Tiffany's comments (member since Sep 17, 2007)

Tiffany's comments from the Book Buying Addicts Anonymous group.

Ooh! Thank you, Mont'ster! Those are great tips I wouldn't have thought about!

Thanks Adrienne!

Thanks, Gwen! I feel the same about everything you said :)

Swamy - These are books that I KNOW I'm going to keep. I weed out books every couple of months, but I do keep a good number (nowhere near the thousands, though). Thus, I already know what resonates with me and have already been doing that; I just need advice on how to approach it better than what I'm currently doing.

Anyone else have ideas or advice on how to store and protect my books? Thanks :)

I wondered about moth balls, for some reason. I was also thinking about desiccant, but I'm not sure where a normal consumer can buy some (rather than a company buying in massive bulk).

I do give books away -- I donate to my library, I use Bookmooch, I sometimes sell to Half Price Books, I donate to Value Village -- however, these are books that I think I'll go back to, or that have sentimental value (perhaps just not enough sentimental value to keep *with me*), or are textbooks. And it's not as if I have a HUGE storage unit FILLED with books. It's a small unit, and holds stuff from throughout my life. Books are the majority of what's stored, but there's plenty of other stuff, too.

My fellow addicts, I need help. (And I feel like this has been discussed before, but can't find what I'm looking for.)

I have a very small amount of space to keep books where I live, so a good portion of the books I own are in storage. I currently have my books stored in cardboard boxes in a storage unit, but I realized that cardboard boxes might not be the best method for book storage. Because they're different sizes and not always sturdy, I can't do too much stacking and I'm not utilizing my storage space well.

I thought maybe I should start storing my books in plastic storage boxes. They'd be sturdy enough to hold my big, heavy books, durable enough to be stacked without caving under the weight of the boxes on top of them, and uniform sizes so they *could* be stacked.

So now I need help and advice. 1) I've been doing some research, and I haven't found anything yet that says NOT to store books in plastic boxes. Does anyone have any "No! Don't do it!!" stories? 2) What about moisture control? Being closed up in plastic bins, I'd imagine that if there's a bit of moisture, it could do some damage. Does anyone have any tips or advice for that? I've read a few things online (putting dried rice in the box?), but was wondering if anyone had anything else.

Thanks.

Tristen --

http://www.powells.com/info/storeinforma...

Addresses, etc. for all of the stores. And yes, it's possible to do all of them in one day, with minimal rushing. Enjoy! :)

Tristen --

When people say Powell's is the "biggest" independent bookstore, they mean it. The downtown store is the length (and width?) of a city block, and four (or maybe only 3) stories high in some parts--hence the name "City of Books." Sooooo many books! There are different "rooms" of genres (fiction, kids, history, etc.), all helpfully color-coded.

In addition to the main downtown store, there are 2 smaller stores in the area (although even one of the "smaller" stores is bigger than most bookstores), one at the airport, a technical books store, and a home & garden books store. And like Doina said, the staff is extremely helpful.

Oh, can I come work for you??

*sigh* Powell's....

Ola - I, too, enjoy smelling books. Especially old books! Some new books smell enticing, too (good-smelling paper, sometimes the glue), but old books almost always smell wonderful. That little bit of mustiness... a little bit of dust... it makes you wonder what the book has seen, and what has happened in that book's lifetime. *chills down the spine*

:)

This Side of Paradise - F. Scott Fitzgerald

(I finally got in on this! Woo!!)

I used to keep my to-read books in a stack (There's something very satisfying about seeing a stack of things get smaller. It's a sense of accomplishment). Then one became two. Then two became two and a drawer. Now it's four stacks, one drawer, and one bookcase. Too many books to read!

I apologize for not offering to pick you up on our way to Powell's. Maybe I thought you were busy that day. If I had known you were available, and knew you existed, I might have thought to invite you. Please accept my sincere apology. Sorry!!

:)

I'll second the previous comment about spending a good portion of a day at Powell's (indeed, a "'destination' bookstore"). A friend and I decided we wanted to go to all of the Powell's stores, and after a 3-ish hour drive, we spent roughly 8 hours driving from store to store and shopping.