Personal Libraries

[zaika]

Oh, I would love to have any of the Oz books too. In third grade I was Ozma for Halloween. We took one of my Mom's old belts and turned it into the headdress adding red flowers on the side. Dad made the OZ symbol out of colored tape for the front.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is BOW?

Books of Wonder...ImOldFashioned mentioned it above. I guess it's this shop in NYC...so, of course I HAVE to go. lol.

 

[Joie DeVive]

Books of Wonder...ImOldFashioned mentioned it above. I guess it's this shop in NYC...so, of course I HAVE to go. lol.

Thank you! I must have read through too fast and missed it. :eusa_doh:
Reprints of the Oz books? Wow! I can't get there anytime soon, but I may have to use some of my NY connections!!

 

[Twitch]

I have a huge collection of books, so many that I can't keep them all in the house within reach. Most are war and combat military aviation related but I have a lot on ancient civilizations, archeology, early man and such.

Many of these books are hardbound and quite old. I have a lot of paperbacks simply because they were available for purchase where their hardbound counterparts were not. Most of what I get is vintage to start with so whatever I find I grab. The vast majority are from the 1940s-70s. Many were purchased new then- late 50s-70s.

These days for economy many books have a larger size but soft cover too.

I treat all my books gently and would never give any away or even lend them. None are expensive in that they are 1st editions or whatever. I value them for the reference information and knowledge they contain.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I'm like Twitch -- I have a large but highly specialized library, mostly in original printings, of 1920s and 1930s books dealing with broadcasting. Many of these books had very limited circulation when they were first published, intended for industry insiders and the like, so they've been hard to find, and are rarely in the best of condition. But I take them as I can get them, since I'm more concerned with the information they contain than in any speculative "collector value."

My own book has only been published in hardcover -- and they use archival paper stock, so it'll at least outlive me!

 

[AlanC]

Speaking of children's books, pardon my shilling for the Folio Society, but they have a membership offer right now featuring some of their children's reprints. I have three of those four from them, and they do a fantastic job with those. The original color illustrations are fantastic.

 

[carter]

I have hundreds of books in stacks and boxes and on shelves. One piece of advice. Control your habit. Don't keep every book you've ever read. Keep the ones you'll read again or mean to pass down or need for your occupation or reference.
When we remodeled the house, I had floor to ceiling book cases installed in the dressing room and the Master bedroom as well as my daughter's bedroom. A year later, we need more bookshelves.
I bought reprints of The Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew books for my kids. I figure they may want them for their kids if they're ever fortunate enough to have children just like themselves.
I also bought 1st Editions in hardcover of all the Brian Jacques Redwall novels. I like to read them as much as the kids do.
I have 1st editions of most (perhaps all) the Hemingway titles and some of his contemporaries. I'm only a completist with Hemingway however.
Easton Press does excellent facsimile editions in slipcases that are exact rproductions of the original 1st editions. These are under their First Edition Library imprint.While not in the stratosphere, these will appreciate in value over time.
There are very nice signed and numbered limited editions published by the Armchair Detective Library, if you're a fan of this sort of novel. I collect the Ed McBain titles in this imprint.
As observed, resellers and second hand stores are great places to locate hardcover volumes. Dashiell started a thread in the OL about this. It' worth reading.
Two of the best on-line sites for books are AbeBooks.com and biblio.com. I usually look at the prices of volumes I'm considering from other sites on one or both of these. They are often cheaper than Amazon or Ebay sellers. The freight charges are almost always lower on these sites than on OFAS. (This is how many Ebay merchants gig their customers for additional dollars.)
Barnes & Noble has a pretty good line-up of resellers as well.


Also:

1. Keep the dust jackets on your books. They will protect the volumes and books are more valuable with original dust jackets intact. Brodart (vinyl) covers over dust jackets help a great deal. This is the single best thing you can do to preserve your books and the most often ignored.

2. Environmental conditions will affect your books. Some mentions have been made of this. Too hot and dry or too damp and moist are extremes that affect printed material. Sunlight will cause fading. Climate makes a difference.

Reading is one of life's great pleasures. Make sure to create an enjoyable space for this pursuit.

 

[twobarbreak]

My Library contains anything and everything to do with the history of American Jazz music and dance, also including entertainment both on stage and in film.
I also collect phone books from the major cities pre-1950.

 

[Viola]

I was thinking it'd be easier to make new covers for a lot of my books then to try and find them in hardcover, especially a lot of the newer non-fiction books that were never sold in hardback to begin with.

I don't think it would add much to their durability, but they'd look nicer on the shelves.

 

[dhermann1]

I read Ozma of Oz when I was about 12 and loved it. I never saw "Return to Oz", but I always thought they should have had Liza Minnelli play Ozma. She's a bit long in the tooth for it now.
I have several hundred books, a lot more that I haven't read that that I have. I've been accumulating a lot of stuff on the mid 20th century for several years, especially England. So I have bios of people like Churchill, Eden, MacMillan, Duff Cooper, Harold Nicolson, etc., etc., etc. When I go to used bookstores I always look for the old looking bindings. I also have quite a few old books from the 19th century that my mother accumulated (I say accumulated rather than collect because it's such a random process). The oldest ones going back as far as 1840. I have a lot of books that need better care than they're getting. This is on top of the thousands of old family letters and photographs. Anyone want to volunteer to be my own personal curator? There might be a PhD thesis in it!
Here's a small sample. You'll notice the 1940 Webster's Universal Dictionary Unabridged. I found it thrown out!

