Victorians! discussion

How many books do you own?

If you are like me, you've never really counted them. I estimate my collection to be more than 3,000. There are books in every room of the house, and two of those rooms are filled with books. Some I will always keep. Some I pass on to a friend once I've finished. The friend lives across the country. We have something called media mail here in the states which makes it fairly inexpensive to ship them.

Wow owning 3000 books!!!

Deborah wrote: "How many books do you own?

If you are like me, you've never really counted them. I estimate my collection to be more than 3,000. There are books in every room of the house, and two of those rooms ..."

I had to do an estimate for insurance about five years ago, and at that time we had over 11,000, but fewer than 13,000. That was close enough for them. My wife and I are still buying, and together buy books at a rate of several most weeks, and sometimes considerably more than that.

There are some photos of our bookshelves shelves on my profile page. When we built our retirement home about 15 years ago I insisted on a two-story library. And my wife got an art studio. Fair trade as far as I'm concerned!

This is where my geekiness is going to show... I keep track of what I have with a database (own and then https://www.bruji.com/bookpedia/), and yes there are books everywhere and I love it. I feel like it gives soul to a room.

Paperback - 2272
Hardback - 517
Total 2789

Audiobooks - 235
Ebooks - 377

Like Everyman, I buy books all the time (addiction, I know), especially in the last 10 years. My husband, who is not a reader, keeps asking me where they are going to go (I have to smuggle some of them in) but then he builds me shelves :0)

Everyman - that sounds absolutely divine and I hope I am able to carry on getting books to my heart's content.

Veronique wrote: "This is where my geekiness is going to show... I keep track of what I have with a database (own and then https://www.bruji.com/bookpedia/), and yes there are books everywhere and I love it. I feel ..."

Veronique my husband is not a reader and he always asks me the same thing. We're out of space for bookshelves

Deborah wrote: "Veronique my husband is not a reader and he always asks me the same thing. We're out of space for bookshelves ..."

:0) There is Always space lol
He knows I can't live without books and I think he likes it too, in a funny way.

Veronique wrote: "Deborah wrote: "Veronique my husband is not a reader and he always asks me the same thing. We're out of space for bookshelves ..."

:0) There is Always space lol
He knows I can't live without books..."

Mine brags to his friends about how much I read

How many books do you own? A very good question!

Lots to the power of lots.

When I saw the question, I was immediately tempted to drop everything and start counting, but realised I still wouldn't be able to give you a precise answer; many of my books (and all of my favourites from the ages of 0-23) are in boxes in my parents' attic in the UK. Every now and again Mum suggests I go through them and chuck out the ones I'll never read again, but I just end up unpacking, reminiscing and reclassifying them into new boxes.

Luckily, as a bookseller's daughter, I was taught to put up shelves from an early age. Unfortunately, the house I live in in Spain has stupid plasterboard walls so most of our current collection is in the garage. We have a very well-read car.

Also, I've become a Kindle addict, largely to do with being an immigrant. Does a huge Kindle cloud/library count as owning books? Or are we talking about sacred paper only?

Finally, are we talking about books which are indisputably mine, or does shared ownership count?! If I ever get (whatever divorced is for unmarried couples), we'll have a hell of a time over the books....

Pip wrote: "How many books do you own? A very good question!

Lots to the power of lots.

When I saw the question, I was immediately tempted to drop everything and start counting, but realised I still wouldn'..."

Lol. Yes Kindle books count as does shared ownership, I guessed at mine. I literally have less than one half of a shelf left with not a space more to add shelves. I'm panicking.

Ok, so my total is : lots to the power of lots multiplied by Kindle :-)

Re space for new shelves, Deb: do you really need all those peonies in your garden? Priorities, woman!!

Pip wrote: "Ok, so my total is : lots to the power of lots multiplied by Kindle :-)

Re space for new shelves, Deb: do you really need all those peonies in your garden? Priorities, woman!!"

Lol. Shelves would definitely cost less than peonie upkeep

Pip wrote: "Does a huge Kindle cloud/library count as owning books? Or are we talking about sacred paper only?"

Good question. I didn't include those, but in my early days of Kindle owning I found a source that offered complete writings of a number of authors cheap, and bought quite a few of those, so I have the complete writings of many authors such as Dickens, Scott, Balzac, Tolstoy, Trollope, Hardy, and on and on. And then there are the Gutenberg books I download by the bushel. I have two Kindles and a Nook mostly filled up (with a supplemental microdisk for my original Kindle).

But why not count them? They're books, after all!

Deborah wrote: I literally have less than one half of a shelf left with not a space more to add shelves. I'm panicking. ."

But you do have floor space, don't you? A pile of books four feet long by 2 feet wide by 3 feet high with an attractive throw over it makes a very nice coffee table!

http://0.design-milk.com/images/2012/...



An expensive, albeit elegant, staircase solution on the left.

I have seen a recent email with lots of book usage ideas as tables ad infinitum. Of course, I can't find it tonight.

Pip wrote: "just end up unpacking, reminiscing and reclassifying them into new boxes..."
That sounds so familiar...

"Ok, so my total is : lots to the power of lots multiplied by Kindle" :0)

Everyman wrote: "Pip wrote: "Good question. I didn't include those, but in my early days of Kindle owning I found a source that offered complete writings of a number of authors ..."

I think I know that ebook company and got a few too. So handy to get an author's full catalogue. I went a bit mad with ebooks when they came out but have slowed down quite a bit in the last couple of years - I prefer paper. Having said this, I really think when you buy a book you should get the ebook with it - it's already happening with music (buy CD get MP3 download).

Everyman wrote: "Deborah wrote: I literally have less than one half of a shelf left with not a space more to add shelves. I'm panicking. ."

But you do have floor space, don't you? A pile of books four feet long by..."

Ah Everyman, you forget I'm married to a nonreader. Plus I have a cat. Both would object to that solution. Ok maybe the cat wouldn't object, but I could see her using them as scratching posts which would kill me. :)

Veronique wrote: "Everyman wrote: "Pip wrote: "Good question. I didn't include those, but in my early days of Kindle owning I found a source that offered complete writings of a number of authors ..."

I think I know..."

That would be handy wouldn't it. I didn't count my handful of ebook since I prefer traditional books.

Deborah wrote: "That would be handy wouldn't it. I didn't count my handful of ebook since I prefer traditional books. ."

I also prefer traditional books for serious reading. But it's very handy to be able to download a book you don't have and be able to start reading it right away (especially when you live on an island with only a small bookstore that mostly carries popular contemporary fiction and you don't read that).

Another fantastic thing for me about e-books is the ability to search for vaguely remembered favorite passages, or passages quoted in a book. Just an hour ago I came across a brief passage in a book which was cited to Byron, but not to any specific work. I have a complete set of Byron on my bookshelf, but also in my Kindle. I wouldn't even have bothered to try to find the passage in the books on the shelf, but a few moments with the Kindle and I was able to find the poem and the context for the passage (if I had decided to read the poem in full, though, I would have gone to the book copy now that I know which poem it is from).

Not sure, maybe a few hundred.

Lariela wrote: "Not sure, maybe a few hundred."

Mine is a guess as well