SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

I already had a decent collection of Sci Fi and Fantasy, that I've been reading since I was a teenager. Then about three years ago, I discovered that Libraries have used book sales.

Now I have over 500 books that I have to read, and getting more all the time.

I also run over 500 books. I think in the last 15 years I have managed to get rid of maybe 20 books (sold, gave away) that I did not care much for. I now limit myself to choice purchases each year and borrowing the rest from my library.

Books are really heavy to move! I have moved 4 times in the last 10 years. My large quantity of books led to an interesting way of packing. I had to pack boxes by weight, not room. A few books in every box.

I think I have under 500 books in the house right now. I have about 200 on hand to-be-read and several keepers in my permanent collection. I swap, trade and mooch so I keep it at a steady dull roar. :)

I have a $200 monthly book budget. I limit myself to keep out of the poor house.

You can tell how well I enjoyed a book by condition.

the worsethe condition the less I enjoyed it. A book I like I will often read in a few days.

If it is carried around for weeks I will have read severla other books at the same time . After a while it will end up on s shelve often missing its dust jacket or coverless.

Every few months I box these up and donate to the prison

I have tons. Tons and tons and tons. We have an amazing booksale here every year hosted by our library, like 50cents to 1dollar a book, and I usually spend about $150. I was better this year and only spent $90, but my library has around 4000 books, almost 3000 of which I have not read. I am set for life, and still, I can't stop buying. I am truly terrified of the time when I have to move, which as I now have 3 kids and a 2 bedroom house, may be a lot sooner than I want.

Bibliomania, anyone? :-)

I am glad I'm not the only one. I keep telling myself that I'm going to weed through the books that I haven't read in years and get rid of them somehow. I am a member of Bookmooch, and I have donated books before.

But my Sci Fi and Fantasy books are so precious to me, I don't know if I can part with them.

I'm hoping that when my nieces grow up (they are 6 now) they like Sci Fi and Fantasy, so I can give them to them.

500 books yet to read may be excessive, but a five-hundred book library is not--unless you plan to move anytime soon.

In the sense of having a giant TBR pile - I'm not. I tend to anthropomorphilize things to an unhealthy extent, and sort of feel guilty for buying more books when I have some waiting at home for me already. Well, that and the whole financial thing.

I do sometimes go through phases where I just buy a lot, like if I have coupons or whatnot, but usually never more than, say, 10 at a time.

I have something around 40 on my TBR bookshelf just on here, and that's enough to make me feel overwhelmed - like I'll never get around to all of them, because there's new stuff coming out all the time. I can't imagine having them all at home, just sitting there in a pile, waiting for me... watching as I come to pick up a book, hoping it's finally their turn... glaring at me as I pick another...

I kid. I'm not really that bad. Really.

Plus I have a tiny little row home, so space is an issue as well. And I've learned that leaving books in the open is a big mistake with three cats. (They leave them alone on the shelves, but gods help the poor books if they're left on the floor unguarded.)

In the sense of buying books as opposed to borrowing, and keeping the vast majority of them, and being rather loathe to lend them out - then, yes, I am a horder of that type.

I still have every book I have ever owned since I was 1st given a SF book in the 5th grade, Stand By For Mars a Tom Corbett Space Cadet novel by Carey Rockwell in the 4th grade. It was a hardback and new on the shelves then. (I'm going to have to put on my Librarian hat and add the original Hardcovers of this series to goodreads...)

A couple of years later I joined the Science Fiction Book Club and have been a member ever since. I have many boxes of books I have not seen in many years, but am now building a library at home to hold them all. Nearly all are hardcovers, except for some series (like Star Trek which are mostly only paperback). I now have trouble reading mass market PBs, so only buy hardcovers.

Amazon has been a joy for me, and I signed on at its inception. I now buy used Hardcovers and generally pick an author and read all their work in order. The used hard covers are often cheaper than a new MMPB, even with shipping. I go for ex-library in good-very good condition with mylar covers. I only get new HC as pre-orders of series I must read.

I will spend some money for favorite books in 1st or near 1st editions with DJ's if I can find one. I am not a condition freak. I just love to be surround by shelves and stacks of books.

