Moving?

If we move away I am going to have to pack my books. We want to get rid of everything and start fresh if we move. It is not cost effective to move everything simply because the price of the truck alone is going to be so danged expensive. I cannot believe the highway robbery that is the moving truck biz. WOW! They are making a killing. You buy some trucks and trailers, so the initial cost is high, but in a year they will have paid for themselves with these prices, and then it is just maintaining the fleet. Replace a truck from time to time. To go from here to Vegas would cost us 300 bucks to rent a pull behind. Think that is bad? It would cost us 3000 bucks to rent a truck to take to Vegas. Holy cow! We could replace all our stuff with that kind of money. Most of what we have is hand me down stuff anyway. So we decided to buy an air mattress, pack our clothes, some essentials and the things we cannot live without and forget the rest. Which leads me to the point... my books. I could get rid of them and start over when I get out there (Not high on the list of options I can tell you that!), I can come back for them later (whenever THAT might be) or I can pare down what I have, keep the most important ones and get rid of the rest. The other crux... what to give up. I have a decent collection of the classics, I have a lot of feminist, lesbian and female-centric books, I have an almost complete Stephen King collection, I have an almost complete Anne Rice collection, I have all the Harry Potter books in hardcover and I have a very nice collection of books on witchcraft, paganism, Wicca and such. How does one choose what to get rid of? I love them all. The last time we moved I got rid of 9 boxes of books, paring down my collection severely. when I reorganized and cataloged my library I got rid of another 3 boxes. According to the book catalogue app I now have 581 books cataloged. I think I have a few stragglers here and there throughout the house and my desk at work that I missed, but I would say I have roughly around 600 books. I can think of some off the top of my head that I would not mind phasing out. They aren't all hard decisions. I could get rid of my random authors... I only have a few Dean Koontz, Fanny Flagg, John Grisham, Michael Crichton... and just the same easy decision is I know I am definitely NOT getting rid of anything by Stephen, Anne or J.K. It's the things in between I am having trouble with. I love my collection of the classics. I have a beautifully bound copy of Dickens' David Copperfield that I pick up out of the book sale here at work that I absolutely love. I have some good Hemingways and a nice Whitman.... so do I store them in boxes at in my parent's shed? Do I just get rid of them and start over? I have already given all my furniture away in my mind, I bagged up all my plasticware and gave away much of my glassware, paring down my clothes will be no big deal, I am recycling all my movie cases so moving our movies will be easy, our TVs are both flat, so they will not take up much room but what to do with my books. I don't have the time to list them on amazon, and I doubt they are worth anything to anyone but me. I am just going to get rid of the easy ones first, and work my way through my collection that way. separating what I can live without from what I can't. Truth be told I could live without all of them, I just don't want to.

I have dragged home another box of books, but in my defense, it was full of classics. The likes of Jules Vern and H. G. Wells were filling this box. I would love to have a large collection of the classics. I am always on the look out for a definitive list of must reads. Once I find a good and proper list I enter it into a database and use it as a check list to aid in the compiling of my collection and it will be my magnum opus.

When I find a copy of a classic novel I purchase it and take it home. If it is older than the copy I have I may keep it and donate the newer copy to the library's book sale, depending on the condition and style of the older version. I try to trade up from paperback to hardcover when I can as well. I may have 2 copies of those I love to read frequently so as not to ruin the pages of the collected copy. Such is the workings of the mind of a hoarder.

On my desk at work I have a copy of the poetry and prose of Whitman, the works of Irving, 2 Dickens, 3 Hemingway, a D.H. Lawrence and a very beaten up 1936 copy of Gone with the Wind just to remind me why I am here. I enjoy working at the library. I enjoy the patrons and the comings and daily goings on of this small Hamlet. They are my job though. MY love, my hobby and my passion are the books. I truly love the books.

