All About Books discussion

Do we have any book collectors among the members here? I know we have some big readers but does anyone else get that compulsion to buy and to seek out 'interesting' books in secondhand bookshops and charity shops?

I used to, but havong changed house at the beginning of this year - and having to move more than 4.000 volumes I've decided it's over! I have to stop!!! I've not bought a single book since January!!!

I love collecting books, but it makes me hard to choose what the best one to collect :(

There's something that drives me to acquire more than I can read and although I try to resist I can't help getting drawn towards 'difficult' non-fiction books as they just look so interesting, which has led to building up quite a collection of books which will take a long, long time to read. If my interest was in fiction I might have less of an issue but while it can take me a day or two to read a short novel it might take me a week to read a similar length non-fiction book (depending on the content of course).

The main part of my collection is natural history, and particularly the New Naturalist series published by Collins, which goes back to 1945 and now totals a whopping 125 volumes plus a second series of 22 monographs. Some of these are incredibly expensive (up to thousands of pounds in a few cases!) so I will never own a complete set, plus some are on subjects far from interesting to me in any case - I don't particularly feel the need to own a book on plant diseases!

Another part is Folio Society editions, mainly of non-fiction titles; some of these can be very cheap in secondhand bookshops or charity shops and I've resisted buying any new volumes for that reason (they are really expensive books!), but I have bought one brand new edition recently because it was a book I particularly wanted to read and the few secondhand copies of other editions are rather expensive too so I decided (with a little encouragement from my brother) to treat myself to a copy from the British Museum bookshop:



I've also found a few old editions of books; a 1902 edition of Dicken's Christmas Books, an 1890 edition of Darwin's Journal on the Beagle, and an 1834 first edition of An Essay On The Nature And Application Of Steam by M.A. Alderson, which has some fantastic fold-out engravings.

LauraT wrote: "I used to, but havong changed house at the beginning of this year - and having to move more than 4.000 volumes I've decided it's over! I have to stop!!! I've not bought a single book since January!!!"

4000 would be quite a challenge! I have about 500 and that seems to be a lot. You are doing well to have resisted buying, I've not managed to do so though I've cut back a little compared to last year's excesses.

Ritchel wrote: "I love collecting books, but it makes me hard to choose what the best one to collect :("

It has to be whatever interests you the most Ritchel; I think with most people they collect on a theme they have an specific interest in - certain authors or genres, a series they particularly like subjects that they want to know more about.

Paulfozz wrote: "LauraT wrote: "I used to, but havong changed house at the beginning of this year - and having to move more than 4.000 volumes I've decided it's over! I have to stop!!! I've not bought a single book..."

It was. But you have to think that we had to move all the books of University both mine and my husband's, all the books we've bought in 22 years of marriage and hallf of the library of my parents - the other halsf is my brother's - which was composed, a part from literary books, also of philosophy, economics, art books and a lot of encyclopedias: two Britannica - don't ask me wh they had two! - the italian corispondent of it the "Treccani" - and so on ...

Buying books has really changed for me over the years. I used to buy only paperback and tons of them. New, second hand all kinds.

This - after realizing that for the foreseeable future I won't be able to afford a library of my own (unless I marry rich and I do it pronto) - has changed quite drastically.
I am much more picky with what I buy. Often I read first (from the library) and buy later if it's a book I really want to be able to pick up again and again.
And I've started to invest in books made with care. There's this bookmaker/publisher called Büchergilde in Germany, who makes beautiful books and really turns book making into an artform (or preserves the artform would be more accurate maybe). They often collaboration with artist, asking them illustrate specific volumes. I buy a few books a year from them. This one is Heart of Darkness by Conrad.



Oh and Paul, they also collaborate with the Folio society!

There are also specific editions I collect. One is the Suhrkamp Bibliothek. It doesn't look like much in the picture, but I love their selection of authors and books and I really like the paired back design and the paper they use.

I do that only if they look good and other than that I buy Sherrilyn kenyons books for her to sign.

Like Laura, I had a staggering number of books to be boxed when I moved house last year; about 2900. The cost of moving the books was more than the cost of my furniture removal. I've pared it down to about 1900 recently.

