I know that this is a repeated post from last year, but as we have so many new participants I felt compelled to ask again. Are you a keeper? Are you a re-reader?
What makes a book a keeper for you? What makes you need to re-read it year after year? Does a keeper that you've had for years ever fail to retain it's keeper status, and if so what becomes of it?
Those who are newer to the boards might not know that I don't keep books, nor do I intentionally re-read them. I have a tbr pile that I feel is overwhelming, and I'll never get through in my life time. If I want to save my tbr for that someday read I don't have space or time to keep a book I've already read.
When my time is up I hope that my boys enjoy their inheritance, and don't just hold a huge bonfire...I'm sure there's a treasure or two in there that someone somewhere would love to have, and that I just never got to.
Sandi
Outside of a dog a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx
I keep some, give away others
Some books I know right away are for passing on. They're good but not something I'm going to re-read every year or so. A very few I know right away are keepers (Evelyn Vaughn's A.K.A. Goddess pops to mind). Others are keepers just b/c they're part of a series that I'm keeping and still others are keepers b/c they're by a favorite author. It's the others . . . every year or so when my shelves get full, I go through and review what I have. If a book still brings back strong memories of it, back on the shelf it goes. If it's lost its appeal over time then off it goes.
Penn
Join the 2008 Book (Reading) Challenge!!! It’s for a good cause and it’s FUN!
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no keepers or re-reads for me
I used to keep all my books. Last year I felt overwhelmed by the amount of books I had on my shelves. I went through all my "keepers" and kept less than 20 romance novels. It took me months to get down to that number. I'm keeping books I can still remember and books I've re-read before. I think I might have over 500 romance novels on my tbr shelves. And then there are all the other genres...
I don't make the time to re-read books. I prefer to discover new books and new authors. If I really liked a book I might keep it for a few months. However, more often I give them to friends. I guess my friends are my keeper shelf.
To keep or to not keep ~ excellent blog idea!
My answer is very similar to Penn's: I'm a keeper and a re-reader. To date my keepers number in the uh... 1700 range (last year at the beginning of the challenge I counted and they were about 1500... and I know that of the 476+ books that I read last year that at least 200 of those made it to my many shelves.
Books, for me are keepers...
So, probably more than you wanted to know... or were expecting. I think I remember this post from last year ~ but I'm not 100% sure... not even 75% ...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
kalyko ~ Reading: One of life's little joys and a much needed reward!
What makes a keeper for
What makes a keeper for me:
Isabelle
Thanks for the comments.
I appreciate all the comments. It's always fascinating to me as a non keeper how fiercely loyal keepers are to their keeper shelves. I know it also fascinates those keeper and re-readers type that I don't keep a book.
I know I read a few last year that would have reached keeper status for me if I were a keeper, and that was nice because I don't think I read a single one the year before that I'd have kept!
Sandi
Sandi
The Born Readers
Outside of a dog a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx
I have to harden my heart!
Or I'd keep everything! I have strict criteria now and try to cull them once or twice a year with it in mind.
This helps immensely and keeps my 2000 + books in line - sometimes!
~ ElleJay - Team member of Novel Obsession
There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the pleasure is having lots to do and not doing it!
Keep and reread
I'll occasionally give away a book I should have kept, so I don't cull that well
As for books that I won't get to in my lifetime, please stop trying
to depress me - I'm depressed enough at the moment and if I cry on my
keyboard, it might short out the computer, which wouldn't undepress me
At
, but they weren't in much danger anyway
the moment my "old" keepers (from my pre-eharl days) are buried too
deep in the attic for me to get to them, so they're in no danger of
being thrown out
If
anyone wants the list of my keepers (because they don't remember it
from last year) shout out, it's all last years plus the Brothers plus a
few more
Hugs
Sadhbh
May's Member of the Month
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
I'm a Keeper and Re-reader
I keep books that I really really enjoy.
What makes a book a keeper? If I really connect to the characters, I want to go back and visit them again and again so I do. Its like visiting old friends. I have books that I have re-read probably 20 times. Some of them have had to be re-purchased.
