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  • Tag: bookshelves

    • Book Buying Habits

      Posted at 9:37 am by Laura, on November 2, 2015

      In lieu of an Advance Excitement at a Glance post for November*, I wanted to discuss one particular book buying habit I’ve formed over the past few years. Some might say it’s an addiction, others a compulsion. I personally think it’s a product of working at a bookstore + a literary agency + blogging all happening roughly at once. Nice discounts, free ARCs, and the need to share enthusiasm with the world. Alexa talked about this before, how once she entered the blogging world her book-buying habits amped up.

      Well, I’ve definitely noticed this issue in my own home. You know you have a problem when your TBR bookcase is starting to double-spine and double-stack. It’s like solving a really difficult Tetris puzzle when trying to cram one more newly acquired book on there.

      tsundoku

      There’s a word for that. “Tsundoku” is a Japanese word for books you buy but don’t read. I’d like to point out that I do read books off my TBR bookcase, but the number packed in there is roughly a book a day for about a year.

      Why do I buy so many books?

      Because the jackets promise greatness? I don’t know! I think a large part of my compulsive buying has to do with my knowledge of the industry. The whole “when you see it, buy it” philosophy in retail rings so true with bookstores. Unless it’s constantly selling as front- or mid-list, the majority of new releases will end up in back-list and have to be ordered online or from the warehouse. I don’t want to do that. Call me lazy, call me crazy, but I do not like waiting for books!

      rachelfriends

      Swap “presents” for “books” and that’s me in a nutshell.

      But why do I buy books when I know I don’t have the space for them? It’s not easy for me to part with books, read or unread. If I don’t enjoy a purchased book enough to keep it, I automatically donate it or resell it. The books I keep are ones I want to read again, books that meant something to me at a certain time in my life. They’re like photo albums: full of memories. So when an unread book is on my bookcase, I’ve already read enough reviews about it, read the jacket enough throughout the year to confirm my potential enjoyment, that I have difficulty weeding those out, too.

      (Hmm…I really ought to join Alexa and Hannah’s Picky Pledge. Or adopt Kelly’s TBR Culling method.)

      Why do I collect editions?

      Many of you already know I collect Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and all the Austen novels. I’ve started collecting Kate Morton, The Night Circus, Laini Taylor, and Anne Blankman as well. When a book means something to me — I love the series, I enjoyed the writing, I read it at a time when I absolutely needed that book — I will look up other editions. If any of them are attractive, I tend to start buying them and creating lists. It just…happens.

      joeyfriends

      Brontës and Austen are classics. They’re brilliant works of fiction, and each mean something to me that other classics do not. And because they’re classics, there are new editions from every publisher imaginable all the time! If I’m on the hunt for an excellent hardcover, a rare copy, a particular imprint, or a unique printing of one with illustrations, I will turn it into a game when I walk into bookstores (chain, used, rare, independent): which edition will I find today?

      Recent publications with varying focus. Sometimes publishers have such different ideas on what the cover of a book should look like that I can’t help but agree with all of them. Night Circus is an excellent example of this. The hardcover and paperback US editions are different from one another, but still have that black, white, and red theme. Look at the covers around the world and they all carry that color scheme, but focus on different aspects of the story, while still using a paper-doll-esque look. It’s so intricate and exquisite! I want them all!

      Harry Potter. Need I say more? There are so many cool editions from all over the world! My bank account would cry if I collected them all, so I mostly stick to US and UK editions of anniversary sets, cool covers, or neat illustrations.

      What about galleys and completed copies?

      My purchasing habit when it came to reading an eARC was rather simple: if I really enjoyed it, I would buy the physical copy when it came out. About half the eARCs I’ve read ended up on my bookcases. That’s a lot of hardcovers!

      But what about physical ARCs? I came across this issue shortly after attending BEA. Several of the galleys weren’t in their final editing stages, so having the final copy would be great. But then again, the essence of the story is still there, galley or barcoded copy. Why not save money and keep the galley as is, start a collection of that (in a weird way)? Then again, support the author and buy the finished copy, right?

