You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

I posted this in the New Purchases thread because I thought of it while buying a new book, but I'm actually curious about your opinions.

This is what brought it on: I just bought The Secret Keeper, a book I don't own but want to read. By the same author, I read The Forgotten Garden and The House at Riverton on my ereader, and I have The Distant Hours (still to read) on my ereader as well. But, ebooks don't feel like real books because you can't give them a place on your bookshelf, and I never feel like I really 'own' ebooks. Because I like Kate Morton's books so much I'm considering buying the other three too, just to have them. I don't reread books, it's just to fill my shelves with even more books, and it's not so expensive if I buy them second hand. Books are just so nice to have :) I did the same with Mudbound and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Read it on my ereader, loved it, ordered a secondhand copy, put it on my shelf and that's it. But sometimes it feels a bit useless to have them and never read them again, and they're just standing there. But I don't want to give them away either.

That made me wonder, what are your reasons for buying books and keeping them? Do you buy actual books that you have read as an ebook but would like to have on your shelves as well? Do you keep all books you ever read? Do you reread all books you own? Do you only keep the ones you loved or plan to reread, and sell the others or give them away?

I like having a physical book. I have purchased eboojs but sometimes I can't find a good deal for an ebook. I don't like to spend too much on them because I too don't feel like I actually own them :) I have given away books I own only if I know I'm never going to read them again. I have kept all the Harry Potter Books, Twilight and I keep all my books about dogs :) shockingly I have dog books that I have not read yet ;) I miss the library book sales back in Spokane where I'm from originally. It was a one day sale and books were from .50-1.00 :) there were sooooo many books too!

If I'm going to purchase a book I definitely prefer a real book. I rarely keep a book after I've read it. There are a couple of exceptions though, Matterhorn is one of those exceptions. I read it as a library book and knew that I would want to read it again down the line (a rarity for me) so I went and purchased the hardback.

If I buy a book, it's usually through a bargain. I love betterworldbooks.com right now. Love buying books from that place! I don't buy often though and it's really more of an impulse thing. I get in a mood and then buy some books, which usually end up sitting on my shelves for a couple of years before I actually get around to reading them.

I discovered Louise Erdrich last year and did go and buy a few of her books. Once read though, I'll pass them along.

I usually just borrow ebooks from the library but every once in a while I'll buy them if a good price comes around. But I feel like you, peggy and stephanie, they don't feel 'owned'. I forget about them and I rarely go back to reading them.

Unfortunately I don't have a lot of options with borrowing books from libraries, because there's only such a small English selection. That leaves buying, and thankfully there are often good ebook deals. I rarely spend more than $3 on an ebook, because of the owning-thing.

There are other options I've looked into, like Oyster, but those books you can only read on tablets or computers, and not ereaders. It was also only available in the US, I'm not sure if that has changed. Still waiting for the perfect ebook-solution :)

I don't currently own an ereader so all the books I purchase are physical copies and the occasional audiobook.

As far as keeping books goes, I usually keep physical books unless I really didn't enjoy them and when that happens, I give them away. I don't keep audiobooks once I have listened to them, I delete them from my phone/iPad. I haven't yet listened to an audiobook where I have felt the need to go and buy a physical copy of it afterwards but I wouldn't rule it out.

I reread some of the books I own but they tend to be the ones that I really loved the first time around. Plus, I have far too many books so if I tried to reread them all, I wouldn't have any time to read anything new ;)

I commented on your post in the other thread, not realizing you'd started a new thread to address the question.

I do tend to buy trade paperbacks for the books I've really enjoyed on ebook or audiobook. Some books, one just has to have in print. I've recently purchased The Lord of the Rings, The Song of Ice & Fire, and I want to order the Riyria Revelations.

I don't know if I'll ever re-read them. But they give me pleasure just seeing them on my bookshelf.

Sorry Janice, I meant to delete it from the other post but apparently I had forgotten again 2 seconds later.

I understand what you mean, it's just so nice to look at full shelves of books, especially when they're all good!

Janice wrote: "I commented on your post in the other thread, not realizing you'd started a new thread to address the question..."

