Qs about your personal library

[Ghost1986]

so i was sitting on my butt like normal reading Salem's lot and i had some questions pop in to my head. ill rewrite them to fit those who may wish to answer.

how large is your own personal library?

what types of books do you have?

do you find your self collecting books you want to read but you never read them?

have you ever written any stories?

do you ever reread books?

i think ill go back to my book now. bye bye.

 

[sagewolf]

how large is your own personal library?

Not very big at the moment. Most of my books are boxed up in Eire, but I have a bookshelves full now (a sizeable proportion are artists' reference books, though).

If I had all my books, I could probably fill an average bookcase, or a bit more on top: I tended to give books I didn't like to charity shops when I was done, or hand old ones down to my siblings, so I don't have every book I ever owned now. (For the rest of the questions, I'll refer to all the books I currently own, in Ireland and America, not just the ones I have access to now.)

what types of books do you have?

Fantasy/Sci-fi fiction, with my favorites being the Death Gate cycle, Night Watch and Ender's Game/Speaker for the Dead. A very small amount of horror (read: I have Pet Sematery), and a few 'classics' floating around (Dickens, Shakespeare and the like). Also, a good amount of comics (the kind that come in book form) notably the Flight anthologies and FMA, as well as Scott McCloud's comic-reference comics. (Oh, yeah, that phrase made so much sense... [/sarcasm]) I have a good number of reference books, too, from books about random trivia, to writing guides, to artists' reference (perspective/anatomy/painting techniques etc.) and plain ol' art books filled with paintings. ...I'll also have some D&D 4e handbooks soon, as I'm joining a 4e group and I feel like a jackass constantly wanting to borrow the Pathfinder books in my existing group, when I can't afford my own. (But I can afford a 4e handbook; it's cheaper.)

do you find your self collecting books you want to read but you never read them?

No. If I can find the money to buy a book, it won out over about ten others. Any book I buy I want to read. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bought it.

have you ever written any stories?

Yeah. They're okay and follow much the same track as my reading habits: Fantasy, with a smidge of sci-fi and horror.

do you ever reread books?

Yep. I can't count on my fingers the times I've read some of my books, and others are getting close. (This isn't new either: when I was a kid I wore one of my Redwall books down so much by reading it that the cover fell off one day.) I expect never to get sick of His Dark Materials, or Death Gate. ...Or the Farseer Trilogy...

i think ill go back to my book now. bye bye.

Yeah, now you have me wanting mine. At work. *sigh*

 

[Da Blob]

so i was sitting on my butt like normal reading Salem's lot and i had some questions pop in to my head. ill rewrite them to fit those who may wish to answer.

how large is your own personal library?
50

what types of books do you have?
texts and references

do you find your self collecting books you want to read but you never read them?
No, quite the opposite, in fact, once I have read a book I usually donate it to the local library or give it to an individual. My aunt who is the Head of the Psych. Dept of a University has the walls of her home covered with bookshelves, full of books. All which are collecting dust, like all of her other 'trophies' and are never read. I can not help but see this as a horrible sin. There is something not quite right in an unread book. If one respects an author then give that author one more reader by giving their 'message' to another - let their voice be heard by one more listener. A gift of a good book can bless a lot of people.

have you ever written any stories?
Yes, but I reread them and then throw them in the trash

do you ever reread books?
Very rarely

i think ill go back to my book now. bye bye
Enjoy!

 

[sagewolf]

Yes, but I reread them and then throw them in the trash

That sounds very sad. You say there's something not quite right about an unread book-- what about a story that never even got a chance?

 

[Grove]

how large is your own personal library?

Right now three bookcases full, and a couple of boxes that I'm planning to give away/sell. Couldn't give an exact number.

what types of books do you have?

Children's lit (books I've kept), lit, general fiction, a little bit of sci-fi/fantasy, non-fiction (history & science themes), cookbooks, art, and reference. I have almost an entire case devoted to social theory/ research/ and analysis.

do you find yourself collecting books you want to read but you never read them?

Yeah, having some extra cash and finding myself in a bookstore is a dangerous combination for me. I'll pick up whatever looks interesting at used book sales, and my Profs are always giving books away. I have more that are only partially read than not read at all.

have you ever written any stories?