I do not know how many books I have. I only put things I have read in the last 6 years that were in my home database on Goodreads and these primarily fiction. My to be read books now take 2 - 5 shelve book cases which will be added as I read them. I have many hobby and avocation books and a collection of old medical books too. I am not sure if Goodreads is a good place for these?

Like most everyone here, I'm an admitted book horder. I just love my books. I can usually remember where I got each one, when I read it, who I recommended it to . . . they are my little (ok, not so little) library of life history. I've got books coming out of everywhere and I fear to count them. However, like someone else mentioned it has made moving tough. Last time I moved, at about book box no. 20 the mover actually asked me "so, how many books so you have?"

@ Kevin - I really like the idea of donating books to prisons. I've done donation programs for kids but I've not considered that before. Great idea - I'll have to look into it.

My to-read pile is over 500 now too Tayla - and growing. I buy faster than I read but I don't regret it. Books are much cheaper here than back home in Australia! There even mass market paperbacks are around $25 - so how can I say no to a $10 one?!

I also never throw out a book, not even if I hated it. I used to give away books I didn't want, when I was a teenager, but over the last decade I've become almost obsessive. I won't even lend books out anymore, because I've lost some that way.

I think part of it is because when I was growing up we couldn't afford books and I didn't have many, so borrowed them from the library. But I wanted them, oh how I wanted them!

I'm like Ichaerus in my buying habits - but I'm quite glad my to-read pile is so small compared to his!! Gives me some perspective!

I'm the opposite of everyone else - I haven't bought books in years. For a while, I was buying a lot at used bookstores, but "a lot" for me pales in comparison to most of you!

What I do tend to get ridiculous with, until they call them back, is library books. I'm at the library at least once a week picking things up that came in on reserve and dropping things off, and I can't walk away without browsing the new release shelf and the graphic novel shelves and picking up something, even if I have 15 others at home, some that are so new and in demand I can only keep them for 2 weeks (hi, new Dan Brown and new Kathy Reichs). Thank god they're free, 'cause I couldn't afford to read otherwise.

Most of my family tends to be book hoarders, but will give up books on major moves.
I'm a little bit of an exception though. I like books a lot, but for a few authors I tend to read books before I buy them and then only buy the ones I really like. It helps me keep my library down.

Libby wrote: "Like most everyone here, I'm an admitted book horder. I just love my books. I can usually remember where I got each one, when I read it, who I recommended it to . . . "

Wow. That's pretty impressive - especially since I can barely remember the details of plots of books. Unless it's something I've read recently, or often, I generally remember if I like a book or not, and a bare sketch of an outline, but that's about it.

blackrose wrote: "Libby wrote: "Like most everyone here, I'm an admitted book horder. I just love my books. I can usually remember where I got each one, when I read it, who I recommended it to . . . "

Wow. That'..."

Well, it would be lovely if I could remember all the plots etc but that's not the case. Often I may not remember the details about the actual book but I remember how it can to be in my hands. It's like a life roadmap for me. I always seem to remember where each book came from and when in my life I acquired it. I've got a memory for details - unfortunately it is usually not the important ones ;-)

I just moved into a new, smaller apartment and I had to cull my books. Oh, that HURT! I did sell about 300 to the used bookstore people; and gave about 200 to various charities--Salvation Army; Library book sale, etc etc.

Like most book hoarders, I may never get them all read. And the ones I have read, I am unlikely to re-read. But when I started buying used books, I noticed one thing. If you did not buy the book then, when you returned to the used bookstore it was usually gone! Can't have that.

I used to have six bookcases, I now have four. So, I had to cut my books down by one third !!

It is really sad, though to realize that not only is it true that I can't keep everything; I can't read everything I want to. They keep publishing good stuff faster than I can read it. And getting all thesae good suggestions from joining Goodreads has added fuel to the fire!!!

Like Brook, I've stopped buying books, too. Now that I'm retired, I have to watch the dollars more closely.

The many book recycling programs help, but not for those who want/need to possess the book. (Borrowing also forces a degree of organization.)