Oh snap, I just did this, too!

It's really hard to get cheap ebooks in this bloody country, and so it's much easier to get cheap secondhand books. I love them as I find them homely. You don't need to decorate with real books. We have bookshelves absolutely everywhere, but the other thing that gives me pleasure with them is if we have people around, they tend to disappear for a while and come back armed with something they have found and want an opinion on it, or want to borrow it, or the other day I found a friend 20 pages into something he found.

Lexx's Mum refuses to keep her books. She reads it and gives it away. Which strangely and hilariously resulted in her bringing Lexx in hospital while he was drugged up to the eyeballs and couldn't protest, a book of a genre he doesn't like (crime) and it was number 8 in a series! But she comes to our place and bitches about how cluttered it is, but without fail leaves with 2 or 3 books. I point out if I decluttered, she'd loose her library.

I also have found I feel really uncomfortable in houses where there are no books. Reminds me of this one (warning -> words) (view spoiler)[
(hide spoiler)]

My husband and I end up making a move every couple of years, sometimes small (across town) and sometimes large (across the globe). As a result we try to keep our possessions at a minimum and alas, this includes books.

Most of the volumes I buy are for study or reference (I'm a medical interpreter) but I have a couple of personal volumes too - The Adams-Jefferson Letters, a Japanese copy of Anne of Green Gables, a favorite book of knitting patterns. They may fall victim to our next move but that's okay, personal collections are meant to be rebuilt. Jefferson did so twice! :D

eta: I forgot to say - almost all of my reading is from the e-library, and without it I wouldn't be reading much at all (import = $$$). Yea libraries!

ROFL on the spoiler, Rusalka.

I used to keep all of my books, but unless it is really an author I love and have an attachment to the books, I donate them or pass them on to children and friends. I still buy dead tree books, but I do not feel that the ebook library is a waste. They feel just as real to me. I have enough ereaders around that I can lend one to a friend and they can read whatever I have available. My girls and I share our library of books on my Barnes & Noble account (I bought them the ereaders.) They have my permission to buy somthing they really want to read. My girls have books that they have collected over the years, and I have my Star Trek and Sherlock Holmes books that I still manage to collect either in hard copy or ebook form. All the kids books and young reader's books have been passed around to family members so much most of them are falling apart. If I purchase an audio book, I am not compelled to get a paper copy. There have been a few that I have actually borrowed a library book to read along with. The only one that comes to mind recently is Ready Player One. I bought a paper copy and an audio book. All of the grandkids are used to passing books around to younger cousins when they are done. They do like paper books best. For some reason, they do not like the ereaders, but it is probably because of the titles more than the electronics themselves. Only one of them reads consistantly with one, but he has to get his teacher's permission to bring it to school.

I think I just grew up with book horders. My mother still collects them. She gives them away when she gets too many to fit in her book shelves.

I used to buy a ton of books but then I ran out of room so now I only buy those I really, really want and shelve them or have them laying around the house. I buy e-books and they are so much easier to store :-) but they don't feel the same as cluttering the house with print books that you can touch, feel and inhale. I always have intentions of re-reading books but haven't gotten around to it and I own a ton of print and e-books I haven't read yet. And of corse there's the library print, e-books and audio books that I'm engrossed in at any given time. Oh, and did I mention, I love books?:-) And yes, whenever I see no books around at someone's place, I wonder...but of course, I'm not judging!

Rusalka wrote: "I also have found I feel really uncomfortable in houses where there are no books. Reminds me of this one (warning -> words) (view spoiler)"

My point exactly! LOL!

This reminds me... my dad sent me home with 3 books the last time I was visiting and I haven't added them to my TRB, or my bookshelf. They're still in the plastic bag.

Lilisa wrote: "And yes, whenever I see no books around at someone's place, I wonder...but of course, I'm not judging! "

Oh. I am judging :P

Rusalka wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "And yes, whenever I see no books around at someone's place, I wonder...but of course, I'm not judging! "

Oh. I am judging :P"

Yeah, but maybe they have zillions of e-books....nah, I agree, they've got to have some print books - paperback, hardcover, coffee table books, etc.