Only for a class or writing contests when I was younger.

do you ever reread books?

All the time.

 

[Da Blob]

That sounds very sad. You say there's something not quite right about an unread book-- what about a story that never even got a chance?
__________________

No, not really sad. I truly studied Literature and had hopes of being an author. I even had a short-lived career as a journalist, until i got bumped up to being an Editor - the experience of being an editor more or less ruined me as a writer, because now I can not write without rereading from an Editor's POV. If I can not write well enough to meet my own editorial standards, how could I hope to meet the standards of an even more objective Editor?

I can not help but feel that the gifted artists/writers are somehow able to juggle the POVs of a writer and a reader while composing their art. I seemed doomed to only be able to juggle the POVs of the writer and the editor.

 

[Schneizel]

I have about a thousand books, mostly fantasy or very soft scifi. I regularly re-read the ones I enjoy most, the other ones less often.

 

[saffyangelis]

how large is your own personal library?

Well, I've got two bookshelves and a shelf in my room, and one wall in another room in my house is covered in books, and a good few of them are mine, but I'm not sure how many exactly.

what types of books do you have?

Mostly fantasy, a few others and I've been reading bits of sci-fi here and there recently. A good few non fiction books (That's the shelf and a few on the other bookshelves) and a couple of other books that I've been given as presents (because apparently if I ask for books, I really mean I want princess diaries, and I'm not allowed to get rid of them since they were a present, even though my sisters would prefer them in their rooms).

do you find your self collecting books you want to read but you never read them?

Yeah... sometimes because I don't have time, sometimes because they aren't as interesting as I thought they would be, but mostly because I keep buying more books and I never get around to reading some of them.

have you ever written any stories?

A few yeah, but they're all pretty rubbish =/

do you ever reread books?

Yup! All the time.
I've had books fall apart from being read so many times. My favourites get really battered after a while from me dragging them places so I can re-read them when I'm stuck in a corner or something.

 

[ckm]

No, not really sad. I truly studied Literature and had hopes of being an author. I even had a short-lived career as a journalist, until i got bumped up to being an Editor - the experience of being an editor more or less ruined me as a writer, because now I can not write without rereading from an Editor's POV. If I can not write well enough to meet my own editorial standards, how could I hope to meet the standards of an even more objective Editor?

I can not help but feel that the gifted artists/writers are somehow able to juggle the POVs of a writer and a reader while composing their art. I seemed doomed to only be able to juggle the POVs of the writer and the editor.

Interesting. You sound like a shadow artist: convinced that you're a failed artist/whatever, you immerse yourself in what you desire (creation, or whatever you want to call it) instead of doing it. Here's what I do: every morning I get up about 40 minutes early and write three pages of trash. Whatever comes into my head ends up on the page. No rereading, no analysing. I just write. Then I put it into an envelope, and eight weeks later I open the envelope and read away. It's pretty fun. Put that critic aside! Just because he dominated for some time doesn't mean he always will.

 

[Inappropriate Behavior]

how large is your own personal library?

Since I am getting ready to move soon, I've started packing and one of my first tasks was to go through all my books. I donated to the local thrift store close to 200 thus far (mostly sci-fi/horror/fantasy but mostly mostly, sci-fi) I may donate a 100 more or so. I used to donate 30-40 every year.

What I am moving with me will probably be another 300-400 books. Classics I never give away and that accounts for 75-100. History books I tend to keep and that's at least 100 more. I also keep most reference books but that's probably about 20. The sci-fi books I'm keeping are the ones I really really liked.

what types of books do you have?

I guess I already answered that

do you find your self collecting books you want to read but you never read them?

Sometimes yes. Usually novels I tend to read eventually but I go to a LOT of book fairs, used book stores and thrift stores and often come home with about 10 books. Some I get for 50 cents and end up keep getting moved down my to read pile. I have several editions of some classics so of course I don't read them all.

I should also mention that I have some books that must be considered antique and I don't want to read them for fear of damaging the pages. A leather bound collection of first edition Dickens books are the top prize in that category. An early collection of Holmes stories is there too (2nd edition 1898).

have you ever written any stories?

