Getting Rid of Your Real Books - Page 2

HarryT · 01-28-2008, 03:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrraow

I thought this thread would be about how to dispose of your p-books - I have been getting depressingly low prices for old SF on ebay (not to mention the hassle), and the local dealers won't touch the hardbacks.

I just put mine into my "paper for recycling" dustbin. It's virtually impossible to get rid of 2nd hand books where I live - even my local library isn't interested in taking them off my hands.

Patricia · 01-28-2008, 06:21 AM

My local charity shop will take some of my surplus books. A local hospital with long-stay wards also takes some for its hospital library. I've also offoaded some to an old people's home, though most went to a homeless people's shelter which wanted to start a library. I'm thinking of taking the next load to a mental hospital. I met a nurse who told me that their patients' library was very meagre.

These aren't valuable books (- I'm keeping those). Even so, I can't bear to think of destroying them. So I'm trying to place them somewhere where they can be read.

astra · 01-28-2008, 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gideon

The copies you buy are in a proprietary, DRM'd format... and all it takes is them to no longer support it for you to lose your library.

A few years ago, I bought a PDF book from Amazon. Then, a bit ago I tried to open the file to find out that Amazon was no longer authorizing these and upon contacting Amazon was told, more or less, that I was SOL. I bought it, paid for it.... and then couldn't use it at all, with no recourse, because Amazon decided to quit selling those types of eBooks.

Simply put, I do not buy DRMed books. As far as I am concerned this cathegory of books do not exist.
I don't care that *.lit is more expensive, because in a long run it is cheaper - I will not have to re-purchase the book in the future.
After I bought PRS-500 I got rid of all paper back books that I had (local charity shop - Oxfam). I am planning to get rid of some of my hard back editions(such as Terry Brooks and Terry Goodkind) in the future as well. Maybe I will try to sell them via amazon market.
I am still buying hard back editions of books that belong to series I have strated to collect long time ago, however, I do not purchase any new series. I will get them in ebook format when I decide to read them.

vivaldirules · 01-28-2008, 07:04 AM

If you're done with your pbooks and can't find a good place to donate them to, you might consider shipping your old pbooks to your region's organization that will give them to people who will read them: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17422

montsnmags · 01-29-2008, 03:48 AM

Another idea which may be of interest is BookCrossing:

http://www.bookcrossing.com/

It's a catch-and-release program for books.

Of course, I've only ever "released" seven books and none of them have been re-caught, but perhaps my release-spots weren't optimum.

Still, it might be of interest to some, with the added advantage that you can keep an eye out on the websites for books that have been released in your area, and go on a hunt for them.

Cheers,
Marc

Jiiri · 01-30-2008, 09:10 AM

I've been scanning my library and moving them (via OCR) to unprotected .prc for my Kindle. It is somewhat labor intensive, perhaps 15 hours per book, but it is enjoyable for me, kind of like meditation.

Once I'm finished, I have a digital copy forever. I then box them up and they go in the garage (alongside my CD collection).

As far as copyrights go, I think of it like ripping an owned CD to mp3 for use on my iPod. I'm not distributing these files, just using them on my Kindle.

Jiiri

RWood · 01-30-2008, 10:46 AM

Like Patricia, I have gotten rid of many pbooks and replaced them with the PD versions posted here. (This may explain some of the stranger books I have posted in the download section.) Some were cheap paperback editions imaged from an older text and having a print quality only a dedicated student with good eyes could read -- eyes that I no longer have. This past weekend I did as Harry mentioned and disposed of many of the obsolete programming books -- how many COBOL and Turbo Pascal for DOS books does one really need.

RWood · 01-30-2008, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Another idea which may be of interest is BookCrossing:

http://www.bookcrossing.com/

It's a catch-and-release program for books.

Of course, I've only ever "released" seven books and none of them have been re-caught, but perhaps my release-spots weren't optimum.

Still, it might be of interest to some, with the added advantage that you can keep an eye out on the websites for books that have been released in your area, and go on a hunt for them.

Cheers,
Marc

I've done that with a bunch of books. All were gone within a day and this is not a main area for that traffic. I did share with one shop owner and she is considering adding her place as a catch and release point.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 01-30-2008, 12:39 PM

Personally, I would love to be able to replace my paperback collection with electronic files, for two reasons: One, paperbacks aren't exactly high-quality products in the first place, and Two, I'd love to remove some bookshelves. And if readers were of better quality, I'd add my collection of comics, manga and graphic novels to that collection, and lose another bookshelf (and a lot of boxes besides).

