Have ebooks killed the second-hand paper book market?

[gridlewak]

The internet has definitely helped us here. My partner and I are both big fans of the hard copy books. We never buy new. We are always looking through yard sales, second hand stores, used book stores, or wherever we think we might find any.

We're beginning to think we are opposites of the norm lately. We are actually going to build a large set of shelves to hold our present library of a couple of hundred books and the shelves will have room for more. We are lucky here. We have room to do that. In fact we feel the library will be in keeping with the original use of the building. It was built as a school just before 1900 and stopped being a school in 1960. Two large rooms 30 feet square with 12 foot high ceilings add to that character.

Ebooks for us, for now anyway, are only for books that are out of reach to us maybe for costs, rarity, etc. For those reasons, we are thankful for e versions. Other than that, it's the real thing. Yeah, I know, there's something wrong with us. But we kinda like being the ones out of place sometimes.

[DiapDealer]

My aversion to shelved hardcopy books isn't really based on space considerations. It's a cleaning/dust factor. Shelves full of books need dusted way more often than I can find the time to do properly (taking all the books down, wiping both books and shelves). I work hard these days to make sure that the floor represents the largest combined horizontal surface in any room. The quickest way to ensure that I can quickly dust a room is to eliminate shelves (and their contents), extraneous furniture, and valances/curtains of any kind.

I want to spend my limited spare time reading books, not cleaning them.

[Katsunami]

With regard to paper books, I think I'm going to put a limit on how many my girlfriend can have at any one time after she moves in with me. I had a book/DVD-collection in 5 book cases, and that collection was a bear to move. I'm not going down that route again.

There will be room for 3 IKEA Billy-sized bookcases, and each will hold around 200 paperbacks. I know. I had 600 of them in three cases at one point. When outfitted with the maximum of 7 shelves, a Billy holds 25 to 35 x 7 normal sized paperbacks. More if you actually double-stack some.

Part of one case will be for my absolute favorites that I just can't have or want as e-books, such as my Tolkien-collection and illustrated works. These books are huge hardcovers and take up around half a case at this point. My girlfriend can have up to 2.5 cases, which comes down to around 500 books.

As she now only has a handful (50 or so?) in her current tiny condo, 500 books should be a venerable library in comparison. If the space is filled up, she'll have to cull the collection to make room for new books. It's impossible just to keep adding bookcases as there isn't more room without spilling over into the bedroom or living room. (Also, there are book shelves built into the sides the living room table, and they'll hold 20-25 paperbacks each, which potentially comes down to having up to 100 books in the living room.)

IMHO, there is no -need- any longer to have novel as a paper book except for wanting it in that format. It's just a wall of text with some front and back matter, and that's it.

When I moved 7 years ago, I took the chance to get an e-reader and didn't move my books except for the absolute favorites and illustrated works. I replaced everything with e-books and gave all paper books to charity. Same with DVD's: I had a 700 disc DVD/Blue-ray collection (50x7 in one Billy case and I had two) but I don't feel the need to own movies anymore, except for some extreme favorites (less than 30 at this point).

Strangely enough, my GF is green with envy with regard to my personal library containing 1200 well-tagged and organized books, among them 60 Delphi Classics, a load of Barnes and Nobles Classics from the time when they gave a bunch of them away each week, and (in a separate library) almost 3500 public domain books from the Feedbook servers.

Still, she refuses to touch an e-reader. She actually buys paper copies of books I have, even though she'd be able to read them if she'd just ask.

The only exception when she uses an e-reader is when going on vacation, to avoid having to check in a second suitcase...

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

With regard to paper books, I think I'm going to put a limit on how many my girlfriend can have at any one time after she moves in with me. I had a book/DVD-collection in 5 book cases, and that collection was a bear to move. I'm not going down that route again.

There will be room for 3 IKEA Billy-sized bookcases, and each will hold around 200 paperbacks. I know. I had 600 of them in three cases at one point. When outfitted with the maximum of 7 shelves, a Billy holds 25 to 35 x 7 normal sized paperbacks. More if you actually double-stack some.

Part of one case will be for my absolute favorites that I just can't have or want as e-books, such as my Tolkien-collection and illustrated works. These books are huge hardcovers and take up around half a case at this point. My girlfriend can have up to 2.5 cases, which comes down to around 500 books.

As she now only has a handful (50 or so?) in her current tiny condo, 500 books should be a venerable library in comparison. If the space is filled up, she'll have to cull the collection to make room for new books. It's impossible just to keep adding bookcases as there isn't more room without spilling over into the bedroom or living room. (Also, there are book shelves built into the sides the living room table, and they'll hold 20-25 paperbacks each, which potentially comes down to having up to 100 books in the living room.)

IMHO, there is no -need- any longer to have novel as a paper book except for wanting it in that format. It's just a wall of text with some front and back matter, and that's it.

When I moved 7 years ago, I took the chance to get an e-reader and didn't move my books except for the absolute favorites and illustrated works. I replaced everything with e-books and gave all paper books to charity. Same with DVD's: I had a 700 disc DVD/Blue-ray collection (50x7 in one Billy case and I had two) but I don't feel the need to own movies anymore, except for some extreme favorites (less than 30 at this point).