      HELP!

      HELP!

      What do you do after you’ve read an ARC, galley or digital? Do you even buy the final edition at all? If you buy the final edition, do you wait another year or so for the paperback? Or, if you’re even more of a bargain hunter, do you wait to find it in a used bookstore or at a heavily discounted price? (Can you tell I’m trying to figure out what I should do with my galley ARCs? *wink*)

      What do you do?

      How do you make your purchasing decisions? Do we share similar buying habits? Are our thought processes similar or vastly different? Leave a comment and share your thoughts! Part of me wants to know I’m not the only one, and part of me wants to fling myself into another’s method to form a new and healthier purchasing habit!

      tumblr_ml3n5m9BUQ1riahdro1_500

      *In case you were interested, I’m looking forward to the publication of Da Vinci’s Tiger, Dangerous Lies, and Until We Meet Again. Have you read these? Which books are you looking forward to in November?

      Posted in books, Update Post | 7 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book hoarding, books, bookshelves, discussion, personal
    • Packing Tips From a Nomadic Book Hoarder

      Posted at 10:38 am by Laura, on August 7, 2014

      There’s been a bit of a silence on this blog. Two reasons for that: 1) I’ve moved (again), and 2) I’ve read many ARCs and those reviews are in the queue for you. But today’s post will focus on the first reason: my experience moving (again).

      Knowing there are hundreds of books at home sitting on shelves unread does not stop the compulsion to buy a book (or two or three) when I wander into a bookstore. You’d think that, after moving several times in my short life, I’d learn how to part with books and embrace the digital age. It’s very hard to part with books, it’s difficult to pack them, and it’s a pain to move them – but they’re like little children you love and care for. Book babies.

      I’d blame my issues on parting with books on Toy Story, because it made my generation believe inanimate objects had feelings, but we’ll just move on with the notion that I’m a crazy bookworm and leave it at that. It’s why I had to create a resolution to Read 5 Buy 1, because my compulsion to buy books was becoming outrageous.

      This compulsion was most noticeable when I had to pack ~500 books and move them from my shoebox Philly studio to my parents’ Midwestern home, where I’m temporarily staying. The moving truck was mostly packed with boxes of books. I thought I’d share with you my packing tips — the way packing books really works — for all my fellow book hoarders out there.

      packingtips3

      Stare at your shelves in despair. You used to stare at them in wonder and bliss. Look at all the stories! The worlds! The characters! The adventures! But now, with the impending move…look at all the weight.

      I really did stare at them in despair.

      Sigh dejectedly and contemplate packing options. Should you pack in alphabetical order? By collection? By the size and weight of the books? By Read and To-Read? Should you pack all of them at once and resort to reading off your ereader the next few days, or should you pack all but a few just in case? And how in the world do you choose those select few?

      I separated by Read and To-Read, and then alphabetized.
      My collections (Austen, Bronte, Potter and Taylor) were separated out as well. 

      Pack in a frenzy. Don’t think, just do! Build those boxes! Place the books inside! Tape it up! Lift the box to stack in a corner! Un-tape the box because it’s too heavy! Take books out! Re-tape the box! Stack! Realize you’re going to need another 10 boxes! Repeat!

      Rossetti thought I was crazy.

      Label them. Nothing’s worse than opening a heavy box and finding that the book you’ve been eagerly anticipating putting on the shelf first is not, in fact, in that box but in a box that won’t be opened for another hour.

      This happened when I couldn’t find a few children’s books and the massive Potter book about the films. Frenzy!

      Pack the remaining items in your home. And find yet more books stowed away in your sock drawer, sitting in the pantry, buried in a bag. Sigh, pack, label, repeat.

      Every box was literally marked with “a few more books.”

      Employ friends to help lift the boxes on (and when you’ve moved, off) the truck. Cause that’s what friends are for! Your bookish friends are the best ones – they totally understand.

      Thank you, Barnes & Noble coworkers and alma mater’s English major friends!

