Do you own/collect books?

[Jeff423]

I come from a family of librarians - mother, sister and two aunts. I mention this because I don't own many books. I don't think I own any fiction and probably only have reference books - reloading manual and dictionaries.
I read a lot but get my books from the library or online. I actually get most of my reloading data online as well.
I have friends with enormous book collections and I don't fault them for that and they probably wonder why I have the things I do - tools perhaps. (As an aside, I did have one friend who only read books she bought new because she wouldn't touch a book that someone else had touched, but I don't think that's the case for most book collectors.)
If you collect or have a lot of books do you go back and reread them? Or do they become "dustables"?

 

[Alk8944]

I own several hundred books that I have purchased since 1963 or so. At one time I bought principally hobby related books, history and reference. For many years I read very few novels, and those were principally historical fiction. Whether or not they are re-read depends on the book type. Obviously hobby related and reference are re-read the most.

The past 20 or so years I have read quite a few novels that have a connection to police work, Clive Cusler adventure and similar. Some I keep, but the majority of the novels are donated to Goodwill or other thrift type stores eventually. I also buy many of the novels from those same sources.

 

[rockquarry]

I have some fiction, lots of non-fiction, and then the gun books. The gun books are excellent reference sources, far better and more inclusive than Internet material. I use many of these regularly; the forty or fifty load manuals may be used the most, usually for comparing data.

Just guessing, I'd say you can find 50% of the paper-printed material online. However, without an established and credentialed source listed for online material, you may be getting YouTube-level information put together by a crackerjack with no expertise in the field of endeavor. This contributes to potentially dangerous information (as in load data or handloading practices) or pure erroneous "facts" often repeated on Interent forums by those who have no real knowledge of the subject.

Many today don't read paper, but do read Internet. Many don't buy books, some because they're cheap, others because they think everything worth knowing is on the Internet. They miss out on a lot of the best information but will likely never know it.

Regarding most paper-printed material... while you may not agree with the author, the written word has been edited by a professional editor who made sure an article or book was accurate in context and contained no superfluous trash. Editing of much of the online material is lacking altogether or is done by a not-so-sharp amateur.

There's still much to be said in favor of paper-printed material, but you can find some good stuff online, too.

 

[Rpg]

I don’t collect books in the sense of hunting down first editions.

I do have a pretty extensive collection of books on the Holocaust, the Nazi movement and administration.. These are generally post Nuremberg WWII publications.

My father’s first law partner got out of Germany in a piano box in 1938. He was Einstein’s private secretary and was sponsored for immigration by Einstein. He served on the legal staff at the Nuremberg war crimes trials before he entered private practice with my Dad here in Denver. A few years ago, his daughter donated his papers to the University of Denver.

I grew up with a lot of information about the Holocaust so my interest is long standing.

 

[johngross]

Most of my books are for reference and historical researching. Pictured below is most of what remains after I downsized when we moved a few years ago. Lots of magazines and a few more books in the closets too.

 

[Rpg]

Great cabinet and ladder!

 

[Rudi]

I have a ton of books. Some are very old.

 

[IAM Rand]

I have Elmer Keith's book, "Hell, I was there." Also have Red Platoon and several others to include Bill Jordan.

 

[old bear]

I’ve been a “reader” all my life. Been addicted to E-books for 10 + years, but with the exception of a few hardbound books I don’t collect or save them.

 

[s&wchad]

Mine are pretty much limited to gun reference and reloading. A lot of the information simply isn't available online and some of the books have more than paid for themselves.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

One of my long time friends (1971) is/was quite the bibliophile. When the electronic readers came out he reduced his library to a paper dictionary and a couple of paper Bibles. He is an attorney by profession and the law books were the first to go!

Now he's post 65 and the career is winding down, he found he prefers to have a real book in his hands! and has been replacing all his favorite books with hardbound and first editions if possible. The law books will never be in paper again!

I have 6 large bookcases, stuffed full of reference and pleasure reading . I have one small glass fronted case with bookcase full of Ancient and classical writings. These are what my kids and now grandkids gravitate towards, once they outgrew Dr. Susse!

My best friend went to electronic reloading publications, he ends up spending a Fortuin on printer paper

Ivan

 

[rockquarry]

Mine are pretty much limited to gun reference and reloading. A lot of the information simply isn't available online and some of the books have more than paid for themselves.

Good for you - you can't have too many books, especiallly gun books if you really want to be informed.

 

[PPS1980]

Yes, I have more books than I can count. Many are in storage. I have them in my office, my home office, the bedroom, the den, etc. They range from original language books (mostly Greek and Latin), professional books, nearly every book in print on Astronauts prior to the Shuttle, Civil war memoirs and biographies, to modern mystery and espionage books. I find myself buying fewer and fewer books though.

 

[MRB1]

I don't consider myself a book collector, but over the years I've managed to accumulate a lot. Bibles. The habit began by accident when I was disgusted to find a family Bible at a garage sale for 50c. That raised my hackles because in my mind a Bible should not be discarded like yesterday's table scraps. So, ever since then I never let on go unpurchased. I've got them from the small ones that were given to soldiers during the war to huge ones that were used as pulpit Bibles. The well-worn family Bibles tell a lot about the previous owners. Some bring tears when you look inside.

 

[MetalMan]

While I've read only a few e-books (early Kindles), I much prefer to hold 2 hard covers in my hands.

My tastes are varied - fiction, nonfiction, history (WWII and early-America), biographies, space exploration, medicine - and admit to reading once and placing on the shelf which I periodically "clean-up" by moving to boxes and stored in the basement. I also have some business-related reference books that get regular use.

The only books I ever recall disposing of were my 1960's vintage Time-Life Nature and Science series (that was tough for me to do) and some old high school and college texts (only those unrelated to my Chemistry major).

Like PPS1980, I find myself buying fewer books at present but cherish the time I get to spend with those which make their way into my "collection".

 

[Rustyt1953]

We are still un-boxing and organizing after our move.

 

[old bear]

We are still un-boxing and organizing after our move.

Rusty, top photo, who do those two in the top shelf be?

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Maybe - here’s a few.

 

[dockmurgw]

I have a small collection of antiquarian books. My prized possession is an edition of Leaves of Grass, signed by Walt Whitman.

 

[Venom6]

Those on the upper left are signed/autographed/personalized.