| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"L. Raymond" |
| Date: |
27 Aug 2005 05:46:25 AM |
| Object: |
OT: Bookish behavior |
I'm packing right now, getting ready for a move. Tonight I started
boxing books and got to thinking about how some of my favorite books
came out of junk bins at thrift stores. They were titles I had never
heard of and probably would never have purchased if I saw them new, but
when I decided "What the heck, why not?" I really loved them.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this experience.
Some of the books I've gotten like this were Jerry Farber's collection
of essays, _The Student as Nigger_, which was in a basket for ten cents.
Marie Corelli's _Sorrows of Satan_, which was a dollar on a discount
store's discount rack. Also Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books. I saw some
in a three-for-ten-cents basket at a thrift store and got them since I
had heard of him, of course, but had never read any. This was before
that stupid series made Nero Wolfe a TV name and made it impossible to
locate any used books.
--
L. Raymond
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| User: "Michelle Malkin" |
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| Title: Re: Bookish behavior |
29 Aug 2005 07:37:50 AM |
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"L. Raymond" <badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote in message
news:1l8p27yxwmmab$.1qrg9oqfnd036$.dlg@40tude.net...
I'm packing right now, getting ready for a move. Tonight I started
boxing books and got to thinking about how some of my favorite books
came out of junk bins at thrift stores. They were titles I had never
heard of and probably would never have purchased if I saw them new, but
when I decided "What the heck, why not?" I really loved them.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this experience.
Some of the books I've gotten like this were Jerry Farber's collection
of essays, _The Student as Nigger_, which was in a basket for ten cents.
Marie Corelli's _Sorrows of Satan_, which was a dollar on a discount
store's discount rack. Also Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books. I saw some
in a three-for-ten-cents basket at a thrift store and got them since I
had heard of him, of course, but had never read any. This was before
that stupid series made Nero Wolfe a TV name and made it impossible to
locate any used books.
--
L. Raymond
Stupid series?! I love that show.
Michelle Malkin (Mickey)
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Bookish behavior |
29 Aug 2005 05:28:21 PM |
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Michelle Malkin wrote:
"L. Raymond" <badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote in message
news:1l8p27yxwmmab$.1qrg9oqfnd036$.dlg@40tude.net...
I'm packing right now, getting ready for a move. Tonight I started
boxing books and got to thinking about how some of my favorite books
came out of junk bins at thrift stores. They were titles I had never
heard of and probably would never have purchased if I saw them new, but
when I decided "What the heck, why not?" I really loved them.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this experience.
Some of the books I've gotten like this were Jerry Farber's collection
of essays, _The Student as Nigger_, which was in a basket for ten cents.
Marie Corelli's _Sorrows of Satan_, which was a dollar on a discount
store's discount rack. Also Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books. I saw some
in a three-for-ten-cents basket at a thrift store and got them since I
had heard of him, of course, but had never read any. This was before
that stupid series made Nero Wolfe a TV name and made it impossible to
locate any used books.
--
L. Raymond
Stupid series?! I love that show.
Michelle Malkin (Mickey)
I suspect he wasn't saying the series was stupid so much as complaining
that he could no longer find cheap, used, Nero Wolfe books. And there
were lots of 'em. I had the good sense to buy them all (mostly used)
when I was a kid, before the TV series came along.
Archie once found Wolfe sitting by the fire, calmly feeding a
dictionary to the fire, one page at a time. "It used 'infer' and
'imply' interchangeably," he explained. "There are three kinds of
books," he continued. "Those you treat properly, those whose pages you
can dogear to keep your place, and those you feed to the fire."
Kermit
Please note that it was *his book he was feeding to the fire.
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| User: "L. Raymond" |
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| Title: Re: Bookish behavior |
30 Aug 2005 03:47:23 AM |
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wrote:
I suspect (s)he wasn't saying the series was stupid so much as complaining
that (s)he could no longer find cheap, used, Nero Wolfe books. And there
were lots of 'em. I had the good sense to buy them all (mostly used)
when I was a kid, before the TV series came along.
Exactly. I purchased about 2/3 of them in the space of a few months,
than poof! they were all gone. It took almost two years to buy the
rest, and I had to resort to an online seller for that. I really prefer
buying from local shops so that was a huge step.
