I'm wondering if there are any book collectors on Stacker News? I collect a little, though things have slowed down since I began reading almost exclusively on my kindle.
I have a small collection of Austrian/libertarian related titles, as well as a few books in other areas. They are mostly either signed copies or first editions, or other significant printings.
440 sats \ 2 replies \ @Undisciplined 18 Dec 2023
By nature I'm a book collector, but we've made several significant moves over the past decade and most of our books did not make it.
I really like the aesthetics of having books around. When I was a kid, my dad had all kinds of cool science books that I could try to read way before I was ready. For example, I started reading A Brief History of Time when I was seven, but I didn't finish the first chapter until about five years later.
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304 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 OP 18 Dec 2023
I had a similar upbringing. We had books all over the house. Maybe that why I find it hard to go completely digital.
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268 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 18 Dec 2023
Once we're definitely settled in somewhere, I'm planning on building up another book collection. I've always liked checking used book stores for whatever cool random old books I can find. It's a nice cheap way to build a pretty iconoclastic collection.
My only real complaint with Kindle and other e-readers is kids can't just pick up a book in the house and check it out.
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139 sats \ 2 replies \ @grayruby 18 Dec 2023
I don't read as much as I used to, which is something I need to remedy. I do have a pretty decent collection of non fiction books (I don't really read fiction anymore), but there is nothing fancy about my collection. Most of the books I own were purchased used.
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60 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 OP 18 Dec 2023
Sounds like the vast bulk of my "collection."
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53 sats \ 0 replies \ @grayruby 18 Dec 2023
Yes, it is a "collection" but not for collectors.
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86 sats \ 1 reply \ @SatsCats 19 Dec 2023
Not really a collector, but I'm a sucker for those cloth-bound books or anything with custom artwork.
Also, recently purchased some Dark Souls book because I love the genre and art style.
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30 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 19 Dec 2023
That's a beautiful book
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94 sats \ 0 replies \ @TomK 30 Dec 2023
I built a nice library over the years (philo, history and classic novels as focus). Now there is the problem: at the end of January I will give up my apartment in Germany to move anything to Spain where we don't have the room for that amount of books (around 6-7000). So we need to move here too.
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115 sats \ 2 replies \ @Scholarhacker 18 Dec 2023
I scored a copy of the first edition of “Nothing Lasts Forever” the book that Die Hard is based on. Got it for less than a buck at a thrift store. Its worth a few hundred and I consider it the first book in my collection. Still looking for book #2…
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110 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 OP 18 Dec 2023
Nice catch. I spent a lot of time in used book stores when they still existed. Now my hunting grounds are thrift stores and library discard rooms. I fantasize about opening a lightning only online used bookstore, but it would be so much work, and I doubt there's much demand.
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129 sats \ 0 replies \ @Scholarhacker 18 Dec 2023
I don’t know about that. Books are the perfect item for that. Vintage physical media is going to become more important as the censors move in. Being able to exchange for sats would be one of the best ways for that market to work. IMO.
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53 sats \ 2 replies \ @030e0dca83 18 Dec 2023
I remember people collected VHS, then CD, DVD, BlueRay and eventually all these collections have come to servers.
I think your kindle is a great place to collect books, cause information more valuable than things
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11 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 OP 18 Dec 2023
Good point, so long as there's no EMS attack, and your cloud service doesn't ban some of your books due to government pressure. I guess you could host your own ebooks on your own server. Physical books have drawbacks too: fire, flood, storage requirements.
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53 sats \ 0 replies \ @030e0dca83 18 Dec 2023
And it's hard to move your millions books between continents
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53 sats \ 0 replies \ @kytt 18 Dec 2023
Not necessarily a "collector" in that I search for certain genres, but any book we buy is kept and not re-sold. We've probably got somewhere in the 50-100 range.
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53 sats \ 3 replies \ @SwearyDoctor 18 Dec 2023
I have about a thousand book, give or take. Mostly sociology, as that's what I teach, and also about 150 scifi books
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @siggy47 OP 18 Dec 2023
Do you concern yourself with value, like signed books, first editions, condition?
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43 sats \ 1 reply \ @SwearyDoctor 18 Dec 2023
I have to say they're mostly utility. I have many first editions (as most academic books only have one anyway), some books that the authors gave me. They're not signed, though.
I think this is because of what signing signifies. It's something an author does to honor a reader; it signifies the status of the author, as the signature s a sign of value, and with that, it also signifies the difference in that status between author and reader; it's something the author gives out. But I'm an author myself, I'm a colleague. (and of course in academia books, most readers are colleagues and students; most of our books aren't written for non-academics)
To sign a book for me could actually be construed as an insult, as it wouldn't treat me as a colleague, if that makes sense...
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 18 Dec 2023
Yes it does. Your situation is distinct from what I would consider the typical collector, although your collection may have value someday if you've accumulated knowledge in a specific field. The whole antiquarian thing is a deep rabbit hole, where collections are deemed important, and have value that is not necessarily financial.
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53 sats \ 1 reply \ @kakocuro 18 Dec 2023
I like reading books a lot, but to be honest, I hate having them around my house. They just take up too much damn space. Buy/borrow - read - sell/give away (that is my motto)
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5 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 18 Dec 2023
I only save the ones I really care about. Otherwise I read on the kindle. But lately I have become more aware of issues like censorship and not really trusting stuff I "own" in the cloud. I am going back to wanting physical books. Unlike you, I like having them around. No doubt they do take up a lot of space.
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53 sats \ 1 reply \ @GlobalThreat 18 Dec 2023
don't really consider myself a collector, but I bought about 30 books on tech a few years ago
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @GlobalThreat 19 Dec 2023
my goal for 2024 is to read all 30 books
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60 sats \ 0 replies \ @fred 18 Dec 2023
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