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Library Pruning
MrsJoseph wrote: "I would think they would be happy to be on someones radar...but that's just me."That's me, too, MrsJ. I'm extremely grateful to every reader who has put my books on their TBR lists, even if they don't get around to reading them right away. The fact that they put them there in the first place tells me something about my books has appealed to them. That's enough to make me giddy with excitement!
For heaven's sakes, what is wrong with some of these authors? I honestly can't fathom their logic or their attitude that somehow writing and publishing a book has earned them the undeniable and incontrovertible right to be read and loved. Sheesh!
Cheryl wrote: "That's me, too, MrsJ. I'm extremely grateful to every reader who has put my books on their TBR lists, even if they don't get around to reading them right away. The fact that they put them there in the first place tells me something about my books has appealed to them. That's enough to make me giddy with excitement!"I think that's how I would feel, too. I know quite a lot of people (myself included *blush*) that own copies of books that I've not read yet (and I seem to add more every day O_O). I have about 250 books that I've purchased and not read yet. I wonder if that is a cause for complaint, too?
Yup, I'm one of them, I have 2 cupboards, a drawer, and a big tote box all full of ones that are just TBR... Not counting the ones in the other books boxes that I've never read but are mixed in for storage purposes... There's probably close to 200 books, give or take a few. :o
Do you think we might be...book hoarders? *shudder*
My 'to-read' list on Goodreads currently numbers 302. These are all books that sit on my shelves, and I'm frankly horrified. Where did they come from? Do they breed when you're not watching, like coathangers in a wardrobe? I must mend my ways.
Cheryl wrote: "Do you think we might be...book hoarders? *shudder*"*gasp*
The horror! The horror!!
lol!
Chris wrote: "My 'to-read' list on Goodreads currently numbers 302. These are all books that sit on my shelves, and I'm frankly horrified. Where did they come from? Do they breed when you're not watching, like c..."Maybe that's it! It couldn't be me buying and bringing home all those books. Nope! I need to set up a hidden camera to catch these breeding books in the act.
Ok, so my cousin (23) and aunt come over to visit this weekend past. They walk into the library and start to gasp. Then complain (why do you need all these books??). Then ask me to borrow my books!
Of course, they were kicked out of the library with the admonition that I'm a weirdo who hates to share books.
I've actually made a start! Yesterday evening, I read two books! They were, I hasten to add, very short books...
I cleared out my "to be read sooner" pile and it's been re-set to 2. *Please note: this does not include the 9 books on the "currently reading" pile
MrsJoseph wrote: I'm a weirdo who hates to share books.
I don't think that's weird at all. Very few of the books I've "lent" people have ever been given back, so nowadays I don't lend. For some reason, people who would never take your money or your car or your TV without giving it back seem to think that it's OK to do that with books.
I don't think that's weird at all. Very few of the books I've "lent" people have ever been given back, so nowadays I don't lend. For some reason, people who would never take your money or your car or your TV without giving it back seem to think that it's OK to do that with books.
I don't know if anyone's interested in this, but I've come up with a strategy that's supposed to force me to read my unread books. They're all on my 'to-read' Goodreads shelf, and the idea is that I sort this shelf on ascending number of pages (which doesn't display by default, but you can change the display so it does). I ignore the first few that give the number of pages as 'unknown' or 0, leaving these to be mopped up later on, and start with the book that has the lowest actual number. When I've read that, I transfer the book to my 'read' shelf and go on to the book with the next lowest number of pages. The theory is that by reading the shortest books first, I reduce the number of books I haven't got round to reading as quickly as possible, and feel I'm making progress. It also means I tend to read a mixed selection of books, because I'm not choosing books all of one type.
So far, using this method, I've read a humorous illustrated story about mice, a book about Cornish legends, and a book of paintings of Roman villas and medieval castles. These books are all less than 90 pages, and I got through them very rapidly. It's working well so far: I enjoyed all the books (not surprisingly - after all, I bought them because I thought I would enjoy them) and I like the fact that each book is quite different from the one before.
That said, my next book is Wittgenstein's 'Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus'. It's only 89 pages, but I've a feeling I may not get through this one quite as quickly as the book about mice...
So far, using this method, I've read a humorous illustrated story about mice, a book about Cornish legends, and a book of paintings of Roman villas and medieval castles. These books are all less than 90 pages, and I got through them very rapidly. It's working well so far: I enjoyed all the books (not surprisingly - after all, I bought them because I thought I would enjoy them) and I like the fact that each book is quite different from the one before.
That said, my next book is Wittgenstein's 'Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus'. It's only 89 pages, but I've a feeling I may not get through this one quite as quickly as the book about mice...
Chris wrote: "Very few of the books I've "lent" people have ever been given back, so nowadays I don't lend. For some reason, people who would never take your money or your car or your TV without giving it back seem to think that it's OK to do that with books. ..."^^^^ This
All of this talk of breeding books has put a little image in my head of breeding books like you would a dog or a horse. Like...what would happen if you bred a copy of The Lies of Locke Lamora with The Blade Itself? Or maybe American Gods with one of the Dresden books?
