I decided that I would only get a hardcopy of a book when that book is truly amazing, when it becomes a favorite and I know I will read it many times. So I divided the books in two categories: favs and normal books. Favs will have a hardcopy and maybe also a digital version, normal will be only available in digital format. If, down the road, a books fails to be my fav anymore, then I donate the hardcopy.
I have been doing something like this for years with great results. If I am interested in a book I will first check the library for it - Boston’s library network is pretty amazing. After reading a book I will assess how often I will come back to it. With cookbooks that contain only a few recipes that I like I’ll transcribe them to text files, otherwise I’ll purchase it. Reference books that I would truly use I’ll look for as digital books (PDF or eBook) because being able to search a reference book is incredibly useful, though I do the opposite if a book contains a lot of images. The result is I have a large library of books on how to make things on subjects such as home building and repair, programming languages, watercolor, thangka painting, writing, and woodworking.
This cuts a lot of fiction out of my collection. I tend to acquire the best versions of the best that I read, such as the Marvel Omnibus series, or the anniversary edition of The Hobbit.
My wife has come around to this way of thinking, but we still horde her collection of english literature (her major in college) because, to her, they are the foundations of a good library (my argument being that a good library - the public library - already stocks them for us). For any new books she applies the same criteria that I do.
My wife and I discovered today that they used to sell books in stores and apparently it wasn’t going well for this company called Borders, so they are selling all of their books (and DVDs and furniture and dirty coffee shop equipment) at 50% off. Here’s what we picked up:
Picture 1
- Hawaii Calendar
- MAD’s Greatest Artists: Sergio Aragones: Five Decades of His Finest Works
- Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You
- Lynd Ward: Prelude to a Million Years, Song Without Words, Vertigo (Library of America)
Picture 2
- Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood: Practical Parenting from Birth to Six Years
- Jack’s Path of Courage: The Life of John F. Kennedy by acquaintance and ever-talented Matt Tavares.
- Children’s Treasury of Classic Poetry
- Parenting With Love And Logic (Updated and Expanded Edition)
- Parenting Teens With Love And Logic (Updated and Expanded Edition)
Picture 3
- Wits & Wagers Family (Board Game!)
- 730 Easy Science Experiments: With Everyday Materials
- Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
- Ideas That Changed the World
- Stitch ‘N Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook
Picture 4
- Official Borders Stool.
NOT PICTURED (WHY?!)
- A four piece Richard Scarry Poster Set for kids
Some thoughts
I’m actually really excited to read all of these books, even the ones that my wife picked out. A Wits and Wagers game has been on my game list for quite a while (up to ten players!) and the calendar has two photos that are places we visited in Kauai. The stool, which my wife called “gross” - perhaps it was the gum stuck under it - will definitely come in handy. I’m excited to tell my future child about these places called “Book Stores” and how people used to sit on these tiny chairs and read books for free.
I’ve been really wanting to read Bird By Bird for years now. Probably the best catches were the Sergio Aragones book and the Richard Scarry poster set. I perused the Keeping a Nature Journal book and it also seems something I’ll enjoy a lot.
PS - I linked to most of this stuff on Amazon where you can get almost the same exact price as the ones that we paid at Borders.
Sounds terrific for the locals who make it to the end of NaNoWriMo.
In a public unveiling slated for September 29, the Harvard Book Store will become only the second US merchant to install such an apparatus, which prints, binds, and trims perfect-bound books — complete with full-color covers and black-and-white guts — in about four minutes.
David Pogue — “Don’t Cry For Me, Cupertino”
Really wish that I knew about the Boston Book Festival earlier. Looks like it was a fun daytime thing to do on Saturday.