The value of having my entire lit collection in electronic formats, backed-up in a secure location, is very attractive to me, and to a lot of people... that's why I'd like to do it. But alas, I don't have the time to scan my own books, so for the moment, they're not going anywhere. Heck, the availability of e-books is still so inconsistent that I'm still buying print books as often as e-books. But maybe someday...

aapezzuto · 01-31-2008, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Much of my non-fiction consists of programming books, which very quickly "date". I regularly have a "clear-out" and throw out the obsolete ones.

Oh man, I feel your pain. I have spent so much money for O'Riely books only to have to throw them out a few years later. It makes me so sad! However I wouldn't trade them for the world... well maybe if i could get a properly referenced pdf, and a dedicated ebook device that was color, and lightning fast... or most of Madagascar... I would definitely trade them for an Isolated location like that :-)

Sparrow · 01-31-2008, 02:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

I just put mine into my "paper for recycling" dustbin. It's virtually impossible to get rid of 2nd hand books where I live - even my local library isn't interested in taking them off my hands.

I get rid of my old books, and other stuff I no longer need, through my nearest Freecycle group (http://www.freecycle.org/groups/).

grimo1re · 01-31-2008, 06:10 AM

I keep nice illustrated books, reference books and such. The rest gets liberated through Bookcrossing.

renderstudio · 01-31-2008, 07:05 PM

I enjoy giving my good, fun, well-worn books to friends.
A hint about that DRM'd book that you purchased, . . . the difference between a drm book file and a not drm'd book file is about five minutes of google. Heck, the difference between a .lit, a .pdb, a .lrf, a .prc, a .doc, and an html file is a little wrapper that tells your computer what to do with it.

kfarmer · 02-01-2008, 02:02 AM

Guess I'm just freakish -- I still have books from when I was, oh, about 7 or so. The only way books leave my library is of their own accord. Even disintegration just elevates them to the bibliophilic nursing home.

I love my 505 -- it's got me reading again, more often. It's lighter, easier to hold upright long hours in bed.

But books have much more personality. Differences in paper, print, etc.

My late aunt and I were quite fond of the smell of books.

Maggie May · 02-02-2008, 05:53 PM

Where I live we have a couple of charity collections every few months. I'm a bit of a hoarder. It's a great way of having a clear out, and somebody benefits from it as well. I also pass books to my friends. They are always delighted to receive them. I hold on to my favourite ones, and come back to them from time to time. They are my "Keepers". I only recently purchased an eBook Reader. However, I shall still buy the odd paperback or hardback. I just love the feel of paper, and always will I guess.

Mag.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Printing Choice: E-Books vs. Real Books-an Infographic	kjk	News	4	08-07-2010 02:38 PM
Deleting Books - doesn't get rid of collection	jbruce	Sony Reader	10	06-15-2010 11:11 PM
How Do You Store your REAL books?	Gideon	Lounge	34	06-06-2009 11:01 AM
Sharing Real Books	Gideon	News	4	05-01-2009 04:42 PM
Is it hard to part with your books (REAL books)	zork40	Amazon Kindle	23	03-09-2009 05:02 PM

01-28-2008, 06:21 AM	#17
Patricia Reader Posts: 11,504 Karma: 8720163 Join Date: May 2007 Location: South Wales, UK Device: Sony PRS-500, PRS-505, Asus EEEpc 4G	My local charity shop will take some of my surplus books. A local hospital with long-stay wards also takes some for its hospital library. I've also offoaded some to an old people's home, though most went to a homeless people's shelter which wanted to start a library. I'm thinking of taking the next load to a mental hospital. I met a nurse who told me that their patients' library was very meagre. These aren't valuable books (- I'm keeping those). Even so, I can't bear to think of destroying them. So I'm trying to place them somewhere where they can be read.

