Book storage?

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I already spend too much time behind a blue/computer screen. When I relax with a book, I want a solid book in my hands that I just need a bit of light to read. The tactile feel of a book makes a big difference to me, but I'm old school.

I remember a while ago when myself and a friend were reading outdoors when camping. Her device died. The sun didn't (for me). I actually stopped reading to talk with her since she was done. LOL!

I'm a bit stubborn, so I don't think I'll transition out of physical books. Yes, it causes a storage issue, but I just don't like the digital alternative.
 
Peanut said:
Building more shelves doesn't address the real issue, clutter. On my first cull I pulled books that I hadn't touched in 5 years. They belong in a tote.

Next I pulled every book I hadn't touched in 2 years. Into a tote they went.

All this was difficult because like anyone who loves books I also like to see them.
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With the exception of a handfull of bibles and related books, all the rest of mine are military history.
With about 75% of those about WWII.
Between paperbacks and hard backs, I'd estimate I've got somewhere around 300.
I've got books I've had since around 1960 or so. I ran out of book cases, so I have several cartons just waiting for me to build more shelves.
The beauty of PTSD is that it changes your memory, which is good for bad instances involving bad stuff, but it is also good because I can pick up a book I haven't read for a number of years, and I see a lot of things I don't remember from before. Like the 1974 book on Martin Bormann, I just started reading again.
Then there's my 6-volume work on WW2 by Winston Churchill that I start re-reading about every 10 years or so. In fact, I can see them right now from my recliner.
I had a hard time in school, almost didn't graduate high school, but I am an entirely self-taught historian.
 
Haertig said:
I like this feeling too. But for reading in bed (laying down), using one hand to hold the thing, a paper book is a total nuisance.
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Digital has a downfall too, one hand to hold the device, the other is trapped under a sleeping cat :D

"The only winning move is not to play"
 
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angie_nrs said:
I already spend too much time behind a blue/computer screen. When I relax with a book, I want a solid book in my hands that I just need a bit of light to read. The tactile feel of a book makes a big difference to me, but I'm old school.

I remember a while ago when myself and a friend were reading outdoors when camping. Her device died. The sun didn't (for me). I actually stopped reading to talk with her since she was done. LOL!

I'm a bit stubborn, so I don't think I'll transition out of physical books. Yes, it causes a storage issue, but I just don't like the digital alternative.
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I like books better as well. But I use my kindle at times, dr apps, repair visits, etc. Plus some stuff I know I won't want to keep. Read and delete. I also get some free books at times for it. I guess it serves its purpose
 
I don't know how y'all do it. Books............reading................I can't read, and by that I mean I can't stay interested in anything for very long to get through it, even though I love the topic.

I can stick it out for short stories etc, but read a book? Ain't happening.
 
Curmudgeon said:
I don't know how y'all do it. Books............reading................I can't read, and by that I mean I can't stay interested in anything for very long to get through it, even though I love the topic.

I can stick it out for short stories etc, but read a book? Ain't happening.
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This is why I will often be reading up to 5 books at a time.
I read every evening for 30 minutes to an hour.
I’ll read one book for a few days, perhaps a week, and then switch to another.
I’ve always had a short attention span, perhaps that’s why I did so poorly in school.
 
rice paddy daddy said:
I read every evening for 30 minutes to an hour.
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Hmmm...........maybe I will try that.

rice paddy daddy said:
I’ve always had a short attention span, perhaps that’s why I did so poorly in school.
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I did well in school, for the most part, except when it came to book reports, lol.

I would read a couple pages from each chapter and fudge together a report.
 
Reading always kept me from boing crazy. Once my body is done / worn out my mind still wants to go 220mph. I usually had several projects going at once and kids all while running my business. I have no choice my mind has to be occupied with something at all times or I have no peace!
 
rice paddy daddy said:
This is why I will often be reading up to 5 books at a time.
I read every evening for 30 minutes to an hour.
I’ll read one book for a few days, perhaps a week, and then switch to another.
I’ve always had a short attention span, perhaps that’s why I did so poorly in school.
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This is me too, except the school part.....I did pretty good there. I've always been a book worm....even more-so when I was younger. Books provided information for school, but comfort too. I have warm nostalgic feelings about being in grade school and getting the scholastic book order forms every month when my parents allowed us to get one book. I still have the Star Wars big picture books that I ordered before VCR systems came out. I re-lived the movie over and over through those books. That was my childhood excitement. Those were wonderfully simple times.

I often have more than one book going at a time. Sometimes I'm in the mood for something different.....entertainment, learning something new, uplifting/spiritual, etc. I just try not to drag them out too long so that I don't forget what I've already read. I still find it joyful to choose the next new book to start, since I've got soooo many to choose from.
 
I'm usually reading 2-3 books at a time. DH and I will read a fiction book at the same time but since I read so much faster than him, I have a secondary book I go to so I don't get too far ahead. That's usually a non-fiction/instructional/educational book. Sometimes I carry a tertiary book in case I need a break from the secondary one, that one tends to be something I'm rereading for enjoyment/refreshing the subject in my mind.

