Fantasy Book Club discussion

Mary wrote: "I've been in libraries where they had an SF section but put all the Fantasy in general fiction. . . ."

The library system where I grew up did the same thing.

The library that I go to is only medium-sized, but it can get very busy, especially with students studying in the afternoons. It's part of a huge system of 37 libraries (one of which is nine stories tall!), so I usually just order books from other libraries and have them sent to the closest one. I try to go every other week so that the books on hold for me don't have to take up more than one shelf.

Honestly, I just want my own one of these days...

Get rich? Get your own library. Endless worlds to explore. To hell with that fancy car...

Terry Pratchett observed that if you are rich, you want to be horizontally rich. That is, you don't want to go off and do rich people things. You want to do what you did before, only more lavishly.

He went for the library, himself.

Hey, you don't have to be rich to own your own library. You just have to be very careful about where you buy your books. If you get most of your books secondhand for a couple dollars or less a piece, a personal library of a few thousand books isn't that hard to achieve. Just line your living room walls with cheap or homemade bookshelves and you're good to go.

Maria wrote: "Hey, you don't have to be rich to own your own library. You just have to be very careful about where you buy your books. If you get most of your books secondhand for a couple dollars or less a piec..."

^This

I'm working on my personal library. I have hundreds of books. I'm very close to 1K as long as I don't count too many ebooks. If I count ebooks - I'm well over 1K.

It's not too hard. I'm at somewhere between 2k and 3k books, with people spontaneously dropping more off at my house all the time. Thrift stores, library book sales, and book swaps are my friends. :) Anything that I don't want anymore is passed on to others or dropped off at Goodwill because shelf space is at a premium.

When you start acquiring a lot of books, organization is key. I used to work at a library, so I keep nonfiction organized according to Dewey decimal and fiction according to author's last name. I also have a system for lending books out.

Maria wrote: "Hey, you don't have to be rich to own your own library. You just have to be very careful about where you buy your books. If you get most of your books secondhand for a couple dollars or less a piec..."

Oh believe you me, Maria. I'm already working on it. I'm just saying if that magical, theoretical influx of cash dropped out of some enterprising plane-hopper's wayward portal and into my lap, I know where I'd be putting a good chunk of that change! Something to always work toward, but certainly couldn't pass up mystical money for a sudden boost in getting there.

My library doesn't have specific sections for Adult fiction. It's all together in alphabetical order, but all the books have a sticker on them showing what the genre is, so works well for me when browsing.

I guess I'm just so fortunate I live in a city so that the sheer number of books available is high. They are looking to reduce hours though as well though, but 1 hour a day, but I guess that adds up over all the libraries as a cost saving for the city council.

I love libraries and will NEVER stop visiting them. If I want to read a new book I check the libraries first. I don't like to purchase a book unless I am sure I will love it. Or if it is really cheap like an ebook that is just a few dollars or from a book or yard sale.

Angela wrote: "My library doesn't have specific sections for Adult fiction. It's all together in alphabetical order, but all the books have a sticker on them showing what the genre is, so works well for me when b..."

I dislike the amount of time it takes to browse, then. Though it does solve filing problems.

Angela wrote: "My library doesn't have specific sections for Adult fiction. It's all together in alphabetical order, but all the books have a sticker on them showing what the genre is, so works well for me when b..."

My closest library is like this. It drives me bananas and I never browse the stacks anymore. I just look for books here on GR and then order them for pick up at the library.