I tend to buy when I could get them from the library. I stack them at home, and find myself sitting across from the stacks, looking over the titles and remembering the good (and bad) parts of each book. I know I've spent a great deal of time doing this. I like to keep a book around that I've read, even if I don't intend to read it again. I will lend them to a friend or two at work, but I expect them back!
As Erasmus once said--“When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.” My kids know this all too well. My wife, as well. I'm always saying we need to cut back on spending, then I go to the bookstore and spend thiry dollars.
Bookstore clearance tables are dangerous to my bank account!
I was sick when hurricane Rita hit, and trees smashed into a section of my house where I had bookshelves with books from my teenage years. I lost a great many old friends to the rain and heat. I was given insurance money to replace some of them, but I never did. It wouldn't have been the same.

Brooke wrote: "I'm the opposite of everyone else - I haven't bought books in years. For a while, I was buying a lot at used bookstores, but "a lot" for me pales in comparison to most of you!"

I have to say I'm a lot more like Brooke now. I'm a library junkie. I've recently moved across the country and had to leave my personal collection with my parents. Since I've moved I can't afford (or convince my husband) to spend money on personal books. But for the first time in my life I have a library in walking distance, so I'm living it up!
My personal library now is no more than 25 books. I'm waiting for the day when I can afford to have my large collection shipped across the country (and internationally) but it still seems relatively small after reading the posts here. I think I have at most 200-300 books I kept in my room and another 200 I kept from my childhood. (An entire matching set of Nancy Drew hardcovers... those need a decorative shelf when I get then back!)

In some ways, I wish I only had 500 books :) Last count, when I moved, I had over 3000..... I moved 10 years ago. I can honestly say that I've read every single one of them, and I do re-read, but I will have to 'thin the herd' as it were when I retire as I plan on moving cross-country then and moving what is probably closer to 5000 books now would be a royal pain.

Don't think of it as hoarding. Think of it as protective custody. Or adoption. Or blending families. Or . . .

Ron wrote: "Don't think of it as hoarding. Think of it as protective custody. Or adoption. Or blending families. Or . . ."

Ok. I have 1269 adopted children. I thought that was excessive until I saw a few comments from people with 3000-5000 books.

As Einstein--or somebody--said, it's all relative.

I think of myself as a book matchmaker or book adoption agency. :)

I'm happy to go on book treasure hunts for my family and friends and quite often succeed in making that elusive book connection.

And a well-appreciated matchmaker, too.

Ok, I have to admit I don't know why I join book clubs and read and discuss books with them-my tbr pile is thousands of books. I think I probably own around 20000 books. It used to be around 12000 and then a friend of mine downsized from a house to an apt. and gave me first shot at her book collection. When I realized I was wanting to keep at least 75% of it, I just bought the whole collection. then I went to an auction that was mainly books and brought home a van full (and my minivan is 2 feet longer then a regular one). I also am now on a limited budget (on disability) and can't buy as much-but just last weekend I got a box and a half of books as part of 3 boxes I got for a dollar at an auction (and I actually bought them because of a waffle iron and some bags).

I am absolutely a book hoarder! I'm one of those people who loves to revisit books and I learned the hard way that once a book passes out of your possession you might never see it again. We like to think that the written word is permanent but it isn't, not really. Books go out of print... get culled from library shelves... you forget the title/author. My shelves are filled to bursting (literally in one instance... I need to upgrade my shelving units!) but no matter how many books I own I'll always have these holes in my collection that I wish I could fill, books I wish I could revisit. Sigh... I've just depressed myself.

Stacie wrote: I'll always have these holes in my collection that I wish I could fill, books I wish I could revisit.

Have you tried Abe Books? (abebooks.com) They have access to used booksellers all over the world, although if the book is out of print it can get pricey.

I use BookFinder.com to search for used books if I cannot find a good deal on Amazon; then lastly. eBay. BookFinder includes AbeBooks, Alibris, Amajon and many others.

My big rant about used hardcover booksellers is so many don't mention the dust jacket.

Does anyone know of other used book meta-search engines, besides BookFinder?

Tayla36 wrote: "Stacie wrote: I'll always have these holes in my collection that I wish I could fill, books I wish I could revisit.

Have you tried Abe Books? (abebooks.com) They have access to used booksellers a..."

