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On possession of books. The Shrike Send a noteboard - 29/10/2009 07:13:44 PM


A. I have about 600 eBooks in PDF format. Science Fiction/Fantasy, History, Science, Literature, Language, and Politics.

B. I also have about 100 "physical" books. Down from roughly 400 (I used to work at the Strand Bookstore in NYC, so I would get deep discounts.

C. So the vast majority of my books are in electronic format. I enjoy reading them on the computer. I have been reading books on the computer since 2002.

D. I am about to get a dedicated eBook reader. Most likely the Nook, once I try it out when I see it available at the bookstore. But this is philosophy . . .

I love my books.
I am sure you love your books too.

But I worry that I am being selfish. I worry that I am giving in to material attachment. To possession. (Sidenote, when I was in Kindergarten, I would be the kid who would give away all the toys and just be happy playing with paper and crayons).I'm not against possession necessarily. But I do like to limit my material attachment. I have read these books. And I feel like I will not read them again. So many other books to read. And I feel like they are mausoleums of ideas. They just sit there, not gathering dust(I clean. A lot.). I feel like they could better serve other people. Ideas need to be available. That's what libraries are for, right? Places where people without the funds(Or with environmental reasons) choose to get books from. I feel like they would better serve the local library whose history section is rather pathetic. Then someone else could discover Classical Athens or Byzantium or learn about The Dutch Republic or about the Meiji Restoration or about T'Ang China.(Yeah I tend to be Eurasian centric in my book choices). I have no North American or Latin American or African(I'm not counting ancient Egyptian, although I do have some Islamic history but that's more Eurasian)history.

So, how do you feel about your books?

Would you ever give your books away? Sell your books?

Have any of you ever thought about why you keep your books?

I know many of you don't like the ideas of eBooks. That's fine enough. To each his/her own. This post is more about possession. About intellectual exchange, and what it means to be finished with a book. I don't consider it a mark of education to see or to not see books in a household. I know others who would never dream of getting rid of their books. I know plenty of people in tiny apartments who make use of the library.

From my own perspective, I have a complex about moving. Between NYC and Sydney to Tennessee to Boston to Illinois, I have moved a great deal in the past 7 years. And sometimes helped others move their books(Joe, I am looking at you). And it's a pain. So that factors into my desire to remove the "attachment" to these books. I won't have to worry about them when I move. Packing, unpacking, going downstairs, upstairs, etc. Life is so much easier when the books are on the computer, eReader, backed up onto a flash drive.

I wonder if my books are my last true "material attachment". If working in bookstores and libraries, seeing my mother with over 3000 books, being surrounded by librarians and academics has left me thinking that a house "needs" books in view(Great way to judge, people, btw.)

Though I have written this post to see what Rafolites think, I am almost certain to give away all my books to the local library. Karma means actions. And I do think it would be a good action to help a library and in the process perhaps help some future readers of these books be able to access these books.

Ok, that's about it.

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On possession of books. - 29/10/2009 07:13:44 PM 841 Views
Re: <sings Madonna> - 29/10/2009 08:06:13 PM 658 Views
LOL. Thanks. - 29/10/2009 08:18:33 PM 476 Views
Re: ALL my words are pearls beyond price, love. You know that. - 29/10/2009 08:22:39 PM 485 Views
Hmmm - 29/10/2009 08:57:10 PM 543 Views
Okay, You Germans! - 29/10/2009 09:10:44 PM 764 Views
Danke! ^^ *NM* - 29/10/2009 09:19:13 PM 269 Views
I love my library - 29/10/2009 09:00:20 PM 497 Views
Your library is beautiful. - 29/10/2009 09:20:18 PM 734 Views
My friends wanted to make a bonfire of my books last time I moved. - 29/10/2009 09:10:16 PM 524 Views
All good points. Thanks - 29/10/2009 09:22:17 PM 551 Views
No. - 29/10/2009 09:28:11 PM 574 Views
I've never had issues with books from the public library. - 29/10/2009 09:44:38 PM 555 Views
They are! - 29/10/2009 09:49:43 PM 568 Views
Bad Swedes! - 30/10/2009 03:01:48 PM 518 Views
Re: On possession of books. - 29/10/2009 09:29:52 PM 544 Views
- 29/10/2009 09:45:39 PM 443 Views
i always keep the books i think are worth it - 29/10/2009 09:38:38 PM 527 Views
I'm at an interesting crossroads myself, now that I've got an eBook reader. - 29/10/2009 09:56:19 PM 661 Views
A failing you say? - 29/10/2009 10:07:34 PM 575 Views
Re: On possession of books. - 29/10/2009 09:59:04 PM 628 Views
We must agree to disagree. - 29/10/2009 10:10:40 PM 515 Views
Re: We must agree to disagree. - 29/10/2009 10:20:09 PM 507 Views
I wouldn't worry. - 29/10/2009 10:19:10 PM 471 Views
Ok. I won't worry. - 30/10/2009 01:37:18 PM 537 Views
Are you truly trying to claim that none of the knowledge you've learned from your books - 30/10/2009 02:51:35 PM 476 Views
I think you may have failed to read the original post or have misunderstood it - 30/10/2009 03:00:48 PM 510 Views
no - 30/10/2009 03:06:53 PM 551 Views
See you at the Pride Parade in 2010! - 30/10/2009 03:20:59 PM 625 Views
<3 testing theories. Ciao. *NM* - 30/10/2009 03:24:20 PM 286 Views
Picky reader here. - 30/10/2009 01:10:41 AM 624 Views
Nope. - 30/10/2009 01:36:32 PM 472 Views
Ah. - 30/10/2009 04:17:10 PM 512 Views
Re: On possession of books. - 30/10/2009 02:36:34 AM 438 Views
There is no hope for you. - 30/10/2009 01:39:01 PM 522 Views
Re: On possession of books. - 30/10/2009 03:06:28 AM 452 Views
Yes, those who move frequently understand. - 30/10/2009 01:39:44 PM 453 Views
Re: On possession of books. - 30/10/2009 04:19:32 AM 725 Views
Thanks! - 30/10/2009 01:41:34 PM 469 Views
Books can't be possessed, silly. - 30/10/2009 07:47:48 AM 486 Views
Interesting heirarchy people have. - 30/10/2009 01:44:24 PM 707 Views
Re: On possession of books. - 30/10/2009 01:05:25 PM 805 Views
Philosophical questions rock. - 31/10/2009 02:02:37 AM 552 Views
And I gave them all away to the library today. *NM* - 01/11/2009 10:21:55 PM 274 Views

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