01-28-2008, 07:04 AM	#19
vivaldirules When's Doughnut Day? Posts: 10,059 Karma: 13675475 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Houston, TX, US Device: Sony PRS-505, iPad	If you're done with your pbooks and can't find a good place to donate them to, you might consider shipping your old pbooks to your region's organization that will give them to people who will read them: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17422

01-29-2008, 03:48 AM	#20
montsnmags Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,155 Karma: 4632658 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: none	Another idea which may be of interest is BookCrossing: http://www.bookcrossing.com/ It's a catch-and-release program for books. Of course, I've only ever "released" seven books and none of them have been re-caught, but perhaps my release-spots weren't optimum. Still, it might be of interest to some, with the added advantage that you can keep an eye out on the websites for books that have been released in your area, and go on a hunt for them. Cheers, Marc

01-30-2008, 09:10 AM	#21
Jiiri Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 78 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle	I've been scanning my library and moving them (via OCR) to unprotected .prc for my Kindle. It is somewhat labor intensive, perhaps 15 hours per book, but it is enjoyable for me, kind of like meditation. Once I'm finished, I have a digital copy forever. I then box them up and they go in the garage (alongside my CD collection). As far as copyrights go, I think of it like ripping an owned CD to mp3 for use on my iPod. I'm not distributing these files, just using them on my Kindle. Jiiri

01-30-2008, 10:46 AM	#22
RWood Technogeezer Posts: 7,233 Karma: 1601464 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Device: Sony PRS-500	Like Patricia, I have gotten rid of many pbooks and replaced them with the PD versions posted here. (This may explain some of the stranger books I have posted in the download section.) Some were cheap paperback editions imaged from an older text and having a print quality only a dedicated student with good eyes could read -- eyes that I no longer have. This past weekend I did as Harry mentioned and disposed of many of the obsolete programming books -- how many COBOL and Turbo Pascal for DOS books does one really need.

01-30-2008, 12:39 PM	#24
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Personally, I would love to be able to replace my paperback collection with electronic files, for two reasons: One, paperbacks aren't exactly high-quality products in the first place, and Two, I'd love to remove some bookshelves. And if readers were of better quality, I'd add my collection of comics, manga and graphic novels to that collection, and lose another bookshelf (and a lot of boxes besides). The value of having my entire lit collection in electronic formats, backed-up in a secure location, is very attractive to me, and to a lot of people... that's why I'd like to do it. But alas, I don't have the time to scan my own books, so for the moment, they're not going anywhere. Heck, the availability of e-books is still so inconsistent that I'm still buying print books as often as e-books. But maybe someday...

01-31-2008, 06:10 AM	#27
grimo1re Geekette Posts: 435 Karma: 3335 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NSW, Australia Device: Sony Reader PRS500, PocketBook 360	I keep nice illustrated books, reference books and such. The rest gets liberated through Bookcrossing.

01-31-2008, 07:05 PM	#28
renderstudio Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Boston, MA Device: nokia 770, Electrovaya Scribbler	I enjoy giving my good, fun, well-worn books to friends. A hint about that DRM'd book that you purchased, . . . the difference between a drm book file and a not drm'd book file is about five minutes of google. Heck, the difference between a .lit, a .pdb, a .lrf, a .prc, a .doc, and an html file is a little wrapper that tells your computer what to do with it.

02-01-2008, 02:02 AM	#29
kfarmer Gizzzzmo Nerd Posts: 117 Karma: 1035585 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Seattle, WA Device: Kindle, iPad	Guess I'm just freakish -- I still have books from when I was, oh, about 7 or so. The only way books leave my library is of their own accord. Even disintegration just elevates them to the bibliophilic nursing home. I love my 505 -- it's got me reading again, more often. It's lighter, easier to hold upright long hours in bed. But books have much more personality. Differences in paper, print, etc. My late aunt and I were quite fond of the smell of books.

02-02-2008, 05:53 PM	#30
Maggie May Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,907 Karma: 87755439 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Ireland Device: CYbook Gen3 and Sony PRS 3505 Kindle 3 G Nexus 7 iPad	Where I live we have a couple of charity collections every few months. I'm a bit of a hoarder. It's a great way of having a clear out, and somebody benefits from it as well. I also pass books to my friends. They are always delighted to receive them. I hold on to my favourite ones, and come back to them from time to time. They are my "Keepers". I only recently purchased an eBook Reader. However, I shall still buy the odd paperback or hardback. I just love the feel of paper, and always will I guess. Mag.