Yes, I'm trying unsuccessfully to write a novel but I've done a few shorts here and there. Nothing publish worthy but I am optimistic that someday I'll at least try to get something published. I doubt I could make a career out of writing though as it takes me forever.

do you ever reread books?

Rarely. I've read Ishmael about 5-6 times and Watership Down I think 3 times. I generally prefer to read something I haven't yet because I know I could live a thousand years and not read everything I'd like.

 

[Claverhouse]

how large is your own personal library?


Thousands. Nearly for some years all in boxes, until I finally move where I can unpack them. They own me as much as I own them *sourly*


what types of books do you have?


History, Royalism, Military, Fiction, bound Victorian magazines, Art etc. etc..


do you find your self collecting books you want to read but you never read them?


Yes, I also bought books without any desire to read them, solely to create a meaningful library.


have you ever written any stories?


Yep. A few excerpts were printed in my blog; but extraneous events mean I've not added to the novel.


do you ever reread books?


Yes, those I like.



I've stopped buying books the last few years, partly due to circumstances and partly due to there being far fewer outlets selling older books now. However, I bought three cheap books this very day:

John Addington Symonds' The Renaissance in Italy --- Italian Literature Part II. 1909.

This counts as something I'll never read, he being rather dry; but the binding's so pretty with two little gilt birds waving their wings at each other..


Professor C. Witt's Myths of Hellas translated ( for kids ) into English. 1898.

Greek mythology is no longer for me, nice when you're a kid, but the stories are so crude and pointless compared with the Norse or some other mythologies. I was actually rather shocked at the story of Niobe. ( Niobe is proud of her 12 fine children; Niobe boasts she is better than Leto who only has 2; Leto's 2 children, Apollo and Artemis shoot invisible arrows killing the 12 children of Niobe, including the smallest terrified daughter; Niobe turns to stone. )

Incidentally, this book was a presentation prize to Maude Stearn for regular attendence at French, Drill & Literature in the Cambridge Training College --- Evening Continuation School, 1899-1900 session. The Past is A Foreign Country...


Lorenz Eitner's Neoclassicism and Romanticism 1750 - 1850 Vol 1 PB 1971.

This was an Open University Textbook apparently which is usually the kiss of death for interest or independent thought; but it's the most readable of the three books, being merely extracts from the critical theory of artists and thinkers of the period. Some of whom were less than sane ( Blake, anyone ? Rousseau, David etc. ) but had strong enough opinions to be naturals for those weird raving personal websites from the '90s with black backgrounds and screaming scarlet and bright green fonts. The unforgivable ones are those like Diderot or Kant who insisted upon Art having a moral purpose.


Well, I won't forgive them at any rate.



Claverhouse

 

[Xel]

how large is your own personal library?
I would guess there are about 50 books on the shelf. Normally I check out books from my college library though.

what types of books do you have?
Top two roes are fiction, middle row philosophy and mythology, and bottom row comics.

do you find your self collecting books you want to read but you never read them?
If I cut out the internet I'd probably get to reading them

have you ever written any stories?
Yes I have written a few. I would like to write a full novel one day.

do you ever reread books?
Sometimes, rarely these days because I want to read new things.

 

[ElderToadstool]

how large is your own personal library?

I've probably got around 150 books, I haven't counted. I can say my collection takes up three whole bookcases and portions of a fourth.

what types of books do you have?

Mostly science fiction, fantasy, and horror, and most of it published (at least initially) before 1980 (H.P. Lovecraft, Philip K . Dick, Stephen King, Vonnegut, Borges, Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, J.G. Ballard). I also have plenty of other fiction, history, philosophy, religion & mythology, paranormal literature, and science books

do you find your self collecting books you want to read but you never read them?

Constantly. I buy books faster than I read them.

have you ever written any stories?

Yes.

do you ever reread books?

Very rarely. I've read most of Lovecraft's stories two or three times, but I have so many books I haven't even touched that it would be a waste of time to reread large portions of my library

 

[Polaris]

how large is your own personal library?

Probably around three hundred books.

what types of books do you have?

