Book Management

[CrypticAgent]

I always look around and see the people on this forum recommending various books, and I want to read a lot of books while I learn more when progressing through life.

However, looking at the pile of books that my parents have (it's like a cubic meter block of books), I was wondering if there was a different way that you guys enjoyed reading without cluttering your houses with stacks of books (that would be against the minimalism and downsizing of ERE)?

Do you guys just do e-books? If you do library/book sharing, do you ever feel the need to reread a book or take notes on it?

[Kriegsspiel]

The library stores all of my physical books for me. They also have ebooks.

do you ever feel the need to reread a book or take notes on it?

Yup. Just check it out again. I take photos with my phone and transcribe into my google drive file later.

[theanimal]

I use the library almost exclusively. When the library doesn't have a book I want to read, i move on to another book. If it's a book i really want to read or the feeling persists after months I buy a used copy. I own less than 30 books. I find most aren't worth rereading and those that are I rarely reread. If I finish a book and it holds resale value, I'll sell it again and recoup my cost. If I want to reread it down the road I'll buy/borrow it again. If it holds no resale value and I didn't enjoy it I'll donate it. I also frequently gift books that I've enjoyed to friends. I've found that a conversation with someone about a book I've enjoyed offers a much richer experience than any notes I could take.

Within reason, money on books is well spent. Jacob's mentioned this before. One sentence or idea can have a life changing impact. That said, most books aren't life changing and I disagree with those on the interwebs who take glee in spending $9k plus on books. That's doing it wrong.
I do not highlight and I do not take notes.

[wolf]

For >80% of the books I read, I use the library. Sometimes I buy used books and very seldomly new ones.

It is the same thing for my parents. They have "tons" of books. Within two years they move to a much smaller place, so they need to get rid of them. It is a Lessons Learned for me, that I try not to collect such an amount of books in my life/apartment.

[wood]

I have a list of books I desire to read. I ask around (friends, colleagues, family) in case I can borrow or buy it cheap. Those insisting on exchanging gifts for birthday/xmas know which books I want. I occasionally use the library, but it rarely possesses the books I want. I look for used books online. As last resort, I buy it on Kindle.

Sadly I don't take enough time to read (5-10 books per year), atleast this saves me some money

My books are stored digitally (Kindle) or donated as gifts.

I take notes while reading. But currently I'm reading a book on improving your memory which might remove the need to take notes.

[CrypticAgent]

Right now, I've downloaded the kindle app on my computer, so that will allow me to read with only my hard drive as physical space taken up. With a 27 inch monitor, this would be quite a bit of space to read on.

As for other book needs, i'll definitely check out the library to see if they have the books that I find interesting.

Where do you guys sell your books?

[7Wannabe5]

Since I used to make my living as a book dealer, at one time I was personally responsible for the storage of over 10,000 books. Nowadays, my lifestyle is such that I prefer large flow to large fund. I think spending time and money on books, online courses, and similar is worthwhile investment towards warding off senility. I am currently attempting to minimize my belongings to the level that I don't have to pay for any storage beyond what will fit/survive under a rough tarp in my garden or fit in a very large backpack/bike trailer, so I generally only carry 3 hard copy books around with me, but I spend/budget about what I can earn/net from one day of teaching ($80-$100)on the purchase of whatever books/courses/similar I want each month, which equals approximately 1/8th of my entire financial expenses.

[7Wannabe5]

I should note that my high level of expenditure is due to the fact that one of my retirement goals is to achieve Nassim Taleb level practice of reading for 30 or more hours/week, and he offers this advice.

"The minute I was bored with a book or a subject I moved to another one, instead of giving up on reading altogether (...) The trick is to be bored with a specific book, rather than with the act of reading."

[7Wannabe5]

Warren Buffet also recommended huge volume of reading. My friend who is worth over $70 million spends approximately 2 hours/day reading. That's one of the reasons why we are friends.

https://medium.com/the-polymath-project ... 67cb03af20

[jennypenny]

Use the library. Once you decide you love the book and want to mark it up, then you can buy yourself a copy. For books I can't find at the library, I shop a used bookstore near a local campus, or buy used online. I detest the Kindle and gave mine away. The Nook is a better quality product but my Nook is so old that they don't support it anymore, hence I'm back to reading real books and much happier for it.

One of my true pleasures in life is reading books, from the smell to the notes in the margin to rereading favorite passages to the accompanying pot of tea or coffee. I rank reading up there with food, sex, good conversation, and laughter, so I don't consider books clutter. I often pass along books I've enjoyed which helps to limit how many I own at any given time.

[CrypticAgent]

Is there a specific reason why you detest the kindle? I'm not actually using a physical kindle, rather the kindle app/emulator to read on my computer.