Archie once found Wolfe sitting by the fire, calmly feeding a
dictionary to the fire, one page at a time. "It used 'infer' and
'imply' interchangeably," he explained. "There are three kinds of
books," he continued. "Those you treat properly, those whose pages you
can dogear to keep your place, and those you feed to the fire."
Archie made the series, no doubt. Wolfe is not at all interesting to
me. The story in which Keems died was one of only two times I was
honestly shocked by an unexpected turn in a book. I love that Stout
could do that.
--
L. Raymond
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| User: "Apostate" |
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| Title: Re: Bookish behavior |
29 Aug 2005 07:01:07 PM |
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On 29 Aug 2005 10:28:21 -0700, wrote:
Michelle Malkin wrote:
"L. Raymond" <badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote in message
news:1l8p27yxwmmab$.1qrg9oqfnd036$.dlg@40tude.net...
I'm packing right now, getting ready for a move. Tonight I started
boxing books and got to thinking about how some of my favorite books
came out of junk bins at thrift stores. They were titles I had never
heard of and probably would never have purchased if I saw them new, but
when I decided "What the heck, why not?" I really loved them.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this experience.
Some of the books I've gotten like this were Jerry Farber's collection
of essays, _The Student as Nigger_, which was in a basket for ten cents.
Marie Corelli's _Sorrows of Satan_, which was a dollar on a discount
store's discount rack. Also Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books. I saw some
in a three-for-ten-cents basket at a thrift store and got them since I
had heard of him, of course, but had never read any. This was before
that stupid series made Nero Wolfe a TV name and made it impossible to
locate any used books.
--
L. Raymond
Stupid series?! I love that show.
Michelle Malkin (Mickey)
I suspect he wasn't saying
She, in fact.
the series was stupid so much as complaining
that he could no longer find cheap, used, Nero Wolfe books. And there
were lots of 'em. I had the good sense to buy them all (mostly used)
when I was a kid, before the TV series came along.
Archie once found Wolfe sitting by the fire, calmly feeding a
dictionary to the fire, one page at a time. "It used 'infer' and
'imply' interchangeably," he explained. "There are three kinds of
books," he continued. "Those you treat properly, those whose pages you
can dogear to keep your place, and those you feed to the fire."
Kermit
Please note that it was *his book he was feeding to the fire.
--
/Apostate
alt.atheist #1931 I've found it!
BAAWA Knife AND SMASHer
EAC Supernumerary Deputy Director, Department of Redundancy Department
plonked by Lani_girl, first post; Billions Served!
I doubt, therefore I might be.
e-mail to lower-case only
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| User: "Gregory Gadow" |
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| Title: If you have books you love but can't put in your new place |
29 Aug 2005 01:37:43 PM |
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I *high* recommend you set them free.
http://www.bookcrossing.com
--
Gregory Gadow
techbear@serv.net
http://www.serv.net/~techbear
"Without faith we might relapse into scientific or rational thinking,
which leads by a slippery slope toward constitutional democracy."
- Robert Anton Wilson
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| User: "Elroy Willis" |
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| Title: Re: If you have books you love but can't put in your new place |
29 Aug 2005 03:25:35 PM |
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Gregory Gadow <techbear@serv.net> wrote in alt.atheism
I *high* recommend you set them free.
http://www.bookcrossing.com
What a neat idea!
--
Elroy Willis
www.elroysemporium.com
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| User: "Guest Pest" |
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| Title: Re: If you have books you love but can't put in your new place |
29 Aug 2005 09:25:46 PM |
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On Mon 29 Aug 2005 11:25:35am EDT, one who goes by the pseudonym
/"Elroy Willis"/ said in alt.atheism:
Gregory Gadow <techbear@serv.net> wrote in alt.atheism
I *high* recommend you set them free.
http://www.bookcrossing.com
What a neat idea!
Yes, proselytizers have been known to do this with their books,
magazines & pamphlets for decades or more.