My mother was a book hoarder, not that I minded. I loved browsing her shelves as if I were in a library. I remember when she died, her neighbors who helped clear everything out said, "She must have been an incredibly intelligent woman, to have read all those books." I will not look quite as smart when I pass, since I tend not to keep most of what I read, and I've developed a preference for Nook books over paper. I keep nonfiction that I'll read again and again--yoga and meditation books that help me as a teacher-- and paperbacks I bought ages ago that I like enough to reread. All of Tony Hillerman's books are worth rereading. I often test-drive new authors with library books, though.

I'm pretty sure that my answer is as simple as I like books so I buy them. :)
I keep them when I love them, everything else goes to the used book store for credit so I can buy more books.

I seldom buy any book that I've already read, no matter what format I've read them in. There are a couple authors I'm collecting though, Terry Pratchett, Agatha Christie & David Gemmell, that I'll buy just to own. Even if I've read it.

I really only keep them because I like books, I never re-read and once the book is done it just sits on the shelf. Which does now make me wonder why I need so many?

I do like to buy books that I love the cover art on, even if I will never read the book. This seems to be a new phenomenon for me and I think it makes my shelves look very nice. :)

I think I buy books for the covers sometimes too Dawn. I have quite a few piled up to be read.

I used to think my aunt bought biographies for the same reason. Just for display, but I found out that she reads them all too!

I buy books because I like to see them on my shelf. I like to have the physical copy and just looking at it will remind me of all the feelings I felt when I read them. I also re-read a lot of my books.

If I have the second book in a series but I do not have the first book, it is likely that I am going to buy the 1st book but I am probably going buy the books I really first.

I Love Books. That's why I buy them and keep them. I love to inhale the smell of paper and to hear the rustling of the pages. For me, reading an actual physical copy of the book is so different from reading an e-book. It just FEELS so different.

It's an addiction! Books are just so pretty, I need to have them all.

It really baffles me when I go to someone's house and they have no books.. Like am I jealous of this or concerned?

#jocobooklover wrote: "I buy books because I like to see them on my shelf. I like to have the physical copy and just looking at it will remind me of all the feelings I felt when I read them. I also re-read a lot of my bo..."

Exactly! Just looking at the books I've loved gives me pleasure as well.

I am, however, starting to really like ebooks because I can highlight, make notes, search, define, etc. But, if it's a 5-star book, I'll pick up the physical book for my library.

I went to Ireland with some friends and we toured through The Book of Kells exhibition and then through Trinity Library. The aroma of those old books was heavenly!

Samantha wrote: "It's an addiction! Books are just so pretty, I need to have them all.

It really baffles me when I go to someone's house and they have no books.. Like am I jealous of this or concerned?"

I have a friend who's house is always spotless. She could have a photo shoot from Better Homes & Gardens at any moment. I don't think I've ever seen a book at her place, but I know she reads. We've lent books back and forth. I have no idea, though, where she hides them.

@Janice.
I m planning to read The Book of Kells for the March' s theme

Mariab wrote: "@Janice.
I m planning to read The Book of Kells for the March' s theme"

I'd love to know what you think, Mariab. I'm interested in this one, too, but already have so many other books going.

Janice wrote: "Samantha wrote: "It's an addiction! Books are just so pretty, I need to have them all.

It really baffles me when I go to someone's house and they have no books.. Like am I jealous of this or co..."

You might have to put on the Sherlock Holmes coat and hat the next time you're there, Janice.

Pragya wrote: "Janice wrote: "Samantha wrote: "It's an addiction! Books are just so pretty, I need to have them all.

It really baffles me when I go to someone's house and they have no books.. Like am I jealou..."

Maybe she only reads ebooks?

Samantha wrote: "It's an addiction! Books are just so pretty, I need to have them all.

It really baffles me when I go to someone's house and they have no books.. Like am I jealous of this or concerned?"

I have a similar reaction - and same for pets. I have a tendency to look for people's animal friends when I go to their homes. If none, I feel kind of bad for them, pity them.

