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Between my husband and me, we have 5 "real" bookshelves, but we also have
about 5 boxes that aren't unpacked yet, and he has makeshift shelves out
of lumber and milk crates set up in his two rooms with tons books
overflowing. We also have piles stacked around, and if you count comic
books, we have about 7 long boxes and 4 short ones. It's quite a
collection, and a big pain in the you know where when it comes to moving
which we did just a couple of months ago. <sigh> I had to weed down some
of the extraneous parts of the collection that we had picked up for
jollies, and I got rid of a lot of paperbacks that I knew I'd never read
again. Unfortunately, the library I work at has a HUGE discard sale in
October, and it looks like I will replinish what we managed to get rid of
a couple of months ago. Here we go again...
As to too many, well...I don't know if my husband or I will ever have "too
many" but it makes things quite inconvenient at times. :-)
(I laughed my head off at this response!GG)
Do you get points for having an historian for a husband? Historians don't
throw away anything! (Proof: last night I came across the title to a car
his mother owned in 1940--she's been gone nearly 20 years)
So having just moved, I can tell you we have 59 cartons of books. That
doesn't count the half dozen we've unpacked. How many are "mine" as
opposed to his? Probably less than 10% because, after all, I'm a supporter
of libraries, and I take books back. I don't need to own them as long as
I know where I can get them again :-)
Our house is wall-to-wall books. I think I once thought about
putting the books in specific order. And I do have some things
shelved together loosely by subject (mostly non fiction). But
I know where everything is. I'd know where everything is at
school too even without cataloging. And clearly the librarian
before me knew! (Books were shelved by size!)
I do weed now and then (though that might really have come
about most recently because I was moving out of state). That anthropology
book from ANTH 101 circa 1972 finally got tossed out. My text
from ANTH 102 is still with me tho. On the end papers I
had written the names of everyone who went to a great party
my dorm had -- plus all the juicy details
Personal books? I have over 2100 books in my catalog (yes, I've
cataloged them... loosely... using Access...) and about another
100 in my "To Be Read" piles. I have 12 bookcases (some 84",
most 72", some smaller) and many, many piles.
The good thing is that there are so many I can easily hide my
newest acquisitions! (Boy, can I relate to this one!!!GG)
I only keep the books that mean alot to me. I have one large bookshelf at home
that houses several kinds of books that I want to keep. The rest I sell back
to a second hand store. I figure everyone should be able to enjoy good books
that way. To me, it's sharing.
You can never have to many books. As for what I am going to do with
them--When I die, my son gets them. That's his inheritance!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm a historian, librarian and genealogist, you can't get in my family
room for all the books and paper!
I have been following this thread with interest as people often make a
remark at how many books I own. They are also not surprised that I
have them in order by author. If they are, I just reply along the
lines of "how else would I find the one I wanted?". BTW, I have 6
book cases (three large and three small) that are filled and a few
books that need a bookcase.
My library adminstration and management professor made an interesting
comment last night. She asked how many of us had large collections of
books, videos, or CDs. (Of course, many hands went up.) Her next
question was how many of us had them organized. I think that my hand
was the only one raised. She was making a point that although many of
us may be organized at work that it doesn't usually carry over to our
personal lives.
I moved about a year and a half ago, and the friends who helped me move are
still shaking their heads and laughing about how terribly many books I had.
Hernia jokes abounded.
But reading this thread makes me feel better. I can see that I am by no
means
a champion book collector. Using the move as an excuse, I did make a database
as I was organizing and shelving, and I only have about 800 books. Actually
it was less than 700 when I moved, but hey, that was two Christmases and two
summers ago!
I found a great bookstore on my beach vacation this summer, and then someone
gave me about 35 wonderful audiobooks, so I am again searching for shelf
space.
I keep only those textbooks that I got a lot out of in the first place. I
donate to Friends of the Library, esp. trashy bestseller-types that I think
someone might actually want. After I've listened to those audiobooks I intend
to donate them to the public library too.
Another thing is, if I don't like a book after the first 100 pages or so, I
don't feel compelled to finish it, and may pass it on to someone else. It may
be a great book and just not something I'm in the mood for. But if a
book--its author or its characters--don't become dear friends, they don't
stay on my shelves.
So I guess I live with about 800 friends right now. Also I guess I will have
to stay in this house for a while, at least until people stop asking me if
I'm that lady with ALL THOSE BOOKS.
I replied personally about the numbers of books in this house but can't
resist adding something my daughter wrote. I think she was in grade school
at the time.