Everything from old children's literature to art, history, science, religion/mysticism, philosophy, fiction (includes sci-fi and fantasy), biography, reference and textbooks. I am interested in old books on Arctic/Antarctic exploration history, so I plough every second-hand book store I come across. Have come across a couple of gems this way.

do you find yourself collecting books you want to read but you never read them?

Yes...in the hope that I will indeed read them one day.....once I've read everything else I'm supposed to read *sigh*....distractions....

have you ever written any stories?

Yes, a couple of short stories, but I'm so critical to my own writing, nothing will ever come of it. I do write poetry more often. Mostly for my own benefit.....

do you ever reread books?

Yes, when I have time, I like escaping to familiar territory.....

 

[amorfati]

Western Philosophy, Poetry, and True Crime make up a good portion of my library. Some of the authors sitting on my end table (don't have a book shelf) are Nietzsche, Shopenhauer, Goethe, Plato, Lovecraft, Hafez, Camus, Orwell.

 

[Agent Intellect]

how large is your own personal library?

Don't know an exact number, but probably only around 100~

what types of books do you have?

Non-fiction are all science related, mainly theoretical physics, biology, and the brain (I even have a couple of textbooks about biology). Fiction I have primarily Michael Crichton, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut books (of which I have pretty much everything the three of them have written). I keep telling myself I need to read more fiction because it might help me with my own writing (which takes me forever to find the motivation to do) but I'm addicted to non-fiction (which I'm currently reading about 4 books of right now).

I do a lot of my reading online, though too. I read quite a bit of science related stuff online, and pretty much everything I know about any topics related to philosophy has all been read online.

do you find your self collecting books you want to read but you never read them?

No. I think I have only one book that I bought a while back (as in, I've bought books since I got it) that I haven't even started yet - and, of course, I mean to at some point. The point is, I only buy books if I mean to read them, and I try not to buy any more until I have read what I already own (although this doesn't work out all the time, either).

have you ever written any stories?

I have written one novel (although it could still use a lot of work) about 2 years ago. I have about 8 chapters of two more novels and about 20 chapters of another - all "works in progress" that I only work on intermittently. I have written a number of short stories, but most of them have no endings (they just sort of stop in the middle).

do you ever reread books?

I have probably reread all of my fiction books at least once (they're my oldest books, from before I'd become interested in hard science), some of them more, but I have not reread any of my non-fiction books.

 

[Fleur]

how large is your own personal library?

Over 100; my bookshelves and some desk-drawers are filled.

what types of books do you have?

Well, there are some people who collect random junk with a thought that it is going to be useful in future. It is almost same with me and my books - it is hard to pin down what types I have because I tend to keep everything I have ever bought (or got by any other means) and I buy most of books which look like they might be interesting.

do you find your self collecting books you want to read but you never read them?

Yes. Another disadvantage of always not having enough time.

have you ever written any stories?

I have been writing since I remember myself (with self-invented pictographs before I learned how to write), but I almost never finish the story. My writings have become some sort of family's in-joke with somebody asking when the book's opening finally is going to be.

do you ever reread books?

Yes, I re-read the "old" books when I have no new ones.

 

[WoodsWoman]

how large is your own personal library?
Several thousand, approximately one of which is on shelves in the house. The rest are in boxes in storage on the other side of the yard. Storage is a loose term - these boxes get invaded on a regular basis and books get shuffled back and forth regularly.

what types of books do you have?
Older Peanuts comic books, mysteries, fantasy, medieval history, Amer. Revolutionary history, Reformation history, theology, cultural commentary, gardening, alternative medicine, and that's all I can think of at the moment.

do you find your self collecting books you want to read but you never read them?
Not often. Only lately have I ended up with some that I haven't read, though plan to.

have you ever written any stories?
Yes.

do you ever reread books?
Voraciously. Particularly fiction - at least 10 times the first time out, put it away for months and then do it all over again. It has kept me from going broke buying books.

 

[transformers]

how large is your own personal library?
in the hundreds to thousands


what types of books do you have?
lots of historical books, science books, maths, plenty of novels and short stories, arts, culture, religion, technology, astronomy


do you find your self collecting books you want to read but you never read them?
yes


have you ever written any stories?
yes


do you ever reread books?
yes