Do I re-evaluate books as to their status? Yes. I can't keep everything. If I don't enjoy it as much the second time around, I'll get rid of it. Or if I don't connect with characters as much as I used to, I'll get rid of it. Things get re-evaluated every time I read them.
My keeper pile is much, much smaller than my TBR. I've got a Linen closet that will hold books (3 rows deep, 7 rows wide, 15 books high for non series romances). I only have 1 & 1/2 shelves full of those. I have one 3 shelf book case that holds the hard covers that I want to keep. My TBR is scattered everywhere in Rubbermaid containers, baskets and bags.
Laughter is an instant vacation- Milton Berle
I keep far fewer books than
I keep far fewer books than I read, no matter how slow that might be. In order for me to keep a book, I have to:
1. Really enjoy the story, characters, writing style, everything, If I laugh or cry while reading it, it's got a good chance of staying.
2. If it's autographed, I'll keep it, unless I really didn't like the book. This means I do have some keepers that are not favorites, but what can you do?
3. If it's part of a series, I'll likely keep the book at least until I've read them all, just in case.
I'm sure I have other criteria, but those are the three most important ones.
Writing is like a drug. Anyone who tells you it isn't is trying to sell you something more addictive. Like crack.
Never re-read and don't want to keep
I HATE, yes HATE rereading a book or buying a book I have read before. That is why I started my list of books read and tbr. I don't want to keep my books and have listed some on paperback book exchange website, but don't want to overload that system, so I am stuck with books. I have tried to donate them to the library (no thanks) and at used book stores (not interested). Anyone have ideas??? I have boxes and boxes stored here ready for anyone who wants them.
Bonsal
Why not donate them to hospitals
retirement homes and the like?
If I only reread a book twenty times, it doesn't qualify as a keeper.
Some
)
books in my keeper pile have been read over a thousand times (but then
I've gone through years when I couldn't get any new books and I spent
two months in Denmark once and only had three books with me
The BDB will be heading into three figures soon (which is understandable given that I only read them in 2007)
Hugs
Sadhbh
May's Member of the Month
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
your library won't take yor
your library won't take yor books? seriously? wow! that's the first time I've EVER heard of a library refusing to accept donated books! What's wrong with the folks at the library? My library has never refused a donation from me and I've probably donated several hundred just in the past year alone.
And when my parents were having the house painted and had to clean off the book cases they were trying to figure out what to do with the books they didn't want to keep. it never occurred to them to donate to the library till i told them. So they took a ton up and the library took every last one of them.
The D2K Paranormal Junkies
Keepers and not
I used to be 100% keep all books. Then a flood wiped out half my personal library. Shoveling out books full of mold and mud took a lot out of that previous books are almost sacred feeling I had til then. Now I am mixed in keep versus non-keep.
It is hard to reread with my massive TBR but I do. I re-read mostly if there is really special about the way an author writes. Right now I am reading Lori Devoti's Guardian's Keep and no pun intended...I know already it is a keeper and a reread kind of book. It's just the way she writes in addition to the story itself...it's a pure delight to read just to hear how she words things. Does that make sense? I could read it over and over and still get pleasure because of the way it is constructed.
I choose keepers based on the same reread criteria and more personal reasons. I also just like keeping books because in a personal sense they are like a photo album or scrapbook. I can look at my library and see periods of my life...what kinds of things I was thinking, different phases (sometimes a decade long!) where certain things mattered. Looking at my library is like looking at photographs of friends and a book itself evoke a whole world, bith inside and outside of itself...who my friends were then, what kinds of questions I was asking or things I was discovering. My books are almst like an intellectual and emotional journal but not so personal. I used to write journals but hated to reread those!
AKA Merri
Family Challenge Team: The Spine Breakers with my dh Glenn AKA Phaedrus
re: keeping and rereading books
I keep everything. I reread a lot of books, so that's part of the reason. Also, I like having them around to loan out to friends. I probably don't buy as many as a lot of you, because I'm a student right now...don't have the money!