[jacob]

However, looking at the pile of books that my parents have (it's like a cubic meter block of books), I was wondering if there was a different way that you guys enjoyed reading without cluttering your houses with stacks of books (that would be against the minimalism and downsizing of ERE)?

We currently own 11 linear feet of books and have 1.5 lin-ft of material checked out from the library (still haven't discovered the upper limit). The key is to have enough book shelves---not filled with knick-knacks---so the books don't begin to pile up here and there. Piles and stacks ARE bad.

Ideally a book is something you use, like a tool, not something you accumulate (why own 52 different hammers?).

Having lived in many different places, I'll well aware that different places require different strategies. If the (inter)library is great, I buy almost no books. If I live removed from civilization (like, for example, in the state of Indiana), I buy more books.

To get rid of books, sell them on amazon or donate them to the library (if they'll take them) or thrift shops. I've never bought an e-book, ever. The reason is economics and brain-structure. Used paper books are cheaper ($4 and up, because shipping) and some paper books have resale value. Also, I seem to be able to remember and relocate specific passages in physical books easily, not so much on kindle.

Some 5% of humans do 95% of the reading in terms of page count. The Pareto effect is strong here. There's a lot of lost potential due to people not reading for whatever reason. Minimalism is not a good reason not to read.

[Jason]

I have been working on "my loving to read does not necessarily mean having to make a room look like a Barnes & Nobel." I do like owning books but psychologically sometimes I think I'm like one of those game hunters who has to mount the head of every animal he took down. Jerry Seinfeld has a routine on it comparing it to displaying trophies. He's become a douche but he has a good point.

[jacob]

@Jason - I'd say my current book collection is an external representation of what I think about or what I might think about [eventually] (anti-library). For example, I've gotten rid of almost all my physics and finance books since those concern past lives: http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2722

PS: When I lived in Denmark in the 90s my room was converging on a personal version of B&N including literally ordering books from B&N and waiting two months for the [again literal] boat to deliver. My greatest regret of potentially leaving the US would be loss of easy access to all the wonderful shite that gets published here first.

[CrypticAgent]

I'm currently reading all the PF, and corporate strategy books that are in the house, but for books that I have already read, should I sell them?

Do any of you have a desire to reread books to refresh your mind on the details and catch things you missed? Or are books a once-and-done thing for you guys?

[daylen]

I own about 100 books. About half are textbooks, and the vast majority are non-fiction (besides ASOIAF). I purchased most used on Amazon. I spent a little, but I feel that it was worth it. While researching, I like to lay out several books on a table or on the floor. Every book I own will hold its value for my expected lifespan.

[daylen]

Do any of you have a desire to reread books to refresh your mind on the details and catch things you missed? Or are books a once-and-done thing for you guys?

The books I tend to get are information dense and work in synergy.

[Lucky C]

If you have an excessive amount of books that you don't care too much about selling (not into the whole minimalism thing), you could always make an entire wall of your house into floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Not an interior wall, as you want the shelving and books to add a little R-value to the wall. Now your books are helping a little with heating/cooling even if it takes years for you to read them.

This is a fine solution if you're the type who wants to stay put in the same house for decades. I already have my house and don't plan on moving so screw minimalism, I'm making use of all this space. Even after specifically buying a house with half as much space as typical modern homes, there is plenty of room to store well-organized stuff that I may want access to once in a while.

[vexed87]

DW wants to cull my book collection, I want to cull her busting at the seams 3 door wardrobe plus a full chest of drawers which are both spilling over into my own 1.5 door sized equivalent clothes rail, (yes I measured!) Luckily that means we are at stalemate... for now at least the books can stay. I like the idea of dedicating an entire wall for books, but don't have the furniture layout to accommodate it at the moment!

If retirement ever comes, I'll probably reread most of my books before I can bare to release them. I have one small book case, maybe about 8-10ft, about 10% unread, I really need to get that proportion down, but I have too many branching interests to not splurge on 2-3 books every now and then, I like having a queue of interesting books at the bedside table, it motivates me to put the TV remote away after a long day and simply and spend more time reading when I might otherwise be tempted to vegetate when the baby is finally sleeping. Unfortunately my local library is rubbish, the majority of the collection seems to be 5 year old popular fiction literature, very little in the way of the niche interests and their ilk that gets suggested here.

I'd say a good portion, maybe 20-30% of my titles are books on gardening, and other reference materials that will be useful for learning about permaculture/homesteading, which I intend to pass down to DD, they will not be going anywhere regardless of future culls.

[prognastat]

I probably have too many, many of which I probably won't read again for a long time and would probably be better off selling/donating. They are currently being stored in large Tupperware style containers.