This picture of a library that appeared to someone in a dream got me wondering whether to keep my books and go for a killer library one day, or get rid of most of my books and continue to simplify. I know I have quit hoarding newspapers and half of my magazines because I don't really need them "just in case."


[i.imgur.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2012 09:40PM by Dennis S.

huh?

On the contrary, the Internet has given me so many oportunities to acquire books I never would have even known about otherwise.
Now, things like almanacs and dictionaries no longer command much shelf space....

---

Paul F.
-----
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--
Eureka, CA

Increasingly I find myself thinking "I have that book, but it's all the way in the other room." The computer is right here.

well, I'm using the Library more and more, if that is what you mean.

I have all but stopped collecting books of any kind. For what books I do read, I usually use the local library. But what I do own I have no immediate plans to get rid of.

No amazon and similar sites have shown me more books at the same time local stores have a smaller selection.

I can't seem to get rid of any books, but enviroguilt (and more recently age-related vision 'maturation') has motivated me to avoid any newspaper or magazine subscriptions for years.

---

MR/F Guestmap: [www.mapservices.org]

I used to love looking at the amazing photographs in travel magazines etc. that were shot with large format slide film. Simply gorgeous. No e-book will ever compare.

My wife is an avid reader. She probably reads several books a month plus a dozen magazines. We had piles of books throughout the house and it drove me nuts. All junk paperbacks. So we made a deal. She got rid of all her books and I bought her a kindle and I don't complain about the monthly bill. So my answer is that the internet has helped me to get rid of books.

We still received tons of magazines and I would like to go electronic for those also but they are too expensive and not as attractive on the kindle or iPad.

I have been getting those $4 subscriptions off the net and still have some trouble keeping magazines cleared out, but at least I am getting rid of newspapers regularly. I have been taking my worst paperbacks to the library to recycle but it doesn't really make a dent.

Personal collections of just about any form of media will go the way of the dodo sooner or later. I pared down the print library some 2 summers ago and now own only those texts w/ sentimental value or out-of-print status. Ditto vinyl, casette, and cd (and I ran a radio station back in the day, so that was LOTS of vinyl.)

I have in excess of 600 ebooks on various devices.. all free as in beer books (thanks, Baen !). If I had them in paper ? Yow....

What's fun is re-reading classics as ebooks, courtesy of Project Gutenberg, I'm reading things I haven't seen since I was a young man. And I find that I get much more out of the tomes than I did when I was a callow youth. Whether it's reading through a lifetime of experiences that helps me connect, or a reminiscence of 'easier times', it's been a good experience.

I've had the "pleasure" of helping friends move, along with their boxes of books. The last time I moved, I got rid of five boxes of books to try and keep things reined in. Still have a lot of magazines, though.

Books have gotten so expensive, I almost always buy used via thrift stores, etc. This lends a certain amount of chance--I find books I probably wouldn't bother with if they weren't so cheap, and they're good candidates for "car books".