Strangely enough, my GF is green with envy with regard to my personal library containing 1200 well-tagged and organized books, among them 60 Delphi Classics, a load of Barnes and Nobles Classics from the time when they gave a bunch of them away each week, and (in a separate library) almost 3500 public domain books from the Feedbook servers.

Still, she refuses to touch an e-reader. She actually buys paper copies of books I have, even though she'd be able to read them if she'd just ask.

The only exception when she uses an e-reader is when going on vacation, to avoid having to check in a second suitcase...

The solution to having too many books to move is not to move! I've had my townhouse for over 20 years. Moving in was a bear, but hey I tipped the movers well.

[leebase]

Once I went digital, I never looked back. And ebooks for me are my phone or a tablet. When I was young, I got books from the school library. Or ordering books from Weekly Reader (great fond memory).

When we were first married, I'd buy paper back books that I already had at home and hadn't read yet. When we moved, I gave away 2 huge garbage bags of books that had been lining various shelves around the house.

I started a new collection with the new house (24 years ago). Still with the propensity to buy books intending to read them. Forget about them, and then buying them again.

Not so today. Unless it's a technical book I can't get as an ebook, I don't read paper any more. Good riddens. All the fond memories of reading paper books are not enough for me to give up the many advantages of reading on my phone or tablet.

[sealbeater]

Originally Posted by leebase

Once I went digital, I never looked back. And ebooks for me are my phone or a tablet. When I was young, I got books from the school library. Or ordering books from Weekly Reader (great fond memory).

When we were first married, I'd buy paper back books that I already had at home and hadn't read yet. When we moved, I gave away 2 huge garbage bags of books that had been lining various shelves around the house.

I started a new collection with the new house (24 years ago). Still with the propensity to buy books intending to read them. Forget about them, and then buying them again.

Not so today. Unless it's a technical book I can't get as an ebook, I don't read paper any more. Good riddens. All the fond memories of reading paper books are not enough for me to give up the many advantages of reading on my phone or tablet.

I have to say, I mostly agree with you. Outside of collections of manga and some reference tomes and some old books from the 20s, I'm pretty much done with paper.

[cromag]

I still visit used book stores. I've noticed that there are fewer used book stores these days, but I actually noticed that back in the 90s and attributed it to a decline in readers.

When I go to a used book store I generally look for back issues of Science Fiction magazines, local publications of historical interest, etc. Basically, items I can't get as ebooks.

[rainerm]

In relation to my earlier post: Of course times have changed. WiFi and television are ever-present distractions. But the point Brodsky's making is this: let's push to make poetry an essential part of American lives, as essential as the Bible and the telephone book. It's not a call for blind reverence. On the contrary, it's about raising a new generation on poetry, much like children grow up listening to punk, gospel, rock, etc.

I disagree with those who say that poetry is useless (few of you have mentioned this in this thread). Claiming that is especially dubious while lamenting the decline in readership: isn't it the conflation of (i) art and commerce and (ii) art and utility that we're addressing in this thread--inadvertently or otherwise.

Poetry, to draw from Brodsky again, is the highest form of human locution. It may be difficult, but that doesn't make it useless. Sure, there's bad poetry out there, but that doesn't reduce the qualities of good/great poetry.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by rainerm

In relation to my earlier post: Of course times have changed. WiFi and television are ever-present distractions. But the point Brodsky's making is this: let's push to make poetry an essential part of American lives, as essential as the Bible and the telephone book.

I wouldn't personally consider any of those to be "essential" to my life. I honestly can't remember the last time I used any of them.

[Katsunami]

The Bible and the phone book? The first I've never had, the second I've not touched since 1998 or so, when online phone books were already available in the Netherlands. I don't even know if phone books exist for mobile numbers in the Netherlands...

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

With regard to paper books, I think I'm going to put a limit on how many my girlfriend can have at any one time after she moves in with me.

Speaking as a female, I think you might find that book space is the least of your worries once she moves in. It's your wardrobe space you're going to need to defend plan for

[bgalbrecht]

I've seen people bring in bags or boxes of books at my local Half-Price Books, they'll offer them something like 10 cents on the dollar on the list price on the books they think they can sell (the recent stuff, probably), and offer to give the rest back, and more often then not, the seller will decline to take it back, and then they take the rest out to their dumpster, which might be a recycling dumpster, but it's been a while, so I'm not sure.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by bgalbrecht

I've seen people bring in bags or boxes of books at my local Half-Price Books, they'll offer them something like 10 cents on the dollar on the list price on the books they think they can sell (the recent stuff, probably), and offer to give the rest back, and more often then not, the seller will decline to take it back, and then they take the rest out to their dumpster, which might be a recycling dumpster, but it's been a while, so I'm not sure.

The better "dumpster" books probably go to bulk sales and from there to a penny book retailer.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

Speaking as a female, I think you might find that book space is the least of your worries once she moves in. It's your wardrobe space you're going to need to defend plan for

My wardrobe is tiny. Hers is smaller. If given half a chance, she'd _never_ buy new clothes. It's a woman who hates shopping for clothing... if she does, she has less money for paper books.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

My wardrobe is tiny. Hers is smaller. If given half a chance, she'd _never_ buy new clothes. It's a woman who hates shopping for clothing... if she does, she has less money for paper books.

A perfect match! I hope it works out well for you both