      Unpack and nest like crazy. Those books will feel so unloved if you don’t unpack them first! Not your clothes, not your cookware, the books. And it doesn’t matter if you’ll be at that place for two weeks, a few months, or years — the books will always be unpacked first. Remember to flatten and save those already-labeled boxes!

      ~

      Have you had issues packing and moving books? How do you handle this undertaking?

      Posted in books, Update Post | 8 Comments | Tagged books, bookshelves, moving, packing, personal, tips
    • Plowing Through the Piles

      Posted at 9:24 am by Laura, on April 24, 2014

      Since graduate school is at an end, I finally had a (rare) free afternoon to sit and stare at the piles and piles of books that I couldn’t fit on my bookshelves in the last few months. Not only did I need to do another rearrangement, but I hadn’t checked my inventory in several months and I didn’t know how many books I hadn’t read yet.

      I went to the Container Store (side note: that place is HEAVEN) and bought a jar for all of my TBRs. Many readers have done this before, but I’d always relied on my Goodreads to-read list. Now that my bookshelves are out of control, having a jar to help choose a book at random would make things more efficient and convenient. I pulled all of my colorful notepads, cut them into strips, and prepared to pen all the titles and authors.

      jar

      My personal library inventory is all on an Excel spreadsheet, alphabetical by author and categorized by genre and readership (children’s, YA, adult). It helps me keep track of everything I own (books on display and books still in boxes under my bed or in the closet), and I put numbers next to them for the number of copies or editions (very important for my collections). Highlighted books are TBRs, and books in red I’d planned on selling. I penned all the highlighted books, folded the strips, and put them into the jar. I then went back through my spreadsheet, deleted rows of books I no longer own, added in books I’ve purchased and read, and books I’ve purchased and haven’t read (and then penned those for the jar, too).

      Screen Shot 2014-04-23 at 9.04.23 PM

      I’m absolutely astounded to say that, according to the spreadsheet (that does not include nonfiction titles like Chicago Manual of Style, home organization books, publishing/editing books, etc) I own 418 books. I’m scared to see the number if I add in the nonfiction titles…

      After the initial shock, I tackled the bookshelves and rearranged them, forcing books to fit wherever they could. Stacks and stacks on several shelves, very few actually standing the way a book should. I’d buy another bookshelf, but I live in a 190-square-foot studio, so you can imagine the available space.

      black

      A-F, with some ARCs stacked on the side that might already be published…

       

      tall

      G-W, with my Narnia, Picoult, and Shakespeare collections. And an assortment of stuffed animals. Hi, I’m 24.

      TOP: Jane Austen collection, Jane Eyre editions, Wuthering Heights editions, Harry Potter collection, and DoSaB collection BOTTOM: W-Z, children's books, and Harry Potter-related books. The following shelves on this bookcase contain photo albums, nonfiction essentials, and pantry items. This bookcase acts more like a junk drawer than anything else.

      TOP: Jane Austen collection, Jane Eyre editions, Wuthering Heights editions, Harry Potter collection, and DoSaB collection.
      BOTTOM: W-Z, children’s books, and Harry Potter-related books. The following shelves on this bookcase contain photo albums, nonfiction essentials, and pantry items. This bookcase acts more like a junk drawer than anything else.

      For the time being, my bookshelves are arranged alphabetical by author, unless they’re part of a collection. My collections (Jane Austen, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Harry Potter, Daughter of Smoke and Bone) belong on my desk shelves.

      How do you arrange your shelves? Do you hoard books? Have you created a TBR jar?

       

      Posted in books, Update Post | 13 Comments | Tagged book hoarding, books, bookshelves, personal, TBR jar
    • Hello, I’m Laura!

      I'm a bookish bookworm and book hoarder. By day I'm a literary agent, and by night I'm forever rearranging my bookshelves. I could talk your ear off about Gothic literature, and in my past life people thought I'd become a professional musician. I have a fluffy black cat named Rossetti, I love to knit, tea is my drink of choice, British TV is the best, and I'm obsessed with popcorn. Welcome to Scribbles & Wanderlust! Grab your favorite hot beverage and let's chat books!
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