Oh yes, that site has helped me recover a few 'lost' books.

Out of print books can get pricey- not just in $$ but in the time and effort it takes to track them down!- but that is not near as much of a problem as not remembering the title/author correctly. That one's a little harder to overcome ;p

If you are trying to get rid of some books have a look at
www.bookcrossing.com
You can set your book free and possibly still track where its going.

I've been using BookCrossing in conjunction with BookMooch, but am very disappointed in the capture rate (i.e. the willingness of people to voluntarily journal entry when they catch a book). At least with BookMooch FeedBack I have some inkling of a book's adoption and appreciation.

Compared to some of you, I'm only a small-time hoarder, as I've less than 400 novels, maybe I'll reach 600 books when I have time to add my other books.
But geez, Lindalee: 20000 books, that's impressive! For me it would be like a dream come true, even if I'm unable to read them all.
Still, I have enough to impress most of the people I know who come to visit.

As for moving, for me the books are the easiest to pack because they fit nicely in the boxes I have (the indoor plants are a lot more difficult to move safely, they don't go in boxes).
I move again next January, but I still have to find a house that meets my criteria: a nice little garden and room enough inside to have more bookshelves.

I have over a thousand, but I'm trying to cut back.

I'm using my library a lot more in recent years. Partly because so many of the series I read have gone hardcover, and partly because I'm almost out of shelf space. When we moved into our current house, my father helped to make some built-in shelves in a spare bedroom. I decided that I wouldn't buy any new bookshelves - at least while we live here. So now once I buy too many new books, I have to let some of my older ones go.

Also, so many books are being published in that larger, trade paperback style. I have an unreasonable hatred of it, and I don't buy them unless they're non-fiction or, for some odd reason, anthologies.

I also got a Kindle last spring. So while I guess that still counts as buying books, those are a bit cheaper and aren't taking up space in my house.

I think if you are a dedicated sf or fantasy reader you tend to accumulate books b/c in general what library has a big collection. I have somewhere over 1500 books in my house and possibly more. I would guess that over 90% are sf or fantasy. I have books from when I was a teen. I have re-read countless books more than once. Some 3 or 4 times. Others I have not picked up since I read them 15 or 20 years ago, yet I have not gotten rid of much. However, in the last few years I find myself really being much more selective about what to buy and in general I take most of the books out of the library. I am there at least 2 or 3 times a week, have 30 books out or so and just read whatever is due the following week. My to read pile is mostly composed of sf or fantasy that I have not gotten to because my library has so many books that I want to read. And I keep reading many new authors so I am always adding to the trove that I take out of the library or buy.

however, I have to say that the recent trend in fantasy toward the more vampire urban fantasy setting has not been one of my favorites so I have not been a big buyer.

I have a kindle but not commuting so not using it yet.

I haven't counted mine ... three bookshelves worth is all I know :). I would have many more, but I've moved about fourteen times in the last twelve years, and books weigh a ton. I'm also still living at home with my family and holding myself to a "do not outgrow your living space" rule.

Looking forward to the day when I have my own home with a library in it, though :).

I have two lovely friends who work in a book store, and love their books like they're their children. They have over 20 floor to ceiling book shelves in their house, all double stacked. They often say that they know their friends truly love them because we carried all of those books down four flights of stairs to our waiting cars, when we helped to move them into their first home, (my arms have never been so tired). They often joke that they would love to buy their neighbor's house to hold their books. Apparently they got the idea from a book editor who has two homes, one for himself, one for his books....

Laurel wrote: "... a book editor who has two homes, one for himself, one for his books.... "

Ah, my dream home(s). :)

I've got an old friend that, last I heard, has kept every book he's ever read. He "introduced" me to scifi over thirty years ago when we were in college together, and he already had a library of several hundred books. I would be very surprised if he wasn't in the twenty thousand range by now, especially since he was a fast reader and could finish a typical scifi book in three or four hours.

On the other hand, I live in a city apartment. The only scifi/fantasy books I've held onto are Zelazny's Amber series. Everything else comes from the library...

