I hoard books. I hardly ever give any of my own books away, and I never ever sell them. Even the bad ones. I am wondering whether the aversion to writing in books is tied up in some sort of transitory ownership-idea. I would have thought it would be the other way around, that those of us who cannot bear to part with the book as an object would be more protective of it, but now I am starting to wonder.
So: do you collect books?
You could say that. I would imagine that my collection would be worth more than $10K, considering some of the books I own.
do you purchase books specifically for collecting?
Yes, especially leatherbound limited-editions.
do you sell books when you are done with them?
Yes, because I've decided to limit my library to the 1700-2000 range due to space concerns. In the past six months ago, I have traded in somewhere in the neighborhood of 400-500 books.
do you borrow a lot of books in the library?
No.
do you buy used books?
Yes, I usually buy around 50-75% of the number of books I trade in at my favorite used bookstore. That way, my library shrinks, but I have a large number of new reads to await me over several months. It's a cycling out of materials, leaving the better-loved ones behind.
why/why not?
Illusions fall like the husk of a fruit, one after another, and the fruit is experience. - Narrator, Sylvie
Je suis méchant.
Je suis méchant.
Addendum to previous survey: do you hoard books or pass them on/sell them when you are done?
- 26/06/2011 09:21:48 PM
847 Views
I collect, but I also purge
- 26/06/2011 09:36:04 PM
938 Views
I don't hoard books, they just have a tendency to end up in my presence.
- 26/06/2011 10:56:13 PM
690 Views
As of now, I still have room on my bookshelf so I don't need to get rid of anything.
- 27/06/2011 02:42:21 AM
658 Views
Re: Addendum to previous survey: do you hoard books or pass them on/sell them when you are done?
- 29/06/2011 11:53:42 AM
886 Views
Re: Addendum to previous survey: do you hoard books or pass them on/sell them when you are done?
- 29/06/2011 02:15:55 PM
686 Views
Re: Addendum to previous survey: do you hoard books or pass them on/sell them when you are done?
- 30/06/2011 11:37:46 AM
743 Views
Re: Addendum to previous survey: do you hoard books or pass them on/sell them when you are done?
- 30/06/2011 11:39:46 AM
726 Views
I wouldn't say I collect books for collection's sake, but I don't get rid of them either
- 29/06/2011 12:15:45 PM
834 Views