Paper books as collectible objects

Sephiroth, · 09-16-2010, 11:14 PM

I own a Kindle DX since mid-July and I couldn't be happier with it; I wasn't an avid reader before (I only read required books for the university) but now I can't stop reading.

Sometimes I wish I had some of my books in paper form, mostly those I love and if they're very long (900 pages and more) ; I don't really care about the smell or feel of paper, but I think there's something fascinating in owning really big books with colourful covers -kind of like trophies. So, I'm hesitating in spending my money in paper versions of books I already have in digital form.

Am I normal?

desertgrandma · 09-16-2010, 11:40 PM

Welcome to MobileRead, Sephiroth.

There will always be a need and space for shelf-worthy books.

I collect Agatha Christie Stephen King and James Michener.

E-book readers don't replace paper books, or make them obsolete.........they just add another dimension to them.

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

ficbot · 09-17-2010, 12:17 AM

Personally, I still prefer paper for certain kinds of non-fiction, but not because they are collectible objects, simply because they are easier and more enjoyable to read (for example I have never enjoyed the cookbook e-experience). As far as books as 'objects' go, the only ones I have are the vintage A.A. Milne my grandmother used to read to me, and as my first sort of decorating/buying art purchase ever, I had an art student design and make for me some shadow box frames for them to properly protect and display them. But that was done not so much as a 'collectible objects' thing and more because it is a very strong memory I have of my ailing grandmother, and I was seeing these books as my big memento of her. I did not want them moldering on a shelf, I wanted to display them as a memento and give them the tribute they deserve. Fwiw it was about $100 per frame (there are three of them) so $300 total, which was quite a lot for me. But now that I have them and they look so beautiful and I think warmly of my grandma every time I walk buy, it was totally worth it and I will treasure them.

But as I said, that was more about honouring my memento from my grandmother. They could have been something else instead of books, that just happened to be our particular thing. You can see pictures here if you want to.

GeoffC · 09-17-2010, 01:20 AM

Welcome to mobileread ....

what they said ^^^^^^

Donnageddon · 09-17-2010, 01:29 AM

Paper books as collectible objects

They are certainly efficient at collecting dust.

HappyMartin · 09-17-2010, 01:40 AM

A bit like stamps. They have a certain curiosity value I suppose.

queentess · 09-17-2010, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sephiroth,

[...] there's something fascinating in owning really big books with colourful covers -kind of like trophies.

I am the same way. I don't really care to own paper books anymore, but I do miss the beautiful covers. For my own gratification, I will sometimes open up Calibre and browse through it in "cover mode". It's highly satisfying.

AlbertaCowboy · 09-17-2010, 09:38 AM

I wish I could continue to collect books in paper form, but for me it's purely the space issue. I would love to have a Victorian era library with a fireplace and comfy chair and wall to celing bookshelves, but alas we just don't have the spare room. My friends all love my 505 though...they don't shudder at the thought of helping me move anymore.

bridgetostars · 09-17-2010, 09:43 AM

I forget where I saw this, some article about ebook something, but someone said "If you love books, ebooks are no substitute. If you love reading, you'll never look back,". Forgive me for more remembering the quote exactly, or where I got it from. Heh.

I think it rings pretty true. I love books, so I still have a nice looking bookshelf of my favorites. I love reading, so I've embraced the various advantages of ebooks. It doesn't have to be either or, and I don't think it's odd to have a foot set firmly in each camp. I still plan on picking up interesting looking 'analog' books (hehe), especially ones with interesting covers!