--
_T o m_
/a/./a/#1253
guestpest /at/ yahoo /dot/ com
________________________________________________________
"But the truth is, that when a Library expels a book of
mine and leaves an unexpurgated Bible lying around where
unprotected youth and age can get hold of it, the deep
unconscious irony of it delights me and doesn't anger me."
-- Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)
in a letter to Mrs. F. G. Whitmore, 2/7/1907
________________________________________________________
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| User: "L. Raymond" |
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| Title: Re: If you have books you love but can't put in your new place |
30 Aug 2005 03:51:08 AM |
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Gregory Gadow wrote:
I *high* recommend you set them free.
http://www.bookcrossing.com
In Austin there's a recycling center at 9th and I-35 which has a set
of shelves. People drop off books, videos, CDs etc. and pick up
whatever they want. It's a good place to get items you wouldn't have
thought of getting. I've left many times more stuff there than I've
picked up.
--
L. Raymond
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: If you have books you love but can't put in your new place |
01 Sep 2005 04:21:14 PM |
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On Mon, 29 Aug 2005 22:51:08 -0500, "L. Raymond"
<badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote:
Gregory Gadow wrote:
I *high* recommend you set them free.
http://www.bookcrossing.com
In Austin there's a recycling center at 9th and I-35 which has a set
of shelves. People drop off books, videos, CDs etc. and pick up
whatever they want. It's a good place to get items you wouldn't have
thought of getting. I've left many times more stuff there than I've
picked up.
The local public library has a small protected area where people can
drop off what they no longer need. Yesterday, I dropped off a bunch
of computer software I no longer needed and picked up four National
Geographic's.
--
Contempt of Congress meter reading-offscale.
Hello, theocracy with a fundamentalist US Supreme
Court who will ensure church and state are joined
at the hip like clergy and altar boys.
America 1776-Jan 2001 RIP
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president
represents, more and more closely, the inner soul
of the people. On some great and glorious day the
plain folks of the land will reach their heart's
desire at last and the White House will be adorned
by a downright moron." --- H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
Religion is the original war crime.
-Michelle Malkin (Feb 26, 2005)
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Bookish behavior |
01 Sep 2005 04:13:05 PM |
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On Sat, 27 Aug 2005 00:46:25 -0500, "L. Raymond"
<badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote:
I'm packing right now, getting ready for a move.
[wince] My sympathies.
Tonight I started
boxing books and got to thinking about how some of my favorite books
came out of junk bins at thrift stores. They were titles I had never
heard of and probably would never have purchased if I saw them new, but
when I decided "What the heck, why not?" I really loved them.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this experience.
Growing up, I used to bicycle to the local Farmer's Market and
'devour' the stacks of books for sale for a quarter. I'd usually ride
home with a bag or two strapped to the bike.
Some of the books I've gotten like this were Jerry Farber's collection
of essays, _The Student as Nigger_, which was in a basket for ten cents.
Marie Corelli's _Sorrows of Satan_, which was a dollar on a discount
store's discount rack. Also Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books. I saw some
in a three-for-ten-cents basket at a thrift store and got them since I
had heard of him, of course, but had never read any. This was before
that stupid series made Nero Wolfe a TV name and made it impossible to
locate any used books.
--
Contempt of Congress meter reading-offscale.
Hello, theocracy with a fundamentalist US Supreme
Court who will ensure church and state are joined
at the hip like clergy and altar boys.
America 1776-Jan 2001 RIP
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president
represents, more and more closely, the inner soul
of the people. On some great and glorious day the
plain folks of the land will reach their heart's
desire at last and the White House will be adorned
by a downright moron." --- H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
Religion is the original war crime.
-Michelle Malkin (Feb 26, 2005)
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| User: "atheist@home" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Bookish behavior |
28 Aug 2005 09:07:50 PM |
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On Sat, 27 Aug 2005 00:46:25 -0500, "L. Raymond"
<badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote:
I'm packing right now, getting ready for a move. Tonight I started
boxing books and got to thinking about how some of my favorite books
came out of junk bins at thrift stores. They were titles I had never
heard of and probably would never have purchased if I saw them new, but
when I decided "What the heck, why not?" I really loved them.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this experience.
Sometimes.
I actually have a book on the history of the meat Spam.
Who would have thought that would have been interesting?