About libraries turning down books: they simply can't afford to keep them all, because it costs libraries money to keep donations, in the form of employee salaries.
Books they do keep need to be catalogued--which takes time. They need to have barcodes and lables put on them. They need to find a place on the shelf--and libraries rarely have extra room or extra staff time.
So many libraries I know don't accept donations, or only accept donations for their fundraising sales--so they sell the books, rather than keep them (which is definitely useful and they love getting those donations!).
Libraries especially turn down category romances because they get way too many of them, and because patrons who read category romance have likely read all of the backlist ones in their favourite line already.
Reread or Keep
I keep them all at this point. I have started cataloging them with the help of several of you. I have found something like 16 duplicates and will be donating them somewhere. I will be getting rid of books at some point but not yet. I need them better organized first.
I do reread books especially Judith McNaught's books and several others. I like to leave time inbetween reads so I remember the book but sometimes find new things I missed the last time. I will keep favorite authors and series.
Jeannie
Yes I am a readalholic and I don't want the 12 step program!!!
Yes indeed, my library was
Yes indeed, my library was very nice about it. We would be happy to have someone considered your books, however, no paperbacks or romance (we might consider some of the hardbacks) books. It was frustrating. I mentioned it to a friend in WV and she thought it might be a "big" city thing as her library loves to get her old books! I will have to try a couple of the retirement centers or hospitals. The local VA wasn't interested as they get more romances in than most of their patients are interested in.
Bonsal
re: Places to donate books
Yes, the big city thing makes a lot of sense...the larger libraries get way too many donated books to handle. (Good on you also for asking first--some people just drop boxes of books outside the library and it is a huge pain!)
Keep calling around, I'm sure you'll find someplace that would love to have your donated books. Retirement centres and hospitals are a great idea.
You might also try women's shelters and homeless shelters, prisons (particularly for self-help books), or nonprofit organizations such as Librarians Without Borders that send books to third world countries.
Re-read, Keep and library donations
I re-read and keep many of the books I read. I've actually kept less in the last 7 or so months bc I promise them to other people b4 reading them... a mistake bc now I miss them.
Factors in keeping:
~Just really liked the book and know I could re-read it.
~The author is a keeper. If I love the author's work, and he/she writes a story or two that I'm not as attached to, I'm still going to keep it...I'm a collector.
~It's part of a series.
~Sometimes, years after I've read a book I'll think about it... a character, something that happened in the story, etc. If I don't have it to re-read, I'm going to go looking for a copy and once I have one I won't give it becomes a keeper.
As for the library donations thing... I think a library is more likely to accept donated books if they have a Friends group who can handle book sales and such. Also, if your library has a written policy, it should have something about what they will or will not accept as donations in it.
Jo
Well, I'm a collector ...................
thanks to an Aunt, I inherited a nearly complete Temptation and Intrigue line .... the ones missing I was able to find at USB or eBay ..... so those lines are complete .... I've subscribed to Blaze from day one, esp. as Temptation was discontinued and many of my fav. authors went to that line .....
as far as keeper shelf, there lives the books that are phenomenal .... the ones I will happily re-read as the characters have become dear friends ..... the collector in me, had me seeking the backlists of authors that I really love .... so now I have collections by favourite author ...... I also will keep books that are part of a series, and will determine if I want to keep the series once I've read the last book ....... some series books are hard to find, and I may keep them as part of my collection just for that fact
so, while some people may collect Royal Daltons or Hummels .... or rare coins ..... I'm a series romance collector (thanks to my Aunt who also loved to collect) ..... now because books take up alot of space, I have set rules to control the collection! .... and if the book is not by a favourite author, part of an ongoing series I haven't finished yet, or a phenomenal read, I will be culling it from the keeper shelf once it's been read
.... if you have a great deal of books to move, and the library isn't your solution ... try nursing homes, and senior citizen clubs ... you can also put a notice on the bulletin board at your local grocery store or laundromate that you have books to give away ...... or you can prepare a list of the books you have and email it to your online friends, with the offer of free books but cost of shipping is to be reimbursed ...... and if the books have a value, there is always eBay or any of the used book sites (Biblio or Abe) to help you sell them
Hi, my name is Katherine, and I'm a Harlequin addict and a bookaholic
~~ KatherineT ~~ I'm a Harlequin Addict, and I'm proud of it!