Maybe a slight rearranging of my bookshelves wouldn't be amiss.
Dang Amanda-that would be too funny.Try putting Odysseus next to a Mercy Thompson book.
Amanda wrote: "All of this talk of breeding books has put a little image in my head of breeding books like you would a dog or a horse. Like...what would happen if you bred a copy of The Lies of Locke Lamora wi..."
OMG, Amanda don't DO that to me! lol!
Amanda wrote: "All of this talk of breeding books has put a little image in my head of breeding books like you would a dog or a horse. Like...what would happen if you bred a copy of The Lies of Locke Lamora wi..."
Well I think one of those combinations may have already occured front cover for
says 'American Gods meets Jim Butchers Harry Dresden'
SFF World
Havent read American Gods myself, but I can confirm Kevin Hearne's stuff definately feels like Jims Dresden Files series
Maggie wrote: "Try putting Odysseus next to a Mercy Thompson book."That would make for one very strange book-baby. Though I can't help but feel that Odysseus could really use some of Mercy's kick-ass personality.
Amanda wrote: "Maggie wrote: "Try putting Odysseus next to a Mercy Thompson book."That would make for one very strange book-baby. Though I can't help but feel that Odysseus could really use some of Mercy's kick..."
:-D
I have to admit that my most recent reading of Odysseus has made me dislike him a little bit. I have dreams now of Kate kicking his ass...
MrsJoseph wrote: "... I know quite a lot of people (myself included *blush*) that own copies of books that I've not read yet (and I seem to add more every day O_O). I have about 250 books that I've purchased and not read yet... "Me, too. I TRY to go through them in order, but I'm a moody reader & sometimes that cycle can last for years. I'm the customer, so I must be right.
;-)
I do feel bad when writers offer me free books & I don't get to them for a few months, but I the best I can. If I'm not in the mood to read them, they'll won't get a good review, so it's in their best interest to be patient.
Jim wrote: "Me, too. I TRY to go through them in order, but I'm a moody reader & sometimes that cycle can last for years. I'm the customer, so I must be right.;-)
I do feel bad when writers offer me free books & I don't get to them for a few months, but I the best I can. If I'm not in the mood to read them, they'll won't get a good review, so it's in their best interest to be patient. "
I'm a moody reader, too. I wasn't when I was younger but as I age I'm very moody. I think that may be why I own so many books...and if not, it makes a great excuse!
Hold on to those books if you can help it - they are precious memories. Besides, if it's a bad winter, you may need them for fuel!!
Or, in the case of a zombie apocalypse, toilet paper.Yeah.. I've been watching a lot of Supernatural lately, and now I'm reading World War Z. Good times.
hoard toilet paper like it's gold...
Dawn wrote: "Or, in the case of a zombie apocalypse, toilet paper.Yeah.. I've been watching a lot of Supernatural lately, and now I'm reading World War Z. Good times.
hoard toilet paper like it's gold..."
O_o
I'd use leaves before books...
My husband and I realized that if we should ever move, we have to buy a house exactly the same size (or bigger) than our current one if we want to house all the floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Since we don't really want to do this, we have to prune some of them out. He did elaborate calculations and figured out that we should shed about half the books we own, and that if we lose 10-20 volumes a week this should work out in about five years. We did this for a couple months, then graudally quit.
Brenda wrote: "My husband and I realized that if we should ever move, we have to buy a house exactly the same size (or bigger) than our current one if we want to house all the floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Since w..."O_O
I'd just never move. I already told my husband that any downsizing includes a room for my books.
MrsJoseph wrote: "I'd use leaves before books..."Unfortunately, I can think of a few books I'd use before leaves. Not all are worth the paper they're printed on.
:(
Eventually, I will be too old to hike up and down the stairs in this house! And frankly, if you have kept a book for more than ten years without looking at it, it is probably not going to be a wrench to remove it.
Brenda wrote: "Eventually, I will be too old to hike up and down the stairs in this house! And frankly, if you have kept a book for more than ten years without looking at it, it is probably not going to be a wren..."You should get one of those chairs that attach to your wall and ride up the stairs. That's what I plan to do.
Jim wrote: "MrsJoseph wrote: "I'd use leaves before books..."Unfortunately, I can think of a few books I'd use before leaves. Not all are worth the paper they're printed on.
:("
lol. I can think of a few myself?
Purely from a financial point of view, printed books will be worth a few pennies in years to come. I'd stash some away for the kids' college fund!
Most of my books aren't worth much. I read them, unlike my BIL who collects them. From what he's told me, most of mine are only 'good' condition, which means they're worth only a fraction of the price that is usually touted about. I don't really care & bend the corners of pages to mark maps or glossaries. I've written notes in some, too. I don't break spines or try to abuse them, though.
Most of my (purchased new) books are in "good" to "very good" and "like new" condition. But most of my library is comprised of genre fiction. It's doubtful that I'll get much for it. There are only a few (current) writers that its hard to find used copies of their work (that I read): Ilona Andrews and Patricia Briggs.
