How many books do you own?
Discussion
RizzoTheRat said:
No idea. In terms of shelf space probably about 36' of novels in the bedroom, 8' of random stuff in the spare room, 9' of mainly gardening and cookery books in the lounge. Then I've got another 8-10' of technical books and the wife's got probably similar of work books.
Assume about 3/4" average thickness I make it around 1500
36' in the bedroom! Your wife must be very accommodating Assume about 3/4" average thickness I make it around 1500
TLDR. About 1000-1500 4 years ago. Now maybe 500, 75% reference, 25% classics and sentimental. Anything Wilbur Smith / Lee Child etc fun novels only last a few weeks now, or go on Kindle.
I used to have loads when I was single in a flat share. I just had them covering a whole wall as no bookshelf I could afford would support the weight!
I slowly have started to move over to Kindle and do enjoy it but have stopped recently. I was a book a week all through 20s and up until about 3 years ago. I think it was my Galaxy Note4 Phablet that did it. iPlayer, Sky, All4, Amazon Prime all get watched on the train now.
Getting married and not having the space to devote to book AND a nursery and all the associated stuff with a baby means I got rid of all the novels to a charity shop. Still lve, travel , car and other reference books.
I also never have the time to visit a charity shop but there is a cool new 2nd hand book store in Streatham Vale that after reading this thread I will endeavour to support. I will go and give him a load of books. I am sure the store has "Black Books" potential.
Next week I am resolved to getting a physical, entirely random, cheap, recommeneded book into my hands and see if that re-Kindles ( excuse the pun ) my love of reading. I do realise I learn naff all from chain watching series on Amazon Prime on my phone.
I used to have loads when I was single in a flat share. I just had them covering a whole wall as no bookshelf I could afford would support the weight!
I slowly have started to move over to Kindle and do enjoy it but have stopped recently. I was a book a week all through 20s and up until about 3 years ago. I think it was my Galaxy Note4 Phablet that did it. iPlayer, Sky, All4, Amazon Prime all get watched on the train now.
Getting married and not having the space to devote to book AND a nursery and all the associated stuff with a baby means I got rid of all the novels to a charity shop. Still lve, travel , car and other reference books.
I also never have the time to visit a charity shop but there is a cool new 2nd hand book store in Streatham Vale that after reading this thread I will endeavour to support. I will go and give him a load of books. I am sure the store has "Black Books" potential.
Next week I am resolved to getting a physical, entirely random, cheap, recommeneded book into my hands and see if that re-Kindles ( excuse the pun ) my love of reading. I do realise I learn naff all from chain watching series on Amazon Prime on my phone.
Far too many!
No idea how many though, got them in boxes in the garage, on book shelves in the study, piled on the dining room floor & again piles on the bedroom floor!
Really should buy a kindle but I just love books, nothing like finding an old favourite you haven't seen for years & re-reading it.
Got a small pile I inherited from my Dad that I really should eBay, old car manuals etc that are no use to me at all.
No idea how many though, got them in boxes in the garage, on book shelves in the study, piled on the dining room floor & again piles on the bedroom floor!
Really should buy a kindle but I just love books, nothing like finding an old favourite you haven't seen for years & re-reading it.
Got a small pile I inherited from my Dad that I really should eBay, old car manuals etc that are no use to me at all.
I'd be surprised if it was more than 50 a few from past and recent studies that I've kept hold of a few good novels I've kept but mostly once I've read a book it goes to charity or friends or family for them to read there are only a handful of books I've read more than once - George Orwell stuff, The Dice Man, American Psycho, a few others got read again not many.
Probably 50 children's books which I've read hundreds of times every single night for weeks and weeks! it will be Peace at Last for me when he grows out of that book!
Probably 50 children's books which I've read hundreds of times every single night for weeks and weeks! it will be Peace at Last for me when he grows out of that book!
Conveniently sitting right next to my desk
. About 100-200 on that shelf,(Top 2 shelf's are my 'old' books are are 2 rows deep) a fair whack sitting in a box 'somewhere'. Must admit havn't been reading a lot in the last year or so, sitting in bed reading articles and normally this damn forum on my smartphone has just been too easy. RizzoTheRat said:
No idea. In terms of shelf space probably about 36' of novels in the bedroom, 8' of random stuff in the spare room, 9' of mainly gardening and cookery books in the lounge. Then I've got another 8-10' of technical books and the wife's got probably similar of work books.
Assume about 3/4" average thickness I make it around 1500
Good way of counting.Assume about 3/4" average thickness I make it around 1500
Study has got ~35-40' of bookshelves, upstairs landing another 15', spare room again 15', and there's 5 or 6 bankers boxes full in the loft.
So call it 65' (min) of shelving, assume the same avg, so maybe 1,000 books out on display and then another 300-400 in the loft. 80% are novels or other fiction, the rest are a mix of travel, reference and scientific, plus a handful of work-related books.
My Dad keeps on at me to get a Kindle, but I don't think they 'work' - aside from the 'needs power' argument, it's a lot harder to flick back/forth between sections of a book (e.g. a glossary, appendix, or just a previous chapter that you wanted to find something in), and it just doesn't have the same feel...
I counted a few years ago, as all were in book cases.
Around 2500 at the time.
I would suppose closer to 3000 now.
All paper. Don't do, won't do e-books. I spend enough hours reading screens as it is.
There is something much more tangible about a physical book, beyond the knowledge/stories they contain.
Around 2500 at the time.
I would suppose closer to 3000 now.
All paper. Don't do, won't do e-books. I spend enough hours reading screens as it is.
There is something much more tangible about a physical book, beyond the knowledge/stories they contain.
probably about 750 books-3 bookshelves in 1 room and another bookshelf at back of front room, normally add every month from local bookstore-better read books in ellon as local independent and normally has something of interest
all 3 kids love reading as well and often buy books at same time
all 3 kids love reading as well and often buy books at same time
I hated to part with any book so kept every one I'd ever read until a couple of years ago. We were moving out of our home of 20 years into a temporary cabin on our building site so with much regret we gave most of them away . I honestly don't know how many we had but there was a full transit luton van and a few car loads, probably tens of thousands. We put six boxes of the ones we couldn't part with into storage, probably about 400 or 500 and they're still there but as we're still limited in space,(not finished the house yet) we only have about 20 reference books and (supposedly) a few novels to hand.
I agreed to be limited to 3 books at any one time which I'm meant to dispose of as soon as I've read them, but looking around me right now I can see about 40 'works in progress'. I'm building a study in the new house which will be fully lined with bookshelves and I can't wait to finish the house and enjoy refilling the shelves.
edited to add:- I also cheat a little electronically, I've got a couple of hundred on a Kindle account and in my hard drive.
I agreed to be limited to 3 books at any one time which I'm meant to dispose of as soon as I've read them, but looking around me right now I can see about 40 'works in progress'. I'm building a study in the new house which will be fully lined with bookshelves and I can't wait to finish the house and enjoy refilling the shelves.
edited to add:- I also cheat a little electronically, I've got a couple of hundred on a Kindle account and in my hard drive.
Edited by brrapp on Tuesday 24th January 17:38
I have many, too many. I keep a note of those I've read and got rid of, and that's over 1000. But there's piles of them sitting around, boxes in the loft that I can't get to because of the piles of books and magazines in front of the door. And a few boxes in the garages that I bought from a local "proper" warehouse clearance sale and haven't got around to reading yet. I must clear some out before the car boot sale season opens again and I inevitably buy a load more.
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