Boxes and boxes of books

[Elsi]

So ... even though I have one eBook reader (Kindle) and a second on the way (Sony PRS 505), I still read paper books.

Seems a friend of mine was at a charity book sale and when the sale was over, the charity was going to throw all the left-over books in the dumpster. She convinced them to give them to her and there were so many, she had to rent a storage shed to hold them! She offered to give them away for the price of postage (Media Rate, US only) and I sent her postage for four boxes of books.

I figured I'd sort through them for anything I wanted to read and take the rest down to the library in my tiny little Texas town and they could put them into their book sale in September.

But, I didn't tell my hubby that the books were coming. And then I left town for a two-week business trip. Wouldn't you know it? Three of the boxes arrived 2 days after I left. I got a very tersely worded e-mail from my hubby letting me know that he had brought three boxes of books home from the Post Office and dumped them in the garage! I don't think he was amused.

[zelda_pinwheel]

hehehe... the dangers of being a bibliophile !

[vivaldirules]

Books in dumpster. Now that's evil.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

Books in dumpster. Now that's evil.

i agree. i can't bring myself to throw away a book, no matter how thoroughly uninteresting, or old and ratty and dusty it is. once i returned a very old paperback to my library. it had seen better days ; the cover was creased and the dges were worn, and the paper was quite yellow. i hasten to assure you that it was already in that condition when i got it. the librarian took it rather gingerly between two fingers and said something like 'no point in putting this on the shelves, i think it's headed directly to the trash." i almost jumped out of my skin ; i think i would not have been more shocked if he had said he planned to go kill a kitten just for fun.

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i agree. i can't bring myself to throw away a book, no matter how thoroughly uninteresting, or old and ratty and dusty it is. once i returned a very old paperback to my library. it had seen better days ; the cover was creased and the dges were worn, and the paper was quite yellow. i hasten to assure you that it was already in that condition when i got it. the librarian took it rather gingerly between two fingers and said something like 'no point in putting this on the shelves, i think it's headed directly to the trash." i almost jumped out of my skin ; i think i would not have been more shocked if he had said he planned to go kill a kitten just for fun.

You should have a bookshelf with twenty year old psych books. Easy to throw out when you look at how out-dated they are. Especially medication texts.

[MaggieScratch]

Unless the book is very very rare, I have no problem tossing ratty old browned paperbacks.

Old hardbacks are almost always interesting-looking, though.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

You should have a bookshelf with twenty year old psych books. Easy to throw out when you look at how out-dated they are. Especially medication texts.

well, ok, but that's different.

[Greg Anos]

What is the honorable way to end a book's usefull career? You cermonially burn a worn-out flag....

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

What is the honorable way to end a book's usefull career? You cermonially burn a worn-out flag....

I've often wondered if it would be nice to "plant" a book that has met its useful end in form, perhaps even directly under a new tree-planting - "Circle of life" and all that...

Cheers,
Marc

[basschick]

in our apartment building has lots of readers. what we do is put our books outside near the trash, but not in it. then whoever wants one of the books takes it. and because we have so many readers in this building, no book ever actually makes it into the trash. if they're missing the front cover or have worn out edges, we don't mind at all.

actually some of the other buildings near us do the same things, and that's how i found my mint hardcover w/dustjacket copy of "walt disney and assorted other characters" and some interesting detective fiction and biographies

or you can donate your books to the library. they usually sell them at book sales, so people who need cheap reading can find it, and the proceeds go to help the library or perhaps a women's shelter, hospice or hospital could use the books even in worn condition.

[RickV]

Originally Posted by basschick

or you can donate your books to the library. they usually sell them at book sales, so people who need cheap reading can find it, and the proceeds go to help the library or perhaps a women's shelter, hospice or hospital could use the books even in worn condition.

I was over in the Medical Center in Houston and was waiting for a client to finish some tests when I spotted SHELVES of at least a few hundred donated books. I was sorting through when I saw a first edition of a book ("IT" I think) and drooled. My damned ethics kicked in and told me to put it back.



Sometimes I wonder if some people just don't check what they are sending OR receiving.

[zelda_pinwheel]

i donate my books to my library as well ; when they don't want to keep them for the collection, they add them to the "book exchange" where people give all the books they don't want to keep, and if you see any book that interests you, you can take it for free, no restrictions. i think it's a great system.

[DixieGal]

Any books or magazines that accompany me on vacations becomes property of the resort when we leave. And I'm pretty good about not looting the resort library as well. Only once since getting my EBW-1150 has my husband had to stop me during packing to say, "No. Taking books home is stealing."

You guys have heard about the cruel and unusual treatment that I give to paperbacks, slicing and dicing them, so it's not difficult at all to toss them into the trash. All it takes is sweeping up the various bits and shredded remains of the pages and dumping the mangled former book into the trash.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

...
All it takes is sweeping up the various bits and shredded remains of the pages and dumping the mangled former book into the trash.

See below:

Originally Posted by montsnmags

I've often wondered if it would be nice to "plant" a book that has met its useful end in form, perhaps even directly under a new tree-planting - "Circle of life" and all that...

C'mon! You know you wanna!

Cheers,
Marc (then you can name the trees after the book it's growing over)

[Prash]

Originally Posted by basschick

in our apartment building has lots of readers. what we do is put our books outside near the trash, but not in it. then whoever wants one of the books takes it. and because we have so many readers in this building, no book ever actually makes it into the trash. if they're missing the front cover or have worn out edges, we don't mind at all.

actually some of the other buildings near us do the same things, and that's how i found my mint hardcover w/dustjacket copy of "walt disney and assorted other characters" and some interesting detective fiction and biographies

I find this habit very attractive. What's more good than the thrilling experience you get while going through lot of books, which you may not have read yet...