I have been selling my books on Ebay, and I can report that by and large you are not going to make the big bucks. Many books simply have no market value at all; Goodwill or Salvation Army is their eventual destination.
Instead of donating them, try a swap site like BookMooch.com or PaperBackSwap.com, Brenda. You don't even have to have an account on either to look up books.
I have to admit that I find it very hard to get rid of books. Even books I've never read and I picked up randomly. Yes, I do rescue books from the street. Homeless books need love, too. :-D
I just got rid of my copy of The Warded Man. I knew I'd never read it again but I kept it for...a year??
MrsJoseph wrote: "I have to admit that I find it very hard to get rid of books. Even books I've never read and I picked up randomly. Yes, I do rescue books from the street. Homeless books need love, too. :-D
..."
What a great bookanthropist you are, MrsJ! (That's a person who shows practical kindness and support to books). :D
I'm one of those very strange people that has never had a stack of TBR books in the house for more than a few weeks. Even though I have full bookcases everywhere, they are 'favorite' books I keep to re-read when I run out of unread books.That is, of course, until Kindle. NOW I have a virtual TBR book stack thanks to the free downloads. That seems able to surpass my reading speed which is something two trips a month to the library could not do. There's something about unread books I simply cannot seem to tolerate, a little like a whining child in the house.
At one time I had 70+ books on my Kindle although currently that is down to 20 and it seems to be holding fairly steady between 25 and 40 most of the time now. There are some that have been there for several months but I do seem to get to them eventually.
I download what sounds interesting from the freebie lists just like I checked out books from the library that sounded interesting from the introduction. I do not read everything I download or check out however so on a 'bad' day I can skim through the beginning of half a dozen books before finding one I read through to the end. My percentages of books read were somewhat better from library books than with the free downloads but I'm accumulating quite a virtual library of "to be re-read" books from Kindle now as well ... good, because I am out of bookshelf space unless I start setting up more bookcases in the middle of the living room.
Cheryl wrote: "What a great bookanthropist you are, MrsJ! (That's a person who shows practical kindness and support to books). :D ":-D
Sharon wrote: "I'm one of those very strange people that has never had a stack of TBR books in the house for more than a few weeks. Even though I have full bookcases everywhere, they are 'favorite' books I keep t..."Wow! That's really great. Really great. I used to not have a TBR...but between my book hoarding ways, library use, GR and ebooks...my unread book list is almost insane. I'm still sorting my library and I've noticed some things:
Has 3 Brandon Sanderson books...has never read Brandon Sanderson.
Has the entire Black Company series (except books 2 &3)...has only read book 1.
Has 12 Simon R. Green books...I've read 2, DNF'd 2 more...and I don't think I like his writing that much. O_O
There are instances like this throughout my library.
I think two things have helped me avoid a big TBR stock through the years with my book habit. First, my bookcase space has been limited most of the time. Second, I've always had to keep a fairly strict book budget because my *other* addiction is horses ... and they are very expensive!
A horse addiction definitely limits your budget. They're a black hole to throw money into. We had both the vet & the blacksmith out last week. Nothing major, just maintenance like teeth & resetting shoes. The tractor needs a new fuel pump & some other work, too. Ugh.
Jim wrote: "A horse addiction definitely limits your budget. "You know the old saying, it's easy to make a million dollars with horses, just as long as you have 3 million to start with.
Sharon wrote: "I'm one of those very strange people that has never had a stack of TBR books in the house for more than a few weeks. Even though I have full bookcases everywhere, they are 'favorite' books I keep t..."I'm with you. I currently have 2 physical TBR books sitting on my shelves... and I feel guilty when I'm reading a library book, as they eye me dolefully. ;)
I've been up to nearly 20 at one point, and started getting twitchy. I had to get it down before I let myself buy more.
I was afraid of going a bit nuts with e-books, considering the ease of downloading cheap or free books, but, so far, I haven't been that bad... thouh there are five or so which I keep meaning to get to and then just don't.
Colleen wrote: "I was afraid of going a bit nuts with e-books, considering the ease of downloading cheap or free books, but, so far, I haven't been that bad..."I think the most I've ever had on the virtual TBR stack from the freebies for Kindle was 70 ... which was a lot for me, certainly. However, a lot of those got downloaded from my first few months going through the free lists, there are now fewer I haven't already read or tried to read ... and I don't finish a lot of them. I'm down to 7 on the TBR list right now in fact.
Plus I download from the library as well, they have Kindle access ... limited, but still a good source.
Fantasy Aficionados
Books mentioned in this topic
Deathworld 1 (other topics)The Warded Man (other topics)
Hounded (other topics)
The Lies of Locke Lamora (other topics)
The Blade Itself (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Robert E. Howard (other topics)Agatha Christie (other topics)
Lord Dunsany (other topics)
Brandon Sanderson (other topics)
Simon R. Green (other topics)
More...
I've recently read some authors complaining about the length of people's TBR lists. It boggles the mind, honestly. They complain that they get put on TBRs with 200+ books so they will never get read.
I would think they would be happy to be on someones radar...but that's just me.