What are your book habits? \ stacker news ~BooksAndArticles

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580 sats \ 21 comments \ @cryotosensei 15 Dec BooksAndArticles

I bought these 2 books at a secondhand book store called BookOff today. Which makes me think that it would be fun to conduct a book survey. Let’s GO!

Do you set aside a budget for books every month or quarter? Or do you just buy books when you feel like it/want to support your favourite author/are curious to see whether a trending book matches up to its hype?
Paper books or e-books or audio books or all of the above?
Why do you still buy books if you can borrow them from a library or use the Libby app?
Are you guilty of tsundoku? How do you feel about it?

You may or may not engage in bookshelf wealth. Having said that, what is your preferred style - a bookshelf packed to the brim with books books and more books or a minimalistic bookshelf in which empty space decorates a few books that you deeply love?
How do you dispose of books you don’t wanna keep anymore? Have you ever regretted getting rid of books in hindsight?
Do you have a plan for conscientiously/intentionally applying the learning takeaways you pick up from books? Or you are more of the go-with-the-flow kind of reader?

I hope I asked interesting questions!

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37 sats \ 2 replies \ @plebpoet 15 Dec

Libby app and library all day. Borrow from friends, lend out to friends. Keep a collection of books that helped me become an individual. I don't read the same book twice, and I move a lot, so I'm not buying books anymore. If I come across something special at the thrift store, like an art book that I can source from, I'll pick it up.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @cryotosensei OP 16 Dec

But you don’t have instances in which you want to recall something from a particular book and hence, flip through the pages to refresh your memory?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @plebpoet 16 Dec

sure sometimes, if it's a line from a poem, I'll use poetryfoundation.org to find it

44 sats \ 1 reply \ @Skipper 15 Dec

I only use eBooks and Audiobooks. No physical books. Torrent everything, and donate to the author if i liked.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 16 Dec

As in BitTorrent? I’m surprised that platform still exists!

How do you donate to the authors?

82 sats \ 1 reply \ @Imyourfed 15 Dec

Do you set aside a budget for books every month or quarter? Or do you just buy books when you feel like it/want to support your favorite author/are curious to see whether a trending book matches up to its hype?

I buy books when I feel I have to or if they’re really trending. Sometimes I use Goodreads for recommendations it’s helpful when you’re confused about whether a book suits you. I don’t have a budget, but if I find a book that’s really good and worth keeping in my collection, I’ll buy a hardbound copy. That said, I’m very careful when buying books because I buy them with the intention of reading, not just keeping.

Paper books or e-books or audiobooks or all of the above?

I love audiobooks for commuting when I’m not listening to music, I’m usually listening to an audiobook. But honestly, it’s all of the above I’ve got as many e-books on my Kindle as I do hard copies on my shelf.

Why do you still buy books if you can borrow them from a library or use the Libby app?

Damn! that’s a good question. I don’t really know why, but I guess I just like owning my books. There’s something about knowing they’re mine and that I can keep them as long as I want?

Are you guilty of tsundoku? How do you feel about it?

That’s exactly why I’m so careful when buying books. But yeah, I do have a few fiction books that were gifted to me by friends and they’re just sitting on my shelf because, honestly, I’m not a huge fan of fiction.

You may or may not engage in bookshelf wealth. Having said that, what is your preferred style—a bookshelf packed to the brim with books, books, and more books, or a minimalist bookshelf in which empty space decorates a few books you deeply love?

I honestly don’t care much. I just keep my books however I want there’s no specific style.

How do you dispose of books you don’t wanna keep anymore? Have you ever regretted getting rid of books in hindsight?

I have a colleague who works with a charity that donates books to kids in need, so I usually give him my books to be fair, it’s been months since I last gave him any.

Do you have a plan for conscientiously/intentionally applying the learning takeaways you pick up from books? Or are you more of the go-with-the-flow kind of reader?

It really depends. When I read books on spirituality or religion, they sometimes leave a deep impact on my thoughts. If I’m reading science, it gives me a whole new perspective on things. For me, it’s more about broadening my horizons. Or maybe I don’t really know how to answer this question properly?