Her teacher gave the class a list of words and told them to combine any two
to make up a new compound word and make up a definition for the new word.
Well, two of the words happened to be "book" and "house" which my daughter
combined into "bookhouse." Her definition? "What you live in when your
mother is a librarian." Cracked me up. Too true, too true.
"Personal" is the key word here. I am personally attached and emotionally
connected to so many of my books. Many were gifts I received as a child,
friend, sister, mother, wife and the others I purchased in attempts to
become better at the same. They are also comforts, pleasures I give to
myself. I collect books when we travel to enhance and prolong the memory.
For the same reason - I have discarded some books in dramatic attempts to
show my displeasure, hurt, loss. When I visit a particularly interesting
home ( to me) I take note of the titles sitting on the bed stand. Could it
be that our collections reflect our very essence, our journey? I know that I
keep certain books in view, depending on the house guests.... Promise not to
tell.
Hi, I also have too many books. Basically I give them away as soon as I read
them but bring them in too fast. I have bookshelves and piles and some in
each closet. I have instructed my husband and son to throw them in the grave
with me when I die just in case. (I loved this comment!! )
--
Gail Shea Grainger
Librarian, Chesterfield School, Chesterfield, NH
Visit my Dewey Browse Web site by Dewey Classification
http://www.sau29.k12.nh.us/library/Dewey/dewey_browse_2.html
gail.grainger@top.monad.net ICONnect Task Force
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blockquote, dl, ul, ol, li { margin-top: 0 ; margin-bottom: 0 }
--></style><title>HIT 3: Humor too many personal
books/bookcases</title></head><body>
<div>Between my husband and me, we have 5 "real"
bookshelves, but we also have<br>
about 5 boxes that aren't unpacked yet, and he has makeshift shelves
out<br>
of lumber and milk crates set up in his two rooms with tons books<br>
overflowing. We also have piles stacked around, and if you
count comic<br>
books, we have about 7 long boxes and 4 short ones. It's quite
a<br>
collection, and a big pain in the you know where when it comes to
moving<br>
which we did just a couple of months ago. <sigh> I
had to weed down some<br>
of the extraneous parts of the collection that we had picked up
for<br>
jollies, and I got rid of a lot of paperbacks that I knew I'd never
read<br>
again. Unfortunately, the library I work at has a HUGE discard
sale in<br>
October, and it looks like I will replinish what we managed to get
rid of<br>
a couple of months ago. Here we go again...<br>
<br>
As to too many, well...I don't know if my husband or I will ever have
"too</div>
<div>many" but it makes things quite inconvenient at
times. :-)</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>(I laughed my head off at this response!GG)</div>
<div><i>Do you get points for having an historian for a
husband? Historians don't<br>
throw away anything! (Proof: last night I came across the title to a
car</i></div>
<div><i>his mother owned in 1940--she's been gone nearly 20
years)</i></div>
<div><i>So having just moved, I can tell you we have 59 cartons of
books. That<br>
doesn't count the half dozen we've unpacked. How many are
"mine" as<br>
opposed to his? Probably less than 10% because, after all, I'm a
supporter<br>
of libraries, and I take books back. I don't need to own
them as long as</i></div>
<div><i>I know where I can get them again :-)</i></div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div>Our house is wall-to-wall books. I think I once thought about<br>
putting the books in specific order. And I do have some things<br>
shelved together loosely by subject (mostly non fiction). But<br>
I know where everything is. I'd know where everything is at</div>
<div>school too even without cataloging. And clearly the librarian<br>
before me knew! (Books were shelved by size!)<br>
<br>
I do weed now and then (though that might really have come<br>
about most recently because I was moving out of state). That
anthropology<br>
book from ANTH 101 circa 1972 finally got tossed out. My text<br>
from ANTH 102 is still with me tho. On the end papers I<br>
had written the names of everyone who went to a great party</div>
<div>my dorm had -- plus all the juicy details</div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div><i>Personal books? I have over 2100 books in my catalog
(yes, I've<br>
cataloged them... loosely... using Access...) and about another<br>
100 in my "To Be Read" piles. I have 12 bookcases
(some 84",</i></div>
<div><i>most 72", some smaller) and many, many piles.<br>
<br>
The good thing is that there are so many I can easily hide
my</i></div>
<div><i>newest acquisitions! (</i>Boy, can I relate to this
one!!!GG)</div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div>I only keep the books that mean alot to me. I have one
large bookshelf at home<br>
that houses several kinds of books that I want to keep. The
rest I sell back<br>
to a second hand store. I figure everyone should be able to
enjoy good books</div>
<div>that way. To me, it's sharing.</div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div><i>You can never have to many books. As for what I am
going to do with</i></div>
<div><i>them--When I die, my son gets them. That's his
inheritance!!!!!!!!!!!!</i></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>I'm a historian, librarian and genealogist, you can't get in my
family</div>
<div>room for all the books and paper!</div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div><i>I have been following this thread with interest as people
often make a<br>
remark at how many books I own. They are also not surprised
that I<br>
have them in order by author. If they are, I just reply along
the<br>
lines of "how else would I find the one I wanted?".