Why would you pity them? Not reading or not having pets is most likely a deliberate decision of those people, similar to not having kids or never traveling etc., because of having other priorities or interest. If it makes them happy, no reason for pity :)

I received Long Way Down and Long Way Round today, which I ordered second hand. I was so happy when I opened the package and had matching covers! That's a good reason for putting them on my shelves ;-)

That's just me - a house isn't a home without some books and some pets : )

Tejas Janet wrote: "That's just me - a house isn't a home without some books and some pets : )"

Agree. Intellectually I agree with Peggy, but emotionally I'm definitely with you on that bandwagon.

Although when the birds start eating my books I tell them that they are the negotiable part of that deal.

Mariab wrote: "@Janice.
I m planning to read The Book of Kells for the March' s theme"

The one by R.A. MacAvoy? It looks interesting.

Tejas Janet wrote: "Maybe she only reads ebooks? "

No. She doesn't read ebooks, just paperbacks.

Pragya, she once confessed to me that she'd lost her chequing book for days. Then she opened a drawer in the kitchen and there it was. She'd been working on paperwork when someone came to the door. She shoved it into the drawer so they couldn't see anything out of place. Just a little OCD, maybe? Perhaps her drawers would be the first place to look.

My guess is double walls with space for book shelves in between.

Sandra wrote: "My guess is double walls with space for book shelves in between."

Oo, I like it. Could be kind of like straw bale construction except with books ;-)

lol, that's a good one, TJ!

Hehehe!

Since I already own so many books and ran out of shelf space long ago, I only buy hardback copies of new releases from favorite authors. I will buy a used book (that I can donate or an ebook (at a reasonable price). I love my iPad. I do use the library as much as possible, but sometimes the selection is limited, which can be frustrating.

Janice wrote: "Tejas Janet wrote: "Maybe she only reads ebooks? "

No. She doesn't read ebooks, just paperbacks.

Pragya, she once confessed to me that she'd lost her chequing book for days. Then she opened a..."

Hmm, that makes sense.

To have and to hold, of course!

*maniacal laughing*

Here an insightful link about the books we haven't read:

http://www.brainpickings.org/2015/03/...

That is so interesting, Mariab.

Now, I am not so bothered by the books that I own and I haven't read yet vs. why I still need to buy more books. We are not crazy!

I just discovered this discussion and thought I'd wade in for a bit. I always ALWAYS bought books until a few years back. I had to downsize for a while, and I pulled out all these boxes of books that sat in storage for years and I never missed them. I read a long time ago and I realized...I've grown past them. I don't have any desire to read them again. Now, I do lend them. And there is nothing like decorating with a classy bookshelf full of books. But I had waaay too many books for the number of shelves I had...

Furthermore, during this downsizing, I acquired a Kindle. And I discovered I LOVE it. But still I always bought books for it, and thought I was getting a deal because Kindle books are cheaper. But, now that I was aware of my trend, I realized that I just don't re-read books anymore.

And that's when I discovered that getting an ebook from the library was much easier than I realized. In fact, it was so easy, and the library is so convenient to my new house, this year I joined another GR group called Snagged @ The Library, where the challenge is to see how many Library books you can read in a year.

But I also took another challenge--I promised to not pay for a single book ALL YEAR LONG. I can get freebies from Amazon, I can borrow, I use the Kindle Owner's library, and any of my 3 other library cards. But I'm not allowing myself to buy any books. And I'm keeping track of how much money I've saved. So far I've saved over $300 this year. It's worked well for me!

Course not, Cherie!
@_O

Great job on your savings, Angel.

I have been using my library a lot more than I used to and when I have been buying, I get them used more than new. I still buy the occasional ebook and a print book that I just could not pass up, like . The cover is just too hard to pass up. :0)

Good progress, Angel.

I never used to buy books at all - was a user of the library. When we moved here, we were out in the country and the library membership was high so I started buying books. Now that I've moved into the city, I've acquired a library membership so I'm borrowing more books and downloading e-books and audiobooks. But, I still buy books.