I really enjoyed your post!

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 16 Dec

Don’t worry. I thought you answered my question very well. I agree that it’s about broadening our horizons. Sometimes an idea just gets assimilated into the marrow of our souls. And we don’t know we have internalised it until we sprout it out, sounding wiser than before haha.

I enjoyed your answers too!

58 sats \ 1 reply \ @flat24 15 Dec

Honestly, I never had reading habits, today I'm trying to change that. I try to read every morning for at least 20 min to take advantage of my clear and clear mind. On many occasions I repeat before going to sleep, but this last one is not so frequent.

I have a few books 📚 in physical form and a big pile in PDF. Making a big list of books to read. I try to advance a little each day.

I have never set aside a budget to buy books, the few in physical form that I have have been gifts or impulse purchases at some second-hand fair. I'm also working on changing this. I'm looking to allocate a small part of my earnings to create a fund to buy books. (There are many that I want in physical form)

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 16 Dec

I think you told me about your 20-min reading habit. Glad to see that that’s still going strong lol

I admire your discipline to keep a list of books you want to read. I just read whatever books come my way, attributing it to fate, but I think I want to develop an inquiring mind and be more intentional about the books I seek out

34 sats \ 2 replies \ @LowK3y19 15 Dec

I like to buy books from the store something about owning something and being able to read it over and over brings me joy

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @cryotosensei OP 16 Dec

I used to do that -reading n rereading. But these days I just don’t have the time for it. My current dilemma is whether I should keep or toss my collection of Harry Potter books. Haha. What will you do if you were me?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @LowK3y19 16 Dec

It’s hard when it’s a series like Potter I wouldn’t be able to toss my LOTR books

48 sats \ 1 reply \ @Scholarhacker 15 Dec

I don't set aside a budget for books, but I tend to buy used/thrift/book sales whenever possible keeping things a cheap as possible.
Paper books for long term durability and reference. Ebooks for when I'm researching/writing as there are to many that need to be referenced.
I stopped buying books and started relying on the library when I realized that my local library was really well stocked. I started buying them again when they started being goofy with their hours (closed on long weekends) and their response, like all state institutions, to covid.
I would rather have a shelf full of unread books than an empty shelf.
I dispose of books by returning them to a thrift store for resale or to a charity that runs used book sale fundraisers. And I have let go of many books that I later regretted.
I buy books for two reasons 1. Research on topics that I want to write about - non-fiction, reference, text books. 2. Entertainment - paperbacks, pulps and vintage genre books.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 16 Dec

Thanks for your thoughtful answer!

I agree that sometimes we pay a bit extra for convenience. It’s cool that you can sell them to secondhand stores to get back some cash. I don’t think I have read your writing here before! I will keep a lookout for your work.

Do you like to specialise deeply in a few key areas or know many things well enough?

24 sats \ 1 reply \ @DesertDave 15 Dec

I never learned to read.

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 16 Dec

Learn from Sensei haha

24 sats \ 1 reply \ @stack_harder 15 Dec

while i like physical books, because i don't live in the UK, i just buy kindle books. also when i used to travel a lot in my 20s this was super handy for all the plane and bus rides, just became too much having a ton of books in a suitcase

i do like to just peruse bookshops though and at some point i want to get my library of Russian classics back and on a shelf lol

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 16 Dec

Woah Russian classics? Sound difficult to understand.

What do you like about them?

24 sats \ 2 replies \ @JesseJames 15 Dec

For me, paper is gone. Now, it's just the fight to find time to read them. My laptop, phone, etc., are full of them, so time to read is an issue.

21 sats \ 1 reply \ @cryotosensei OP 16 Dec

I would like to get used to reading on my iPhone, but I’m afraid I just prefer physical books. Just carrying a book around makes me feel good haha

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @JesseJames 16 Dec

Give it time, it is the convenience. Sometimes, you have 20-40 minutes to kill waiting for your doctor, mechanic, or whatever. Boom, you can grab a few pages from a book. There is a reason to carry them around.... ymmv of course.