<The oldest can ever opened in which the meat was still good was
twenty-five years>
And Spam has an almost cult following with organized get togethers by
Spam lovers.
I also have a novel somewhere by a guy who worked for Microsoft in the
early days.
"None of Us Will Return" by Charlotte Delbo came from a junk bin.
Some of the books I've gotten like this were Jerry Farber's collection
of essays, _The Student as Nigger_, which was in a basket for ten cents.
Marie Corelli's _Sorrows of Satan_, which was a dollar on a discount
store's discount rack. Also Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books. I saw some
in a three-for-ten-cents basket at a thrift store and got them since I
had heard of him, of course, but had never read any. This was before
that stupid series made Nero Wolfe a TV name and made it impossible to
locate any used books.
I have bought some losers but also a surprising number of unexpectedly
good works.
atheist@home#1554
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| User: "L. Raymond" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Bookish behavior |
04 Sep 2005 06:21:49 AM |
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atheist@home wrote:
On Sat, 27 Aug 2005 00:46:25 -0500, "L. Raymond"
<badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote:
I'm packing right now, getting ready for a move. Tonight I started
boxing books and got to thinking about how some of my favorite books
came out of junk bins at thrift stores. They were titles I had never
heard of and probably would never have purchased if I saw them new, but
when I decided "What the heck, why not?" I really loved them.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this experience.
Sometimes.
I actually have a book on the history of the meat Spam.
Who would have thought that would have been interesting?
You got me wondering about which book I got at random was the most
unexpected one for me to like. Possibly Huxley's _Ape and Essence_,
which gives me the creeps but for some reason I re-read it now and
again.
I've never brought home a reference book I didn't like.
--
L. Raymond
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| User: "atheist@home" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Bookish behavior |
04 Sep 2005 11:52:45 PM |
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On Sun, 4 Sep 2005 01:21:49 -0500, "L. Raymond"
<badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote:
atheist@home wrote:
On Sat, 27 Aug 2005 00:46:25 -0500, "L. Raymond"
<badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote:
I'm packing right now, getting ready for a move. Tonight I started
boxing books and got to thinking about how some of my favorite books
came out of junk bins at thrift stores. They were titles I had never
heard of and probably would never have purchased if I saw them new, but
when I decided "What the heck, why not?" I really loved them.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this experience.
Sometimes.
I actually have a book on the history of the meat Spam.
Who would have thought that would have been interesting?
You got me wondering about which book I got at random was the most
unexpected one for me to like. Possibly Huxley's _Ape and Essence_,
which gives me the creeps but for some reason I re-read it now and
again.
<sigh>
I'll have to order it now.
People in this group have cost me a fortune in books :-)
I've thrown away two books in my life and as bad as they were I still
feel guilty for it.
I've never brought home a reference book I didn't like.
Same here.
I did hit a temporary bookstore once that had a lot of books that were
obviously vanity press.
I had never quite encountered anything like it.
Many were autobiographical and I didn't know that so many people lived
such boring lives that they thought the whole world should know about.
<I don't mean that disrespectfully>
I sort of felt sorry for the authors.
There was one though written by a guy who had been in an iron lung
since he was a child.
I bought it, read it, re-read it and read it again.
I have never seen anybody put so much moving material in a little
better than two-hundred pages and not an ounce of self pity.
Unfortunately it was somehow lost several years ago.
<I don't loan out books anymore>
But I love bookish people.
I'm more comfortable around them than around normal folks ;-)
atheist@home#1554
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| User: "L. Raymond" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Bookish behavior |
05 Sep 2005 04:20:32 AM |
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atheist@home wrote:
On Sun, 4 Sep 2005 01:21:49 -0500, "L. Raymond"
<badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote:
atheist@home wrote:
On Sat, 27 Aug 2005 00:46:25 -0500, "L. Raymond"
<badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote:
I'm packing right now, getting ready for a move. Tonight I started
boxing books and got to thinking about how some of my favorite books
came out of junk bins at thrift stores. They were titles I had never
heard of and probably would never have purchased if I saw them new, but
when I decided "What the heck, why not?" I really loved them.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this experience.
Sometimes.