I had to become realistic about my book hoarding and pare down my masses though. If I have not read it, do not intend to read it or don't know the author I must get rid of it, unless the dust jacket is just so beautiful as to enhance the shelf it is on. I have allowed myself to collect without question only Anne Rice and Stephen King in contemporary authors until I have full collections. Within reason (if the price is right and it is 1st edition or if it is insanely inexpensive) I may purchase a few other authors I like, (Amy Tan, Michael Crichton,..) but not with free reign. I have an entire set of the Harry Potter Novels. Some are first editions and I have allowed myself to purchase, if one comes along, the replacement first editions of those I do not have. A few other rules and indulgences are... I am allowed to purchase any books on the metaphysical that I come across, because I would also like a large collection of books on Tarot, Astrology, Witchcraft, the occult, demonology, etc... and I allow myself to buy used copies of the classics to ultimately work up to 1st edition hard cover copies. Simply put, I want an interesting library full of my favorites, the classics and the curiosities. I figure I could be doing worse things than spending 5 bucks on a box of books.

Confessions of a book hoarder

I purchased a book today because the dust jacket was pretty. I looked at the book and said, that is so beautiful and it will look lovely on my shelf. The Watchers by Jon Steele was a used book in our library's book sale and it only cost $1.00 but I honestly don't know if I will ever read this book. Its not that it isn't a good book. The dust jacket blurb seems interesting enough and I am not discounting it completely, but I really only bought it because it was pretty and now I am shaming myself because of it. I have only done this once before. The book was Styx by Sherrilyn Kenyon. The dust jacket on that book was simply beautiful, I had purchased a ticket for a book stampede during our annual trivia night and it was the most beautiful book on the table, so I grabbed it. This situation with The Watchers is a bit different. I was under no pressure to select it or any other as I was during the book stampede. I am not familiar with the author and I am familiar with Kenyon and I usually don't impulse buy outside of my genres of choice, but I do love books. Old books and new, pretty and shiney, tattered and torn; all the books I do choose find a loving home where they need no longer worry over dog eared pages, spills or the recycle bin.

Maybe this book needed me.
It called to me with its beautiful blue cover and satiny designs.

Yeah, that's what I will tell myself.

The treasure hunt known as book sale.

Today begins our summer book sale. Now that term really is misleading because it suggests that we have a book sale every summer. The truth of the matter is, we take in donations all year round. Boxes, crates and bags of books get stored here, happily awaiting their return to the light. When the storage area gets full, we pull everything out and have a book sale, no matter what time of year it is. Sometimes we will get such a large donation that it forces us to hold another book sale within mere months of the last one. When the storage is full to bursting we pull all the books out of hibernation and display them on tables and spin racks for our patrons to browse through and select.

The selection part is my favorite. I love book sales. I love used book stores. I love online shopping for used books. I have found some really wonderful treasures in book sales. My first real find, the book that made me voracious for book hunting was a 1st edition Carrie by Stephen King. I purchased this much loved volume years ago from my high school library's annual book sale. It was in less than mint condition but I only paid 25¢ for it. That book also began an almost obsessive love for collecting books. Where better to hunt for items to fill in the gaps of your collection than a book sale?!

I now collect not only Stephen King but also Anne Rice and Michael Crichton to name a few. I collect books in specific genres too. I have a nice collection of books on tarot, numerology, astrology and the like. I love books about witches and their histories, real and imagined. I love books on the Titanic & the Bermuda Triangle. I have a love of the classics. I would love to have a collection of all the books one thinks of when one thinks of the classics. This may be reaching a bit, but hey, ya gotta have a hobby, right?

With that said, our book sale is going to run this entire week. Hard covers are $1.00 and paper backs are 50¢. The money goes to the Friends of the Library who buy things that are outside of the reach of our regular budget. E-books, audio books, and things of that sort. We appreciate them for all that they do, and I appreciate the book sale. =)

To Kindle or not to Kindle

Since the library joined the consortium we have introduced many many patrons to the joys of e-books. Whether it is on their tablet, smart phone or computer, this has become a popular way for many patrons to expand their reading options. As with every new technology though, there are the purists who reject it. I find myself asking 2 dozen times a day, "Do you have a tablet?" or "Are you interested in E-books?" The responses are as varied as the patrons themselves and some have surprised me.