JoeKeppler · 09-17-2010, 11:01 AM

While I am head over heels with the new electronic medium and all of its exciting possibilities, I do have to say that, to me, there's nothing like a dedicated shelf of hardcovers.
But yeah, I'd agree with the post topic here... we're talking collectible/ornamental aesthetic I guess!
Still... for me, there's just something... "off" about reading the "classics" on an electronic screen. I adore my leather-bound tome lookin edition of "The Odyssey." A week or so ago I installed the iphone app "Classics" and it came with a free copy of the book... didn't last too long with it, despite having read that book numerous times over.

simplyparticular · 09-17-2010, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by queentess

I am the same way. I don't really care to own paper books anymore, but I do miss the beautiful covers. For my own gratification, I will sometimes open up Calibre and browse through it in "cover mode". It's highly satisfying.

I thought I was the only one who did this.

All my e-books in Calibre have to have covers and blurbs. I start my Saturday mornings browsing Calibre and Goodreads. I mark what I've already read in Goodreads and Calibre, browse covers and blurbs in Cover Flow. I also check my two OverDrive libraries for new stuff.

My husband thinks I'm just playing on the computer - I can't seem to explain adequately to him that I'm really at the library. Especially since I take my daughter to the physical library right after I do my library thing.

HamsterRage · 09-17-2010, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simplyparticular

I thought I was the only one who did this.

All my e-books in Calibre have to have covers and blurbs. I start my Saturday mornings browsing Calibre and Goodreads. I mark what I've already read in Goodreads and Calibre, browse covers and blurbs in Cover Flow. I also check my two OverDrive libraries for new stuff.

My husband thinks I'm just playing on the computer - I can't seem to explain adequately to him that I'm really at the library. Especially since I take my daughter to the physical library right after I do my library thing.

That's the way I'm going. I can't remember the last time I bought a paper book. I used to make a monthly foray up to the best used bookstore near my office, but I don't do that any more. I kinda miss it, but now I do far more browsing for books on line. Goodreads rules!

Ravensknight · 09-17-2010, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by queentess

I am the same way. I don't really care to own paper books anymore, but I do miss the beautiful covers. For my own gratification, I will sometimes open up Calibre and browse through it in "cover mode". It's highly satisfying.

I do this TOO! Glad I'm not the only one...

sakura-panda · 09-17-2010, 01:54 PM

I do miss covers. I recently bought a paper books specifically because I liked the cover and have four others by the same author already and thought they would look nice together.

I also like to look at DVD/CD cover art and I look at all the inserts. It's very upsetting to me when I get a DVD and all that is in the clamshell is the DVD!

jeffcobb · 09-17-2010, 09:08 PM

I have some autographed volumes by people no one here would care about that I cherish and will always keep (and NEVER lend out; I have lost more books that way than Star Trek lost security guards beaming down to planets)...but as a rule, having moved so much that comes with my trade, the ebook is king.

09-16-2010, 11:14 PM	#1
Sephiroth, Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle DX Graphite	Paper books as collectible objects I own a Kindle DX since mid-July and I couldn't be happier with it; I wasn't an avid reader before (I only read required books for the university) but now I can't stop reading. Sometimes I wish I had some of my books in paper form, mostly those I love and if they're very long (900 pages and more) ; I don't really care about the smell or feel of paper, but I think there's something fascinating in owning really big books with colourful covers -kind of like trophies. So, I'm hesitating in spending my money in paper versions of books I already have in digital form. Am I normal?

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09-16-2010, 11:40 PM	#2
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462841 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	Welcome to MobileRead, Sephiroth. There will always be a need and space for shelf-worthy books. I collect Agatha Christie Stephen King and James Michener. E-book readers don't replace paper books, or make them obsolete.........they just add another dimension to them. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

09-17-2010, 12:17 AM	#3
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	Personally, I still prefer paper for certain kinds of non-fiction, but not because they are collectible objects, simply because they are easier and more enjoyable to read (for example I have never enjoyed the cookbook e-experience). As far as books as 'objects' go, the only ones I have are the vintage A.A. Milne my grandmother used to read to me, and as my first sort of decorating/buying art purchase ever, I had an art student design and make for me some shadow box frames for them to properly protect and display them. But that was done not so much as a 'collectible objects' thing and more because it is a very strong memory I have of my ailing grandmother, and I was seeing these books as my big memento of her. I did not want them moldering on a shelf, I wanted to display them as a memento and give them the tribute they deserve. Fwiw it was about $100 per frame (there are three of them) so $300 total, which was quite a lot for me. But now that I have them and they look so beautiful and I think warmly of my grandma every time I walk buy, it was totally worth it and I will treasure them. But as I said, that was more about honouring my memento from my grandmother. They could have been something else instead of books, that just happened to be our particular thing. You can see pictures here if you want to.