I actually have a book on the history of the meat Spam.
Who would have thought that would have been interesting?
You got me wondering about which book I got at random was the most
unexpected one for me to like. Possibly Huxley's _Ape and Essence_,
which gives me the creeps but for some reason I re-read it now and
again.
<sigh>
I'll have to order it now.
People in this group have cost me a fortune in books :-)
You might want to locate an excerpt first; I was serious when I said I
think it's creepy. The story takes place after WWIII; the only place
untouched by the war is New Zealand, and it starts with a boatload of
scientists landing on the U.S. west coast after a generation or so to
see how things are here, where the radiation was especially bad. The
west coast society is the focus of the book. The weird religion, women
being subjugated and known only as "vessels" (they have to wear patches
on their breasts and buttocks that say "No") and the massive
purification ritual run by priests of Belial, all of whom are castrati,
when they cleanse the land of the babies that are too mutated - it's all
just...odd. Plus it's written within the framework of a screen play, so
there's a narrator in parts. I honestly don't know why I read it even
once, much less re-read it.
I've thrown away two books in my life and as bad as they were I still
feel guilty for it.
Here we're different. I've been so disgusted by some works of fiction
that were just so *bad* that I've torn off the covers and ripped out all
the pages, dumping them into the recycle bin. Makes me feel great to
get rid of garbage like that.
Unfortunately it was somehow lost several years ago.
<I don't loan out books anymore>
I hate to admit it, but if I loan out a book to anyone I'm not 100%
confident will take care of it, I jot it down on my notepad and make
sure it's still in one piece after a reasonable amount of time; it makes
me feel a little guilty to nag folks. But there are some books I'd
never lend, like my set of the Arabian Nights. No one will ever get to
take one of those out of the house, although I've had people over to
read them.
But I love bookish people.
I'm more comfortable around them than around normal folks ;-)
You'd certainly have fun here. I've packed seven boxes so far, which
has emptied two of my nine bookcases. Or it will empty them once I move
the books I'm keeping out till just before I move into one case. I'll
get at least three or four more boxes out of the remaining three cases,
with maybe four boxes worth left on the shelves for now. That's 1203
titles all told. Maybe 1275 individual books, counting multiple
volumes.
--
L. Raymond
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| User: "Mike Smith" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Bookish behavior |
05 Sep 2005 02:39:25 PM |
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"L. Raymond" <badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote:
Plus it's written within the framework of a screen play,
so there's a narrator in parts. I honestly don't know
why I read it even once, much less re-read it.
I've read this one. You're right - it doesn't leave you
feeling warm & fuzzy. His book "Island" is way better,
IMO.
__________________________________________
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
Mike Smith | aa #1164 | Founder of SMASH
__________________________________________
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
"His breasts are full of milk." - Job 21:24
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| User: "L. Raymond" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Bookish behavior |
05 Sep 2005 06:52:22 PM |
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Mike Smith wrote:
"L. Raymond" <badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote:
Plus it's written within the framework of a screen play,
so there's a narrator in parts. I honestly don't know
why I read it even once, much less re-read it.
I've read this one. You're right - it doesn't leave you
feeling warm & fuzzy. His book "Island" is way better,
IMO.
I had never heard of this one. After reading the synopsis at
huxley.net, I'm not shocked to discover even a book about an utopian
society is ruined in the end. Didn't anything good ever happen to that
man?
--
L. Raymond
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| User: "atheist@home" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Bookish behavior |
05 Sep 2005 11:55:49 PM |
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On Sun, 4 Sep 2005 23:20:32 -0500, "L. Raymond"
<badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote:
atheist@home wrote:
On Sun, 4 Sep 2005 01:21:49 -0500, "L. Raymond"
<badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote:
atheist@home wrote:
On Sat, 27 Aug 2005 00:46:25 -0500, "L. Raymond"
<badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote:
I'm packing right now, getting ready for a move. Tonight I started
boxing books and got to thinking about how some of my favorite books
came out of junk bins at thrift stores. They were titles I had never
heard of and probably would never have purchased if I saw them new, but
when I decided "What the heck, why not?" I really loved them.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this experience.
Sometimes.