There is the lady who's daughter gave her a Kindle Fire for her birthday. Not wanting to seem un-savvy to her technologically advanced offspring, or ungrateful for the gift, she came to me. I sat with her and walked her through the uses of the device and explained how the e-book consortium worked and she left the library with 4 digital tomes loaded onto her device and a spring in her step. She couldn't wait to get home and call her daughter. In direct opposition to her is the lady, who absolutely detests the idea of reading a book from a screen. "If I cannot hold the book in my hand, turn the pages myself and smell the paper, I would rather not read it." Her friends have all told her about the options to zoom the text to a larger readable size, and the convenience of electronically marking your page or highlighting and making notes, all of which she poo-pooed.

Who's right?
Should paper books go the way of the cassette tape?
Are e-readers a flash in the pan, to be eventually forgotten like Laser Discs?

I think we will meet somewhere in the middle. I believe the book industry isn't going anywhere just yet. People still love having and holding the physical copy. They also enjoy the convenience that comes with the digital copy. Most people have embraced the place of both and the role both options play in society. I personally love books. I am an admitted bibliophile, but I also love reading books on the go. I can carry hundreds of books with me and it weighs less than a pound. How else would I be able to carry so many titles in my purse. I collect the books of several of my much loved authors. Collecting does not feel the same on an e-reader. the organization and OCD of book hording feels so much less satisfying if your collection is just in digital form. I love both forms and all that both forms can bring to my life.

So don't toss out those hard bound beauties or those tattered and loved to death paperbacks in favor of just going digital and don't turn up your nose to all the wonders modern technology can bring to your literary world either. Find a happy medium. In the end it's all still reading and books, no matter the form, are keys to the universe.

Introductions

Hi, this is Amanda. I am the Special Services Coordinator for the Bonne Terre Memorial Library. This is the first post on this blog. We always post what is going on at the library in main section of our webpage, but this is to be a bit more personal. I would like to keep you up to date on our goings on, what's being read, and what books are being talked about.

Next week we are having a book sale! Come in and get a book or two... or a bag or two! Hardcovers are $1.00, paperbacks are 50¢ and if you like Harlequin, Silhouette or Love Inspired romance novels boy, have you come to the right place!! We have a bunch and they are ONLY 25¢. The book sale will run through Saturday the 25th, but don't wait that long. You don't want to miss out!

We also have the SRP coming up next month. If you would like to sign your kids or grand kids up to participate in the fun, come by the library. 

The buzz around here lately is the new "Grey" book by E.L. James. Everyone wants to find out what Christian's point of view on the situation is. We have it ordered and it is on the way. Call and get it reserved now! 

And what am I reading you might ask... I am currently reading Ms. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Why did I wait so long to read this book. It is really quite good! Suspenseful and fast paced with sci-fi time travel and a bit of history, there is some mild language in the book, but otherwise I believe otherwise this is definitely parent approved! 

As you may know, I like to read more than one book at a time. I usually have a new book, a patron recommended or popular, a teen or young adult and a pleasure read going at the same time. Ms. P fell into 2 of those categories. A young patron told me "You have to read it! It's the beast!" Now, social media and working with the public being what they are, I am usually up on current jargon, but I can only assume this meant I would enjoy the book immensely, which I am. 

I am also reading Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King. This is a bit out of the box for King, but I am digging his version of the mystery novel. It of course has King's swing on it. I would recognize his writing even if it was a cook book. Lord knows what a cook book Stephen King wrote would be like, but I digress. So far so good is all I can say about it, considering I am not even halfway through. This is my pleasure read, and when I have finished it I will start the third Deborah Harkness book in her All Souls Trilogy. It is called Book of Life. I can't wait to dig into it, and as soon as it returns I plan to do just that, even if I haven't finished Mr. Mercedes. I am a multi-tasker. I got this. This brings me to the fact that I am not currently reading a new book. I will pick up Finders Keepers after this as it is the sequel to Mr. Mercedes, and that will suffice for a new book soon enough. 

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