Too many books!

My fav 2 novels are "Ulysses" and "Clarissa". I could get rid of everything else if there weren't sentimental value about it... and because I keep a shelf for sentimental book possessions, I might as well keep a few others I like too. But if it were in my emotional power to part with all the emotional treasures, I'd only keep those 2 novels, along with any manuals I'm studying.
 
Ulysses is a great book ;) I had to read it for 2nd year English back in the day. I remember not getting it fully at first but thinking about it a lot for months afterwards, allowing its significance in my mind to ripen and increase over time. Stream of consciousness was a big influence on my own writing, too.

Now, I can't say that the following book holds a special place in my heart/mini library yet, but I have a strong presentiment that in the future it will. And that cover... I just love it.

Thus+Spoke+Zarathustra
 
I like to have books around the place. There are some that I have read and still come back to again. Others that are waiting to be read, and some that I am happy to read and then pass on to charity. I try and get rid of the ones I have accumulated thinking I 'should' read this author one day - and I don't persevere with a book if I don't get into it in the first few chapters. I don't see the point when there are so many great books, and far more than I'll ever get the chance to read. I have filled two small book shelves and am about to get a third built to size, in an effort to accommodate the over spill and not over- crowd my space . Most are novels and books of short stories and others esoteric and about therapy etc. I think books make a house homely and when they are not around it feels to me that there is something missing. I like browsing other people's book shelves and finding new subjects and authors that I'd like to read.
 
At one of the secondary schools I went to we were encouraged to write a brief synopsis of every book we read, along with the author and title. I sometimes think of this and what a great idea it is to actually try and do this. There are some books and authors that I have enjoyed very much but somehow forgotten the author and the title because I read them a long time ago, which seems a shame as often one thread can lead to another thread and so on.
 
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Littlelissa said:
At one of the secondary schools I went to we were encouraged to write a brief synopsis of every book we read, along with the author and title. I sometimes think of this and what a great idea it is to actually try and do this. There are some books and authors that I have enjoyed very much but somehow forgotten the author and the title because I read them a long time ago, which seems a shame as often one thread can lead to another thread and so on.
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I often have trouble remembering contents - I know this book communicated a lot of detailed artistic meaning to me, but what was it again?
 
I don't know if this is a general trend or just me, but sadly I don't seem to read as much as I used to. Even though I don't watch TV, sometimes I listen to the radio. I guess that technology, the internet and a more rapid pace of life has possibly had some effect on my habits; as well as having less commitments in earlier years. I tend to read in spurts and then stop again but would like to read a lot more than I do. Thanks for the thread @invisible, it's nice to be talk about books and remind myself to go and find one to read!
 
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Pin said:
All of my books are digital, I need space.

Fuck hardcovers. Fuck paperbacks.
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What reader do you use? I did the digital book thing for a while. I'm on the fence really, I enjoy both.
 
I understand if you're locked into the kindle for now, but in future please consider switching from Amazon to other retailers. Kobo is an excellent alternative ereader to Kindle. Amazon operates with zero ethical principles. They keep their warehouse workers on zero hour contracts and time their toilet breaks, they put staff with terminally ill parents on performance improvement programs, they bully publishers on cost prices by manipulating title release dates to customers, they sell at a loss in order to destroy market competition, they pay no federal tax... there is no limit to their deplorable behaviour. They are depraved monsters, they are a venomous leech on planet Earth. They are the organised realisation of human greed and arrogance. If you need an alternative online book retailer please consider shopping with Better World Books (NOT Abebooks, which is a property of Amazon). Better World Books sell both new and used books, they partner with literacy nonprofits, and they accept titles that are weeded from public library shelves and would otherwise end up in recycling, they're a great company, so where possible please support more ethical or even just smaller retailers because it makes our world a more fair place. Thank you
 
Pin said:
Kindle is also an app. If you want, all of the books you ever read in your life could be on your smartphone.
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Yea I've got it :wyotethumb:
 
When I got my first apartment, I had this fantasy of wall to wall bookcases. I loved the aesthetic of it, and reading was an obsession from the moment I learned how.
I wanted a mini bookstore with shelves dedicated to genre and alphabetized by author. It wasn't just the aesthetic, I suppose it made me feel more accomplished somehow, looking at those shelves, and knowing that I read every one, and knew the medical texts cover to cover.

A much different life later with 6 bookcases full, stacks of books piled in corners and on tables, and stuffed wherever they could go, I sought to condense, minimise, and simplify. When I moved into my home last year, I realized that I had read everything I owned, and if I wanted to read it again, I could just buy a digi copy. I've condensed to 3 bookcases now, keeping only what I deem necessary or sentimental. Some medical texts, a few childhood books with my grandmother's inscription written inside, a small collection of very old leatherbound poetry, an art book here and there. One day, I'll get down to 1 bookcase with room for a couple of pictures or candles, or whatever.

Although I prefer actually holding a book, feeling it, smelling the ink on the pages, I'm very happy with an app and having a library at my fingertips without all the clutter.
 
Pin said:
But do you see the potential? The possibilities for preserving information are endless, and it all fits in your pocket!
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Free said:
One day, I'll get down to 1 bookcase with room for a couple of pictures or candles, or whatever.
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I feel like this is a good allegory for the life of an INFJ. One day, when you have your shit together, you'll have one perfectly magical bookcase. And it will be good.
 
Wyote said:
I feel like this is a good allegory for the life of an INFJ. One day, when you have your shit together, you'll have one perfectly magical bookcase. And it will be good.
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Exactly! One day. *wistful sigh*


But it is not this day!
 
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