 

[imoldfashioned]

Thank you! I must have read through too fast and missed it. :eusa_doh:
Reprints of the Oz books? Wow! I can't get there anytime soon, but I may have to use some of my NY connections!!

Sorry about the acronym use--I didn't mean to confuse you. You can purchase the Books of Wonder Oz reprints online for $24.99 each. Beautiful quality! http://www.booksofwonder.com/products.asp?dept=80

That is so great that you dressed as Ozma--any pictures?

 

[K.D. Lightner]

I have a collection of "keeper" books, those I read and re-read and cherish. Not a whole lot of them, but they are always with me no matter where I go. And I have had some of them for many years. Also, a few collectible children's books that I acquired.

Once, a friend of mine visited me when I lived in San Diego. She told me, "you have more books than anyone I know." I told her that was sad to hear because, at that point in my life, I had given up 95% of all the books I'd ever acquired. I also told her she ought to befriend some people who live in NYC, she'd find that my library was quite small.

So, I recycle most books, get money out of them when I can, give them to friends when I know they'd enjoy them, try not to buy too many books.

Hardcovers are nice, but only in extreme collectibles; otherwise, they are too heavy and take up too much room. I've moved around too, too much to collect many hardcover books.

karol

 

[Madalene Laurae]

I have all of my book packed up because I am moving soon. I have decided I have to stop buying them until I have a house. It is a hassle moving them around every two to three years. I have more heavy boxes of books than anything else! I have an assortment of hard and paper, mostly paper for the price. The books I usually buy are by my favorite authors or books I know I want to underline quotes in.

Powells.com is a great used book place. Whenever I visit Portland I have to go to the block-wide store downtown. It is like the Walmart of books (without being evil) it is my version of heaven.

 

[John in Covina]

The Lotto Library

I have a mix of hard cover and soft cover books. I like the idea of good versions with a hard cover for a permanent library, and would love to go hard cover all the way but find it doesn't consume me, it is a Lotto dream.

Ebay is a good source some times for hard to find stuff you just have to wait.

My mantra for a lot of dreams is "First things is to hit the lotto and then I'd..."

Build the stately Erickson Manor with Library office study conference room furnished with all the great stuff I want.

 

[imoldfashioned]

Your first editions sound wonderful Carter!

Keep the dust jackets on your books.

(hangs head in shame) I'm really bad about this--I usually strip the dust jacket off immediately because they drive me nuts sliding around when I'm trying to read the book. Me, with a Library degree! Ain't it awful Maude?

Question for everyone; Do you write in your books?

I usually sign my name with the date of purchase and any other pertinent information on one of the first pages. If someone gives me a book I really like it if they write a dedication so I can remember the occaision as well. It may decrease the market value of the book but it increases the sentimental value for me.

I rarely write within the text of a book, although there are two exceptions I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[Diamondback]

I usually liberally annotate my references via Post-It myself.

 

[MrNewportCustom]

(hangs head in shame) I'm really bad about this--I usually strip the dust jacket off immediately because they drive me nuts sliding around when I'm trying to read the book. Me, with a Library degree! Ain't it awful Maude?

Question for everyone; Do you write in your books?

I just slide the dust jacket off and place it nearby whenever I'm reading.

Write in a book? No, never. If I want to remember when I bought it, I tuck the receipt inside the book. (If I really abuse the ATM/check card, I'll place the receipt inside the book I feel is most important.)

I never loan my favorite books, because I'm always afraid they'll get the Jack Scorpion treatment. On the other hand, if it's one I didn't care much for, and someone asks about it (or I accidentally bought a duplicate), I may just give it to them.

Ah, yes! Post-Its! I've done that to many a Kinky Friedman book, so that I may go back and dig out humorous quotes.


Lee
_________________________

"Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house." - Henry Ward Beecher

 

[Diamondback]

I have been known to write in some volumes, also--back in my "railhead" days, I had a book with every "lightweight" railcar built in North America listed, and was annotating it with builder's plan and lot numbers and cross-references to other books with floorplans and elevations.

 

[MrNewportCustom]

Just found this quote.

. . . And I think we all agree.

"Old books that have ceased to be of service
should no more be abandoned than should old friends
who have ceased to give pleasure." - Sir Peregrine Worsthorne


Lee

 

[LizzieMaine]

I *used* to write in books quite a bit -- in fact, I got in trouble in high school for writing extensive marginal notes in my history books, pointing out what I considered to be errors or weak arguments by the authors. I got out of the habit, though, when I grew up and realized that I didn't, in fact, know it all.

What I do, though, is to use anything at hand as a bookmark -- and then forget that it's there. Some of the oddities that I've come across when pulling random volumes off the shelf include light bills, emery boards, playing cards, fabric scraps, hairpins, ticket stubs, film leader trimmings, and a McDonald's french fry bag.

 

[Harp]

My downtown bachelor crash pad became a book depository-again-a typical
condition with me, but since I was in federal law enforcement, and
seldom there anyway, it didn't matter much; until the building went condo.
And since I'm a peripatetic sort, and just needed book space, I decided
not to buy my unit, so I gave my books away to the Chicago Public Library
(where my bar tab had been unsettled, and the statute of limitations hadn't
kicked in yet), and they yanked my library card! But they took all my
books. But now I have my library card back, :eusa_clap And I've just bought
a book on 16th C Metaphysical Poets...and the cycle begins.