BTW, I have 6<br>
book cases (three large and three small) that are filled and a few<br>
books that need a bookcase.<br>
<br>
My library adminstration and management professor made an
interesting<br>
comment last night. She asked how many of us had large
collections of<br>
books, videos, or CDs. (Of course, many hands went up.)
Her next<br>
question was how many of us had them organized. I think that my
hand<br>
was the only one raised. She was making a point that although
many of<br>
us may be organized at work that it doesn't usually carry over to
our</i></div>
<div><i>personal lives.</i></div>
<div><br></div>
<div> I moved about a year and a half ago, and the
friends who helped me move are</div>
<div>still shaking their heads and laughing about how terribly many
books I had.</div>
<div>Hernia jokes abounded.<br>
But reading this thread makes me feel better. I can see
that I am by no means<br>
a champion book collector. Using the move as an excuse, I did make a
database<br>
as I was organizing and shelving, and I only have about 800 books.
Actually<br>
it was less than 700 when I moved, but hey, that was two Christmases
and two</div>
<div>summers ago!<br>
I found a great bookstore on my beach vacation this
summer, and then someone<br>
gave me about 35 wonderful audiobooks, so I am again searching for
shelf</div>
<div>space.<br>
I keep only those textbooks that I got a lot out of in
the first place. I<br>
donate to Friends of the Library, esp. trashy bestseller-types that I
think<br>
someone might actually want. After I've listened to those audiobooks
I intend</div>
<div>to donate them to the public library too.<br>
Another thing is, if I don't like a book after the first
100 pages or so, I<br>
don't feel compelled to finish it, and may pass it on to someone
else. It may<br>
be a great book and just not something I'm in the mood for. But if
a<br>
book--its author or its characters--don't become dear friends, they
don't</div>
<div>stay on my shelves.<br>
So I guess I live with about 800 friends right now. Also
I guess I will have<br>
to stay in this house for a while, at least until people stop asking
me if</div>
<div>I'm that lady with ALL THOSE BOOKS.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div> <i> I replied personally about the numbers of books in
this house but can't<br>
resist adding something my daughter wrote. I think she was in
grade school<br>
at the time.<br>
Her teacher gave the class a list of words and told them to combine
any two<br>
to make up a new compound word and make up a definition for the new
word.</i></div>
<div><i>Well, two of the words happened to be "book" and
"house" which my daughter</i></div>
<div><i>combined into "bookhouse." Her definition?
"What you live in when your</i></div>
<div><i>mother is a librarian." Cracked me up. Too
true, too true.</i></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>"Personal" is the key word here. I am personally
attached and emotionally<br>
connected to so many of my books. Many were gifts I received as a
child,<br>
friend, sister, mother, wife and the others I purchased in attempts
to<br>
become better at the same. They are also comforts, pleasures I give
to<br>
myself. I collect books when we travel to enhance and prolong the
memory.<br>
For the same reason - I have discarded some books in dramatic
attempts to<br>
show my displeasure, hurt, loss. When I visit a particularly
interesting<br>
home ( to me) I take note of the titles sitting on the bed stand.
Could it<br>
be that our collections reflect our very essence, our journey? I know
that I<br>
keep certain books in view, depending on the house guests.... Promise
not to<br>
tell.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Hi, I also have too many books. Basically I give them away
as soon as I read</div>
<div>them but bring them in too fast. I have bookshelves and
piles and some in</div>
<div>each closet. <b> I have instructed my husband and son to
throw them in the grave</b></div>
<div><b>with me when I die just in case. (I loved this
comment!! )</b></div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div>-- <br>
Gail Shea Grainger<br>
Librarian, Chesterfield School, Chesterfield, NH <br>
Visit my Dewey Browse Web site by
Dewey Classification <br>
http://www.sau29.k12.nh.us/library/Dewey/<span
></span>dewey_browse_2.html<br>
gail.grainger@top.monad.net ICONnect
Task Force</div>
</body>
</html>
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