~~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
Count me in with the collectors
I am a keeper, that's for sure. I can't part with a book, and the few I have parted with have ended up being ones I really miss. For those of you who've been on the boards forever, YES, I am still looking for that old Temptation.
We moved over the summer, and people were stunned at how many boxes of books we had. I stopped counting at 40. However, I still don't have as many books as hubby has tools, so I figure I'm still safe.
I am working on getting my books catalogued, though, because as I packed and am now unpacking books, I've realized that I end up buying a lot of duplicates because I'll forget I have a book. Someday, I'll have it all in a PDA or something and then I can figure out very quickly what I do and don't have. Maybe I'll save a little money that way. Or, I'll just buy different books.
Have you entered the Dropped Stitches Heart Sweepstakes?
Check out the Steeple Hill online read Small-Town Romance
Dream ......
checkout fictiondb.com ....... they have a means for you to catologue all your series romances and others ...... a phenomenal site ...... there is a fee, but there are so many benefits ...... they have a complete listing of all the Harlequin / silhouette imprints .... you can do an author search for complete backlists or to see which books are linked ...... sign up for a free trial ...... if you are serious about the PDA, the site has a mobile version that will allow you access to your bookshelf on your webenabled smart phone or PDA
and if you are looking for older Temptations, email me with the list you are looking for .... when I was filling the holes in my Aunts collection I acquired quite a few duplicates that I'd love to give away
~~ KatherineT ~~ I'm a Harlequin Addict, and I'm proud of it!
~~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
keepers or not
I keep most of my academic books and things I think will come in handy to my teaching or writing.
As for fiction books like romance novels---a lot of it is in the pacing. If it's a book that I have trouble putting down, I'm more than likely going to keep it. If it is a book that touches me, I'll keep it. "Abducted Heiress" wasn't the kind I usually read, period wise and otherwise, but the heroine really touched me as someone I could relate to, so I kept it.
The books that are not keepers go to the trading bookstore or the library. Books that I don't keep are either because I couldn't even get past the first chapter either because I disliked the characters or pacing or ones that I read all the way through, but without much zeal and there was nothing touching for me about the characters.
I generally re-read what I keep. I do have my entire Victoria Holt collection in hardback that my sister collected that I will never give up. That's a special thing though.
"You miss one hundred percent of the shots you never take." Wayne Gretzky
Keeper/collector
I keep waaaayyyyy too many of my books! I know it but I just can't help it! I need a 12 step program. I don't have a lot of time for rereading although sometimes I sneak in one, particularly in a beloved series. And to qualify for a keeper on my shelves, all it takes is to be a fave author, part of a keeper series, or just a book I like a lot. I've collected all the Bombshell, Nocturne, and yes, the Shadows lines so those are all keepers no matter what.
The D2K Paranormal Junkies 2008 Challenge Blo
crying on keyboard
Don't do that Sadhbh. I came home last night to cat hurl on mine and had to replace the darn thing. Luckily I only had to go to my son's room to find a replacement but I don't like the way this one feels. Oh well I will get used to it.
The D2K Paranormal Junkies ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
I am fortunate that I have
I am fortunate that I have about 6 UBSs in my vicinty so I can keep them well fed with my non-keepers. The really old ones that I know they don't want I give to a thrift shop nearby. Others must too because I usually bring home a bunch of older harlequins on the same day!
~ ElleJay - Team member of Novel Obsession
There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the pleasure is having lots to do and not doing it!
Keeper!