I do have a penchant for hardcover copies of books I really love. I've got a few quite old (100yo) signed copies and a few old first editions. (although I hate "old book" smell.)

@Bette: How did you get rid of the 1000 books? Selling? Donating?
@Paulfozz: I only have a collection of about 400 books and I get them on the Goodwill thrift shops "everything half off" sale once a month but none of them are very old. I prefer the education section because there I can find all my juicy, obscure historical non fiction. I've only read about a quarter of the books I own so I get really excited when comes time to pick my next read. I have a feeling that my collection will grow to epic (and impossible to move) proportions.

A year ago I had 5000. 3000 in bookcases downstairs, double-banked, the rest in the loft. Bought over 50 years. Couldn't pass a second-hand bookshop. London, York, Sheffield, Alnwick.

Always wanted to complete old series - Dickens, Hardy, Trollope, etc. and crime series - Innes, Sayers, Allingham, Marsh, Simenon. Plus new ones - Leon, Camilleri. And Wodehouse, Patrick O'Brien. And lots of inter-war english novelists. And Maupassant, Balzac, Tolstoy, etc, etc.

But enough.

I've reduced it to 3000 by giving almost all pre-1900 books to good charity shops, when I had replaced them, usually very cheaply, on Amazon/Kindle.

Painful, but necessary. But I still buy more!

@Summerdale Donating; I rang a charity, the Salvation Army, said I had the books and they came and took them. I also donated quite a few books from my parent's library to a few nursing homes; they were most grateful.

I meant more collecting specific books rather than acquiring large quantities of books generally. :-)

Paulfozz wrote: "Do we have any book collectors among the members here? I know we have some big readers but does anyone else get that compulsion to buy and to seek out 'interesting' books in secondhand bookshops an..."

Yup Paul, have always done that. In any new place the first thing I seek is the book store (and bargain book stores). Am a collector.

Paulfozz wrote: "I meant more collecting specific books rather than acquiring large quantities of books generally. :-)"

I do have a penchant for hardcover copies of books I really love. I've got a few quite old (100yo) signed copies and a few old first editions. (although I hate "old book" smell.)

By accident rather than design, I have realised I've started a collection of the Romantic poets.

I seem to be building up a collection of fairy tale books - the big collections of Perrault, Grimm and Anderson mostly - I've got some lovely Folio versions and annotated editions. Aside from that I simply can't resist buying books in general - if I go past a book shop of any kind I just have to go in, and usually come out with something.

I looked at some of the fairy tales books, I have the Folio Society edition of the Fables of Aesop, but I'm a little reluctant to buy more. I have bought quite a few books on myths and legends even though I've yet to read any of the ones I've bought! I have Robert Graves' two book set on the Greek Myths, a three book set of British Myths and Legends, a book on Norse Myths, plus two books on Legends of the Grail and Celtic Myths and Legends, most of those being Folio Society editions I found cheap in secondhand or charity shops.

I've reached a tipping point in that I have now acquired a roll of 'clearsleeve' for protecting the dust jackets on my older or more precious books (I found a video of someone using it on vimeo: http://vimeo.com/22282119). I think it has pushed me firmly over into book collector rather than just 'reader' territory!

What a brilliant idea Clearsleeve is! And yep, you're those words now; serious book collector:)

They do work well and quite a few of my good secondhand books have similar things on them. I have some books where the dust jackets are falling to bits and I want to protect them from more damage, plus I have some where the jackets are getting marked from contact with other books (my 50th Anniversary Lord of the Rings books in particular).

Sigourney and Paulfozz, I'm very fond of myths and fairy tales in general. The best written ones have a wonderful resonance for me!

Greg wrote: "Sigourney and Paulfozz, I'm very fond of myths and fairy tales in general. The best written ones have a wonderful resonance for me!"

I have a bit of a love/hate thing with myths and legends - I find some really interesting but some I really cannot fathom. I started looking through the Greek Myths by Robert Graves but they look completely befuddling, just too many weird beings with odd names doing strange things for my brain to cope with! It's difficult enough with real historical events to remember who all these people are.