I actually have a book on the history of the meat Spam.
Who would have thought that would have been interesting?
You got me wondering about which book I got at random was the most
unexpected one for me to like. Possibly Huxley's _Ape and Essence_,
which gives me the creeps but for some reason I re-read it now and
again.
<sigh>
I'll have to order it now.
People in this group have cost me a fortune in books :-)
You might want to locate an excerpt first; I was serious when I said I
think it's creepy. The story takes place after WWIII; the only place
untouched by the war is New Zealand, and it starts with a boatload of
scientists landing on the U.S. west coast after a generation or so to
see how things are here, where the radiation was especially bad. The
west coast society is the focus of the book. The weird religion, women
being subjugated and known only as "vessels" (they have to wear patches
on their breasts and buttocks that say "No") and the massive
purification ritual run by priests of Belial, all of whom are castrati,
when they cleanse the land of the babies that are too mutated - it's all
just...odd. Plus it's written within the framework of a screen play, so
there's a narrator in parts. I honestly don't know why I read it even
once, much less re-read it.
Funny thing, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich makes me cold and
tired, The Good Earth makes me crave rice.
I have books I have had to take a break from and a few that I put down
some time back and haven't returned to because of the discomfort they
cause.
I'll probably never finish Gulag Archipelago, it gives me the willies
to the point of disturbing my sleep.
I've thrown away two books in my life and as bad as they were I still
feel guilty for it.
Here we're different. I've been so disgusted by some works of fiction
that were just so *bad* that I've torn off the covers and ripped out all
the pages, dumping them into the recycle bin. Makes me feel great to
get rid of garbage like that.
I have a terrible time trying to trash books and as a result have a
few that are taking up space that could better be filled by something
more worthy.
Several years ago after running out of space I donated maybe 500 books
to the library and gave a couple hundred away.
I wanted to re-read one, went to the library and they wouldn't let me
check it out because it was a reference book.
I found myself wishing I had most of them back.
I'll never do that again.
Unfortunately it was somehow lost several years ago.
<I don't loan out books anymore>
I hate to admit it, but if I loan out a book to anyone I'm not 100%
confident will take care of it, I jot it down on my notepad and make
sure it's still in one piece after a reasonable amount of time; it makes
me feel a little guilty to nag folks. But there are some books I'd
never lend, like my set of the Arabian Nights. No one will ever get to
take one of those out of the house, although I've had people over to
read them.
I had three or four new books when I was in the Douglas County jail in
Omaha Nebraska when I was eighteen.
<I was damned near innocent btw and the charge was silly. I took a
check from a guy who owed me money, flipped it, signed the back
without looking at the front, tried to cash it and it turned out to be
forged>
I loaned the books out, they made the rounds of the cell blocks and
came back in the same condition as when I loaned them out.
I have never forgotton that.
On the other hand I have loaned books to friends which came back in
terrible condition if they came back at all.
But I love bookish people.
I'm more comfortable around them than around normal folks ;-)
You'd certainly have fun here. I've packed seven boxes so far, which
has emptied two of my nine bookcases. Or it will empty them once I move
the books I'm keeping out till just before I move into one case. I'll
get at least three or four more boxes out of the remaining three cases,
with maybe four boxes worth left on the shelves for now. That's 1203
titles all told. Maybe 1275 individual books, counting multiple
volumes.
Good number of books.
I'm buying stuff now to rebuild my library with hopes of someday being
able to read them all.
I'm probably down to six or seven hundred.
I'm finding stuff at Amazon.com that I can't find anywhere else.
Problem is if I keep spending money on books at the rate that I am I'm
going to have to start selling them to buy groceries :-)
atheist@home#1554
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| User: "Hannele Huigens" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Bookish behavior |
06 Sep 2005 09:38:10 PM |
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Op Tue, 06 Sep 2005 01:55:49 +0200 schreef atheist@home <atheist@home.com>:
On Sun, 4 Sep 2005 23:20:32 -0500, "L. Raymond"
<badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote:
atheist@home wrote:
On Sun, 4 Sep 2005 01:21:49 -0500, "L. Raymond"
<badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote:
atheist@home wrote:
On Sat, 27 Aug 2005 00:46:25 -0500, "L. Raymond"
<badaddress@mylinuxisp.com> wrote:
I'm packing right now, getting ready for a move. Tonight I started
boxing books and got to thinking about how some of my favorite books
came out of junk bins at thrift stores. They were titles I had
never
heard of and probably would never have purchased if I saw them new,
but
when I decided "What the heck, why not?" I really loved them.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this experience.