I am a total keeper! I hate to get rid of books, my fiancee has to physically drag me to where I am getting rid of them! I have slowly cut my shelves down, I love hardcovers, and UBS sell them really cheaply so I can build a good collection up. I keep my Harlequin lines, of course.
Kim
TBR--The Born Readers. Visit the 100,000 challenge blog of my team! See you there!
Keeper
I love books, and wish I could get more. I generally don't buy books the first time around. (I'm a student, so I pretty much can't afford anything
.) Only 1-2 authors are an auto buy for me (Susan Elizabeth Phillips, mostly). Or, if an author has a series, and I own all the other books. If I find myself going to the library over and over again for the same book, I'll buy it. You'd think this system would keep my book collection down, but at last count I had 8 full shelves of romance novels. (Books from eharlequin I keep - even though I generally don't read them first, because the libraries don't have them so I order them.) Ironically, I sell all my textbooks as soon as I can.
Sell those....
Yes, I sold most of my text books the day finals were over!!
I am collector. I keep favorite authors. Some series and those that just strike a chord or touch my heart. I do give books to relatives and friends and once in a while sell them to the used bookstore for more books to add to the TBR!
Kate
TBR--The Born Readers
Thank you
Just wanted to say thank you to all who contributed to this conversation and made it so lively.
My library takes donations, but I usually trade them with friends. The books that get donated they go through and decide what to use in their collection, and the rest they put in storage for the annual book sale. There are several branches, and the one nearest to me is a converted grocery store, so plenty of storage space, and I think they have quite an active Friends of the Library group.
Sandi
Sandi
The Born Readers
Outside of a dog a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx
Keeper/Collector
I'm definately a keeper and have a really hard time parting with books. One day i'm going to have to part with some of them, and they know who they are.
I've also collected several duplicate copies of out-of-print original books of very popular authors, that i know are worth lots of money. I'm thinking this will be a fun on-line retirement hobby one day.
----------------
Deb, Eeew, that had to hurt. I need a new keyboard as well, cause our African Grey got up on the computer chair several months ago and pulled all the keys off and thru each one as she did it...what a mess. Ken went back and forth to spare-room computer and told me where to put them, politely. A few were broken beyond repair, but my youngest son figured out how to get them back on, sorta...at least there all usable(even the one that sticks) till i can buy a new keyboard.
----------------
LOL KimP, That your fiance has to physically drag you to the book dropoff, when you decide to cull some books.
--------------------
Cute Aliquis & Kate, that you both had no trouble parting with your Textbooks, so fast it sounds like sparks flew!
-------------------
Years ago, I used to try to give bags of books away to the thriftshop...but they'd usually sit in my dining room for a couple days waiting for Ken to drop them off...by the time he's ready to do that...i've picked thru them so many times, there isn't much left.
So i give up, till i come up with a better plan, that works. lol
Kathy
Kathy D
Get rid of books
My husband would go first! I'm a keeper. My kids bought me the Kindle so I wouldn't buy anymore books for them to get rid of later. Little do they know I have to keep my series the same. So I can read on the Kindle and have the book on my shelf to look at. There are some books that I just have to have the hardbacks of. If I know I won't reread then ok I'll download them to the Kindle.
The D2K Paranormal Junkies ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
I'm a pack rat
My family has an illness. It's called Pack-Ratitis and it was passed on to me. I have made a huge effort my entire life not to be a pack rat. I am constantly asking myself "Do I really need this?" I have managed to keep all aspects of my life down to a minimal amount of clutter, except for my books. I love my books. I re-read many each year. And yes, I have a TBR pile that is over 300+ but my books are my security blanket.
I do admit that I only keep about 25% of the books I read. I automatically keep certain authors (Lori Foster, Susan Andersen, Lora Leigh, Alison Kent, JR Ward and Nalini Singh to name a few). Then I ask myself, is this something I want to read again? If the answer is no it goes in the pile to be traded, given away or sold depending upon the book/genre. I also like to go through my keepers once or twice a year. This gives me a chance to pull out books I want to re-read and also purge some that I may have been emotionally attached to after reading them but realize later on that I won't be reading it again.
