Book Management

[Kriegsspiel]

I used to have a lot of books. But I moved a lot so it got annoying to bring them everywhere (books are heavy) so I gave them to a library. Now my books are a flow, not a stock. You unlock a web of goals achievement because you don't need to buy/make a big bookshelf, a small bedside table is plenty:

[daylen]

You unlock a web of goals achievement because you don't need to buy/make a big bookshelf, a small bedside table is plenty.

This is a fairly subjective topic. It depends entirely on how you use them, but yes, the vast majority do not need anymore than that.

A cheap, extensible bookshelf can be constructed with some cinder blocks and wood planks.

[Kriegsspiel]

If you're going that route, just put them on the floor instead of putting a fucking cinder block in your house

[jacob]

When we moved out of the RV we arrived in Chicago with literally no furniture. Books were arranged on the floor along the walls. Bookshelves allow you to go vertical. Cinderblocks are the tried and true college dorm way.

[Kriegsspiel]

Oddly enough, I didn't buy many textbooks in college either. I read them (old editions) at the campus library. You can buy so much beer with that book money nowadays.

[Jason]

Corroborating a theme of the book, DaVinci seems to be enjoying Pinker laying on top of him.

[CrypticAgent]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm thinking about using the library and doing e-books as I go on but also getting plenty of paper books using bookshelves.

I believe that the knowledge to be gained from the books would outweigh the space that they take up within the home and therefore I should go and get them (of course, getting rid of the ones that hold little value to me).

[jennypenny]

I jokingly tell my boys not to date someone who owns more shoes than books, but I'm not really joking. Not that any of you younger guys care what an old hag thinks, but I probably wouldn't date a guy who didn't have a noticeable number of books at his place. Reading is important to me and seeing what books are on a person's nightstand is a real clue into their personality.

I realize e-books are a thing now and blah blah blah, but you know what I'm getting at.

[Kriegsspiel]

Corroborating a theme of the book, DaVinci seems to be enjoying Pinker laying on top of him.

I figure Gronk always looks at himself through a distant mirror to see his skin before the game, too. Leo would have also.

[Kriegsspiel]

I'm... an old hag... Reading is important to me and seeing what books are on a person's nightstand is a real clue into their personality.

What does your haggotry glean from my tree leaves?

[OTCW]

I have lots of books. I like it that way. Read about 30 to 40 a year cover to cover, and lots of parts of others.

[Jason]

but I probably wouldn't date a guy who didn't have a noticeable number of books at his place.

That's why Jeff Bezos developed the Amazon "Bookslut" app. Let's say a guy's out with a woman and he discovers she has a literary bent and he feels he may be light on books either because he's functionally illiterate or he actually enjoys reading but had to sell his books off to afford to buy her the overpriced dinner she's currently chewing on while simultaneously droning on endlessly about her love for the written word, he notifies Amazon and they immediately dispatch someone to break into his house and fill out his shelves. So by the time they get back to his apartment he's got adequately worn copies of "The Hedge Fund Guide to Saving The African Rainforest" "Oral Sex Skills for The Monogamous Male" "How To Build Your Own Beach Front Property From Scratch" and "War and Peace" haphazardly displayed under his nightstand all-the-ready for her furtive scan.

[7Wannabe5]

I probably wouldn't date a guy who didn't have a noticeable number of books at his place.

I agree, but depends just a bit on how you define "date", sometimes I give extra points for physical intelligence in the short run.

@Kriegsspiel:

This old hag would give you a Respectable+ rating. The + because you have a book written by a woman on your short stack. That's also the evidence I would offer to prove that Jason really wasn't a misogynist, if he was ever busted by the PC police. A man who respects a woman's mind while simultaneously disrespecting her nether parts is WAAAAAAY less skeery than the opposite.

[Jason]

So its Ok to admit the "the having sex with Joyce Carol Oates and then leaving her in the woods" fantasy?

[7Wannabe5]

@Jason:

Kind of harsh handling given that she's an octogenarian. OTOH, since "How I Contemplated the World from Detroit House of Correction and Began My Life Over Again" is obviously one of my touchstones, I can certainly understand the attraction.

[Jason]

Mentally I have her in the 1990's Black Water period when I attended her book readings in an unsuccessful attempt to pick up bookish chicks. Upon the inevitable breaking down the door by the PC police I can show them my smeared black and white photo of Gloria Steinem undercover in her Playboy Bunny outfit.

[black_son_of_gray]

The first thing I did when we moved across the country was get a library card. We live 0.7 miles from a library, and I now walk there several times a week. I've been churning through a book every 1-3 days, with a standing stack of ~5-10 books checked out. Audiobooks on 1.3 or 1.5x speed are fine, and I'll accept that if there is some crazy long queue to get a physical book, but I really can't stand ebooks. Like I want to spend more of my life staring at a computer screen.

That said, before the move I gave away over half of my personal collection to the local library. We still ended up moving ~7 boxes of books (which isn't expensive thanks to media mail). The house we moved into (SO's mother) has about 700-1000 books, so I'm not hurting for material. I still prefer the library, though, because I have niche interests. The more books I read, the more I realize I'm unlikely to reread most books.

Also, concerning libraries, I cannot emphasize enough how useful it is to browse bookshelves. Serendipity. Forget algorithmic recommendations - these are not random enough or in high enough volume.

[EdithKeeler]

I own WAY too many books. More than I’d like, and lots more on Kindle. I’m trying to buy fewer, and the ones I buy I try to get on Kindle unless I specifically know in advance that I’m going to pass along. I buy a lot at estate sales. I’ve found some cool authors that way. I sell sometimes on eBay, but a lot of times it’s not worth the trouble.

[jennypenny]

What does your haggotry glean from my tree leaves?

You'd get a freebie from me just for the Tuchman book. I still own the copy of A Distant Mirror I read in high school.

[cmonkey]

Since we are all online test nerds, anyone want to share their reading speed? I'm a little embarrassed to admit I got a 205 on this (250-ish on paper), so I'm slightly above average. I should find some free resources to help with this I think.