I would not say I am a book hoarder. I have about 600 book and long daily for more. I do use the public library for reading material, but it is a love hate relationship. Often my trips to the library are to visit old friends, the books and their stories, because I can not afford to buy the book. But, to return the book to the library feels like abandoning children to me, which is why the library holds so much fascination for me. The first thing I find in a new town in the public library closest to me, then the closest discount bookstore, he he he. I can not understand how people do not re-read books. For me, re-reading a book is like visiting old friends. If you pay attention you will always learn more about the story, even if you have heard the story more than once.

When I started reading this topic it reminded me of a Twilight Zone episode, you all probably know it. It is entitled ‘Time Enough at Last’ written by Lynn Venable and Rod Serling. It is a story of a man whose love of books overrides all the rest of his life. Anyway, in the end he finally has the time for reading but breaks his glasses. It is a very tragic story, but I have always identified with Henry Bimis, the main character in the story. We both have an overriding love of books, to the exclusion of everything else. I do not know about you, but often I regret the time I spend outside of books as wasted or poorly spent time that could be better used reading. What do you think?

John
San Antonio, Texas
Confirmed book nut.

Wizkid wrote: "I can not understand how people do not re-read books. For me, re-reading a book is like visiting old friends...."

It's not difficult to understand: there are so many other books waiting to be read that every reader has to make a choice. One side of the split revisits favorites and the other reaches for something new. So you get a deeper insight into a small number of books, whereas I'll get an admittedly shallower (but still adequate, in my opinion) but wider appreciate of more books.

Neither approach is better than the other, I'd say.

I'm absolutely a book hoarder. I get books without having any idea whether I'll like it or not, or when I'll ever get around to reading them. I have a compulsive need to own everything I can by any author I'm into.

And I know that I'll never get around to reading many of the books I own; I just don't know which ones those are yet.

I am a hoarder!! Even when in the military, I carried over 30 lbs. of books with me...It's a PROUD sickness!!

Wizkid wrote: "I would not say I am a book hoarder. I have about 600 book and long daily for more. I do use the public library for reading material, but it is a love hate relationship. Often my trips to the li..."

Wow. I haven't read all the posts yet, but when this one showed up in my inbox I knew I'd found some kindred spirits. I don't have a tally of how many books I have, but it's a lot. And like wizkid, I too like to revisit books. Not because the stories change, but because I do and my perceptions do and I always learn something more from them, but it has been a while since I've re-read some books because I have piles and piles of books TBR. I love that Twilight Zone episode wizkid! I also just finished reading Anatole France's Revolt of the Angels and there was a librarian in the story who goes insane because someone was messing with his books. I can easily see that happening to me! :) I'm really glad I joined this discussion group; I'm looking forward to all the recommendations of books to add to my TBR piles.

Stewart wrote: "I am a hoarder!! Even when in the military, I carried over 30 lbs. of books with me...It's a PROUD sickness!!"

The last time I moved I had a 100 plus 75lb boxes of books.

Thank god for kindle, its much cheeper than buying a private library.

I love books but seldom read one twice. I have a realy good memory. With a quick jog I remember the full book.

I thin my collection by hundreds of books every couple of years.

Now I can just collect special books and read on my kindle.

I've been meaning to investigate Kindle...Maybe after the holidays?

I have dream... A great room with a maze made of double sided, filled bookshelves and at the heart of the maze my reading chair and other necessaries, disguised as bookstuff.

I expect my friends and family to give my name to A&E for that "hoarders" show any day now.

This is in spite of having moved two years ago. I donated 10 or so boxes of books (painful) to a thrift store just to get them out of the house, and hope that I didn't accidentally let go of any of the "good" ones (I have a nearly complete collection of Harlan Ellison books that I just WON'T get rid of!!). Even with the donations, I still moved 20 or so storage tubs (not just boxes) of books, which are piled around the edges of rooms.

And yes, I have a Kindle. It helps.

I have about 12 bookcases, all full, plus the shelf behind my bed. I stopped going to the library years ago in favor of buying used books, so that I would never have to part with them. If I particularly like a book, I read it over and over. Books are truly treasures to me.

I wound up getting Kindle for PC...It helps a lot since I'm close to my computer a lot. I am also a fixture at the Library!