farm implements, vole traps and the like.
 

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Posted by comet (# 10353) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Barefoot Friar:

I would SO love to be snowed in one Alaskan winter with nothing but a couple shelves of well-chosen books and plenty of firewood.

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come on up. it really is good for reading. biggest problem is becoming a slug. that's what the shoveling is for.
 

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