1 Shelf Clear, Many to Go

[RWood]

Originally Posted by NatCh

I suppose you could print the cover art from Amazon on card-stock and put those on your shelves.

I remember seeing at a model home cardboard setups of book spines in a built-in bookcase that simulated books. This could make a mainstream product once ebooks become the standard.

[igorsk]

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

LOL! I remember at my job a company introduced itself to us (we sometimes do VCs) who had the idea to sell CD covers of music albums. The idea was a person could buy the cover, and buy the right to download the music associated with it through iTunes & Co (the cover would have a pin code that needs to be activated first). This way, he would still have the original cover after downloading the music; it appears, according to this company, a lot of people (collectors) want to have the original cover. Don't know if this idea ever went to market though...

iTunes Store does offer "digital booklets" with some albums.

[vivaldirules]

Please forgive me but I just have to ask: For those of you who have reduced your collection of paper books, how many books disappear because you've found or converted or purchased the ebook equivalents and how many do so because you've scanned or imaged them and created the ebooks from your paper copies?

[HappyMartin]

I slowly build up a stock of books over time and when I run out of space get rid of them. I have not therefore replaced p books with e books nor have I scanned any. I have not thrown away reference books or coffee table books. I have also kept my Buddhist books as I don't find them in electronic form. We have around 150 Buddhist books. I do intend scanning these books for my own use in the future. I vastly prefer reading on the iliad to reading a p book.

My habit of disposing of books has resulted in me buying some books over and over such as Dune which I have purchased 3 times. That is one of the reasons that drm is of little or no consequence to me.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

Please forgive me but I just have to ask: For those of you who have reduced your collection of paper books, how many books disappear because you've found or converted or purchased the ebook equivalents and how many do so because you've scanned or imaged them and created the ebooks from your paper copies?

I haven't created any from paper copies myself. To much work, not enough time, when what I've replaced with an official ebook copy has generally been $6 or less.

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

Please forgive me but I just have to ask: For those of you who have reduced your collection of paper books, how many books disappear because you've found or converted or purchased the ebook equivalents and how many do so because you've scanned or imaged them and created the ebooks from your paper copies?

Exactly my thoughts. The paper from the now empty shelf is still in circulation.
The best part, this one to boast about is:
"How many shelves of paper books have you not bought because of your ebook device".
Or:
"How many virtual e-shelves of books have you filled?"

[vivaldirules]

Well, I was just curious. I love my Reader and my purchases of dead tree books has slowed in the last 5 months but I'm still staring at over 1000 books on the shelves in my study. I'm itching to reduce them to electrons and so I'm curious how many people break down and do just that.

[RWood]

pbooks replaced by ebooks, 200+

[Oh, Why Not?]

Any old (and usually beatup) pbook I have that can be replaced by an ebook goes out the door. When I know I'll really want to read it, I'll download it--often from Mobileread.

[yvanleterrible]

I have given near 1000 books to a charity that teaches adults who never learned to read.

[sianon]

Recently I cleared many bookshelves and donated the books to the local charity shop. Still have many bookshelves scattered around the house with groaning shelves. Many of these books still need to be disposed of, juts haven't gotten around to it.

I rarely by pbook novels now unless they are by an author who does not publish in e-book or that e-bookedition is likely to be delayed and "I simply must have it now". Dianna Gabaldon books fall into this category.

I have approximately 250 books on my reader which would have demanded a lot of bookshelves.

[HappyMartin]

A comment on the belief that p books keep a reasonable resale value. My sister recently cleared out her overloaded bookshelves and actually struggled to find a charity that would even take the books. Eventually the Salvation Army agreed to take them. If, or when, e books start to dominate the market, what on earth will happen to all the p books. I also wonder if there are any figures available as to how much paper is being used for books.

[HarryT]

That's exactly why I end up just throwing books away - it's so difficult to find anyone who'll take 2nd hand books. That's why I just don't buy the argument that the fact that you can't re-sell eBooks is any big deal; in practical terms, it seems to be virtually impossible to re-sell pBooks!

[vivaldirules]

Curious. I have always donated books to the local library wherever I was living at the time. But now that I think about it, I have noticed over the last very few years that they seem almost disappointed when I offer them a box full or two. There are also fewer used book stores where I live than I could ever have imagined. But I would have thought that libraries would always want a free book - unless it's their twelfth copy of some popular novel. I can't help but wonder why this is happening, really. Surely the decline in book reading isn't that dramatic, is it?

[Oh, Why Not?]

About 2 or 3 years ago I more or less stopped haunting used books stores to find the backlist books I wanted and started using ABEbook, Amazon etc, to find them. Now I more often use Guttenberg, manybooks, munseys, etc. I'm even starting to buy new books on Connect.