This system works really well for me. Of course, I've got totes full of books awaiting shelves. lol It helps that I am able to keep them in storage until more room is available.
I'm a Keeper!
I don't particularly keep every book I buy,but there are those books that I read and know right of the back that I'm keeping them! I'm a pretty fast reader and my school and public libraries arent all that great and I don't always have the money to buy new books every day. So I end up rereading the great ones quite often :) There's just something about witty dialouge and engaging scenes that make me want to experience them over and over again. The major factor in me keeping a book is how attached I get to the characters. If their story completely draws me in and I mark it a favorite it claims a position on the top of my bookshelf and gets reread.
~Never make someone your everything because when they leave you have nothing~
It's a known fact I'm a keeper and rereader
I've had this conversation on several different yahoogroups I'm on. I am a die hard keeper. What I am trying to do is catalog my books to see what books I have. I have done the unspeakable of buying a book I already have because they changed the book cover or worse yet... the title of a previously released book.
I have authors who are auto-buys and auto-saves. I'd say about half of them write Harlequins and most of them at one time or another in their writing career wrote one or two books.
I've worn my copy of Anne of Green Gables to pieces. I've had the book since I was 13. (I'm beyond that now. :) )
Why I reread is .. comfort reads. Keepers have chapters or scenes that are wonderfully done. There was a few months last year when I tagged passages since I don't write in my books. Some books are peppered with tags. One sign that books makes it to the keeper status.
~ Ann M. ~
~ The Forster's Fantastic Readers ~
Keep or Not Keep
I keep most of the books that I purchase and re-read them several times. When my collection get too large I take them to my local library. They have a spot outside in the entry area where people can leave magazines/books for others to take. Another thing I have done from time to time is mail a book that I have enjoyed to a friend to read and ask her to pass it onto another friend when she is done with it.
keepers
I have my favorite authors which I keep all their books. One example of this is Anne McCaffery I have almost all her books. Other of my favorites is Laurell K Hamilton. I have almost all of hers too. I only keep books that I can reread numerous times and still enjoy. As I naturally speed read it is hard for me to find enough books to read. I joined the challange this year to see how many books I do read in a year. If I don't want to keep a book I take it to my local library and donate it. That way if I do ever want to read it again I know where to find it.
When I have left my books to the local library in my will. As I have no kids this way all kinds of people can read books I loved.
Karen
My goal in life is to survive. Everything else is just a bonus.
Hey Karen
are you going to give me a run for my money
Okay I've slowed down a bit compared to 2006 when I wasn't working (957 books read in the first challenge
, only 882 in 2007), but I've been tempted to take a speed reading course, I just can't find one locally 
It's not the reading that bothers me, it's the blogging
Hugs
Sadhbh
May's Member of the Month
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
re: run
I would love to try. I have never once kept track of the books I have read in a year so this is a way for me to do that. I could see me reading around 900 books if not more. I would never take a speed reading course as I do it naturally and don't want to read any faster. I would really never have anything to read them. I normally go to the library once or twice a week and get about 5 books each time.
Karen
My goal in life is to survive. Everything else is just a bonus.
How many??
Some of those figures for book count for keepers is staggering! If I kept that many books I think I would be asked to move out
A book has to be really special for me to keep it. I do keep gardening books and cookbooks, though. For fiction, I much prefer to give to other avid readers to make room for more. Right now I have 3 people with whom I share my books - the first gives them back to me once she has read them and I pass them on to the next person. The last person I give them to gives them away to a friend of hers once she is done so they don't come back. Once, I put a bunch of books in a box, wrote FREE on the outside of the box and set it out at the end of my driveway before leaving for the day and it was gone when I got home (don't do this on garbage day and make sure it isn't calling for rain
). What a really easy way to pass them on for someone else's enjoyment.
Depends on the book...