Sometimes.
I actually have a book on the history of the meat Spam.
Who would have thought that would have been interesting?
You got me wondering about which book I got at random was the most
unexpected one for me to like. Possibly Huxley's _Ape and Essence_,
which gives me the creeps but for some reason I re-read it now and
again.
<sigh>
I'll have to order it now.
People in this group have cost me a fortune in books :-)
You might want to locate an excerpt first; I was serious when I said I
think it's creepy. The story takes place after WWIII; the only place
untouched by the war is New Zealand, and it starts with a boatload of
scientists landing on the U.S. west coast after a generation or so to
see how things are here, where the radiation was especially bad. The
west coast society is the focus of the book. The weird religion, women
being subjugated and known only as "vessels" (they have to wear patches
on their breasts and buttocks that say "No") and the massive
purification ritual run by priests of Belial, all of whom are castrati,
when they cleanse the land of the babies that are too mutated - it's all
just...odd. Plus it's written within the framework of a screen play, so
there's a narrator in parts. I honestly don't know why I read it even
once, much less re-read it.
Funny thing, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich makes me cold and
tired, The Good Earth makes me crave rice.
I have books I have had to take a break from and a few that I put down
some time back and haven't returned to because of the discomfort they
cause.
I'll probably never finish Gulag Archipelago, it gives me the willies
to the point of disturbing my sleep.
I've thrown away two books in my life and as bad as they were I still
feel guilty for it.
Here we're different. I've been so disgusted by some works of fiction
that were just so *bad* that I've torn off the covers and ripped out all
the pages, dumping them into the recycle bin. Makes me feel great to
get rid of garbage like that.
I have a terrible time trying to trash books and as a result have a
few that are taking up space that could better be filled by something
more worthy.
Several years ago after running out of space I donated maybe 500 books
to the library and gave a couple hundred away.
I wanted to re-read one, went to the library and they wouldn't let me
check it out because it was a reference book.
I found myself wishing I had most of them back.
I'll never do that again.
Unfortunately it was somehow lost several years ago.
<I don't loan out books anymore>
I hate to admit it, but if I loan out a book to anyone I'm not 100%
confident will take care of it, I jot it down on my notepad and make
sure it's still in one piece after a reasonable amount of time; it makes
me feel a little guilty to nag folks. But there are some books I'd
never lend, like my set of the Arabian Nights. No one will ever get to
take one of those out of the house, although I've had people over to
read them.
I had three or four new books when I was in the Douglas County jail in
Omaha Nebraska when I was eighteen.
<I was damned near innocent btw and the charge was silly. I took a
check from a guy who owed me money, flipped it, signed the back
without looking at the front, tried to cash it and it turned out to be
forged>
I loaned the books out, they made the rounds of the cell blocks and
came back in the same condition as when I loaned them out.
I have never forgotton that.
On the other hand I have loaned books to friends which came back in
terrible condition if they came back at all.
But I love bookish people.
I'm more comfortable around them than around normal folks ;-)
You'd certainly have fun here. I've packed seven boxes so far, which
has emptied two of my nine bookcases. Or it will empty them once I move
the books I'm keeping out till just before I move into one case. I'll
get at least three or four more boxes out of the remaining three cases,
with maybe four boxes worth left on the shelves for now. That's 1203
titles all told. Maybe 1275 individual books, counting multiple
volumes.
Good number of books.
I'm buying stuff now to rebuild my library with hopes of someday being
able to read them all.
I'm probably down to six or seven hundred.
I'm finding stuff at Amazon.com that I can't find anywhere else.
Problem is if I keep spending money on books at the rate that I am I'm
going to have to start selling them to buy groceries :-)
Just as long as you've got your priorities right ;-)
--
Hannele Huigens
aa #2221
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