09-17-2010, 01:20 AM	#4
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	Welcome to mobileread .... what they said ^^^^^^

09-17-2010, 01:29 AM	#5
Donnageddon Now you lishen here... Posts: 2,494 Karma: 479498 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Seattle-ish Device: Sony PRS-650. Kobo Touch, Kindle Fire	Paper books as collectible objects They are certainly efficient at collecting dust.

09-17-2010, 01:40 AM	#6
HappyMartin Martin Kristiansen Posts: 1,546 Karma: 8480958 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Johannesburg Device: Kindle International Ipad 2	A bit like stamps. They have a certain curiosity value I suppose.

09-17-2010, 09:38 AM	#8
AlbertaCowboy Guru Posts: 819 Karma: 171672846 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: PRS-350, PRS-650, iPhone 6, NVIDIA Shield K1	I wish I could continue to collect books in paper form, but for me it's purely the space issue. I would love to have a Victorian era library with a fireplace and comfy chair and wall to celing bookshelves, but alas we just don't have the spare room. My friends all love my 505 though...they don't shudder at the thought of helping me move anymore.

09-17-2010, 09:43 AM	#9
bridgetostars Member Posts: 19 Karma: 2998 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Kentucky, USA Device: Nook	I forget where I saw this, some article about ebook something, but someone said "If you love books, ebooks are no substitute. If you love reading, you'll never look back,". Forgive me for more remembering the quote exactly, or where I got it from. Heh. I think it rings pretty true. I love books, so I still have a nice looking bookshelf of my favorites. I love reading, so I've embraced the various advantages of ebooks. It doesn't have to be either or, and I don't think it's odd to have a foot set firmly in each camp. I still plan on picking up interesting looking 'analog' books (hehe), especially ones with interesting covers!

09-17-2010, 11:01 AM	#10
JoeKeppler New Author Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Spotsylvania, VA Device: Kindle	While I am head over heels with the new electronic medium and all of its exciting possibilities, I do have to say that, to me, there's nothing like a dedicated shelf of hardcovers. But yeah, I'd agree with the post topic here... we're talking collectible/ornamental aesthetic I guess! Still... for me, there's just something... "off" about reading the "classics" on an electronic screen. I adore my leather-bound tome lookin edition of "The Odyssey." A week or so ago I installed the iphone app "Classics" and it came with a free copy of the book... didn't last too long with it, despite having read that book numerous times over.

09-17-2010, 01:54 PM	#14
sakura-panda Guru Posts: 923 Karma: 9558874 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Southeast Michigan, USA Device: 2017 10.5" iPad Pro (Kobo, NOOK, Kindle, Google Play Books & Scribd)	I do miss covers. I recently bought a paper books specifically because I liked the cover and have four others by the same author already and thought they would look nice together. I also like to look at DVD/CD cover art and I look at all the inserts. It's very upsetting to me when I get a DVD and all that is in the clamshell is the DVD!

09-17-2010, 09:08 PM	#15
jeffcobb Groupie Posts: 152 Karma: 700 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Las Vegas Device: Nook, CoolER	I have some autographed volumes by people no one here would care about that I cherish and will always keep (and NEVER lend out; I have lost more books that way than Star Trek lost security guards beaming down to planets)...but as a rule, having moved so much that comes with my trade, the ebook is king.

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