I keep books and like to go back and reread when I find myself falling into a slump. The authors that pull me out of the slump? Julie Garwood, Linda Howard, Ginna Gray, Lynne Graham, Michelle Reid, Susan Fox, Diana Palmer, Laurie Paige, Allison Leigh, Grace Green, Jessica Steele just to name a few. The books I don't keep are either posted at PBS or given away to friends.
Mad's House
The Born Readers
Dream...For on the wings of a dream, anything is possible.
Keeper and Rereader
I only keep it if I absolutely LOVED it and know that I'll read it over and over. I used to keep all the books but then I started running out of room. Most of the books I have now are my fav Nora Roberts. But as you all know I'm not a big pack rat either! I use a website book service that sends me books as they are available plus it keeps track of THE LIST so I don't have to!
Julz
Do you use the website to try a book out, and then if you like it buy a copy for your keeper shelf? I think I used to use that website, but between my review books, and my person TBR I decided I didn't need it.
I'm trying hard to not buy new books...used or gifts is ok...but new is out! So far I've been good, but tonight I'm going to a book signing, so who knows what might be calling me.
Sandi
The Born Readers
Outside of a dog a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx
I keep very few books...
I have saved things like Sherrilyn Kenyons, Dark Hunter books, and Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series, as well as Karen Marie Monings Highland books.
I have held on to my Lord of the Rings books, and the chronicles of Narnia books.
I guess I hold on to books that may need at least a 2nd reading to beable to capture the whole experience. They are so full of information, that I may have missed something. Everytime I read LOTR, I find something I didnt catch before.
Everything else gets passed on to others. I give them away or sell them on ebay. I just dont have the space to store so many books.
I also have a huge pile of books to read, that I dont want to fall behind on.
Terri
Got Books?
I've got a great excuse
If I let them go, I might not find them again easily
Now the
French versions would be another matter, but DH doesn't get rid of his
French versions just because I have them in English
May's Member of the Month
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
Sandi
I found a few years ago that I could find a lot of books on this website I wanted to read but were out of print. They come to me and I send them back when I'm done then new ones are sent. Kinda like Netflix, but for books. It helps me keep down on the book buying, I can update THE LIST when I want, and not have to worry about keeping up with it. Granted there are books I still buy in person and keep but it saves me from buying a book that I hated! LOL I found I can also put my erotic selections on there and not have to worry about buying them face to face!
And yes, I do have the option of purchasing the books from the site if I like them!
What is this website? it
What is this website? it sounds like one I would like?
Karen
My goal in life is to survive. Everything else is just a bonus.
Unsure
I'm not sure if I can post the website or not, but I'll give it a try.
It's www.booksfree.com They have several different types of memberships, and the year I belonged I loved it, but gave up my membership because I still have so many of my own to read, that I didn't feel like I was using it to it's full advantage. Over the last couple of years I've considered re-joining.
Sandi
The Born Readers
Outside of a dog a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx
keepers
hello everyone
I used to have 8 bookcases full of books, along with boxes. Now I am down to 2.
I just ran out of room and made up my mind that I was going to start using the library more. When I stopped working and stayed home to raise my grandson I also cut down on my buying....I still have favorite authors that I buy....and authors that I automatically read......but I find it a lot more enjoyable to have the time to read instead of always trying to move the books around so they are not in everyone elses way.
In the past I have sold books on line and at garage sales........but as my buying cut back I now just donate to the library. If I have a book that is a new release I make a point of telling them when I donate it....they usually put it into circulation....if they are older books they generally go to the book sales that they have to raise money.
Because I take advantage of being able to request books online and have them be right up front to pick up....I feel that it is only right that I donate books to the library.
Lisa
Booksfree
Yes, that is the website. www.booksfree.com I've been a member for 5 years or so, and it's great! I use the 4 books at a time membership and I always get more than 4 books! They send you 4 books and you send them back and then they send you more. They calculate how much you've saved using them each month over your membership costs.
thanks so much I am going to
thanks so much I am going to join this. I think it sounds really cool. I love that they have audiobooks too
Karen
My goal in life is to survive. Everything else is just a bonus.