As for storage, I tend to have some books on every shelf in my house and some in piles. I go through a lot of fiction books so those I tend to donate after reading unless I really enjoyed it, then I'll keep it to read again. I should be more organized but I basically know where everything is, so I guess it's ok. 😆
 
backlash said:
My daughter just had to toss several hundred books. She stored them in the garage in cardboard boxes and they all had mold on them.
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I lost a bunch of books that way, some could not be replaced. Now I try to keep books at least 6" off the floor.

As for electronic copies of stuff. I have lost some of my favorite software because of OS updates or Updates in general. I have lost confidence in digital resources.
 
I have Amazon Kindle Unlimited so I read a lot. I start a new book and I just keep reading until I finish.
I have lost track of time because I get immersed in a book.
I flew to Hawaii to work and I bought The Hunt for Red October. I started reading it waiting to take off. I read all the way to Hawaii and when we landed I sat in the airport and finished the book before I went to get my rental car.
I read fast and my comprehension is good.
When I was younger I never read anything unless it was required and not even then sometimes.
I used to prefer paperback book over electronic media but I have changed my mind.
I never did like holding a hardcover book.
 
I often read a paragraph over several times , especially if the author is an excellent word smith, such as Stephen Ambrose.
Or Churchill. Or Eisenhower - I never get tired of re-reading his Crusade In Europe.
It might take me ten minutes to read and savor just two pages.
 
UrbanHunter said:
I lost a bunch of books that way, some could not be replaced. Now I try to keep books at least 6" off the floor.

As for electronic copies of stuff. I have lost some of my favorite software because of OS updates or Updates in general. I have lost confidence in digital resources.
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Try open sourced programs, many of them run formats the rest of the world has forgotten. Liberoffice for example un corrupted stuff I wrote on XP.
 
UrbanHunter said:
As for electronic copies of stuff. I have lost some of my favorite software because of OS updates or Updates in general. I have lost confidence in digital resources.
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If you don't backup your computers appropriately, this is bound to happen. It's no IF, it's WHEN. Unfortunately, many people pay no heed to "best practices" computer advice until after they have already lost data. There seems to be this thought process, "Well, I know hard disks and flash memory go bad, so do memory chips and power supplies, and users make mistakes and software has bugs ... but I am immune and won't be affected by any of this." Thinking like this puts that person into the second category of computer users: (1) People who do backups, and (2) People who wish they had.

My eBook collection, for example, exists on my main desktop computer. And on a second server that hosts it for the web. And on my backup server that does nightly backups of all my computers. And on a microSD card. These are all separate copies of the data, not a single shared copy. ALL my digital stuff, even the unimportant junk, exists in at least two places - it's originating computer, and my backup server (nightly copy). Important stuff also gets backed up to a removable hard drive and possibly a thumb drive too. I used to have a another copy on an off-site backup server. But that got disrupted when my mom passed away (lost the location for that off-site backup server). I am working on re-implementing this off-site backup at my son's place.
 
We designated one room as our library. Great place to read on a cold winters night.

Bible and biblical reference
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Encyclopedia maps dictionaries and childrens books.
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Plants gardening medicinal seed saving
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Investing how-to engineering science
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More science physics chemistry material science electrical engineering. Fiction and fantasy in the corner

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World history and author collections like Churchill Tolkien Glenn Beck...
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In the corner there are biblical reference bibles Greek and Hebrew references
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Note most of those shelves are double stacked so there are twice as many books as can be seen.

Not shown is a book case in the project kitchen with cook books. Two more in the office with mire engineering and gun reference and one more with software references.

It is a hodge podge of shelves with the lion's share being unfinished shelves The Princess sanded down and finished. Some day I may build custom units with glass doors but that is a dream now.

Ben
 

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backlash said:
My daughter just had to toss several hundred books. She stored them in the garage in cardboard boxes and they all had mold on them.
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Part of my going through my house closet by closet, room by room, is replacing all of the cardboard boxes that I have accumulated forever. So many of them just kind of turn mushy after being moved around. I didn't want to buy plastic bins because of the expense. I have a very long way to go, but I am going through cardboard boxes, flattening and recycling them, and replacing them with clear, sturdy plastic bins with lids. Would it be expensive to buy bins for 100s of books? Oh, yes. But it is also expensive to toss all of those books.

I sell used books online. Cardboard boxes is the classic storage container for them.
 
Weedygarden said:
Part of my going through my house closet by closet, room by room, is replacing all of the cardboard boxes that I have accumulated forever. So many of them just kind of turn mushy after being moved around. I didn't want to buy plastic bins because of the expense. I have a very long way to go, but I am going through cardboard boxes, flattening and recycling them, and replacing them with clear, sturdy plastic bins with lids. Would it be expensive to buy bins for 100s of books? Oh, yes. But it is also expensive to toss all of those books.

I sell used books online. Cardboard boxes is the classic storage container for them.
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My neighbour is building me a wall to wall bookshelf for the exterior wall of my office. It will add insulation and provide ballistic protection, all while getting my books out of boxes and tubs. I worry about mold, especially in anything in plastic.
 
LadyLocust said:
I've always thought this was a clever use of space other than the books would likely get dirty - otherwise a nice space-saver.
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I've thought about doing this but with the books on the back side. I notice that the books are set back so you won't be kicking them. If you wore socks or slippers around the home you wouldn't have an excessive dirt issue.
I had a bookcase where the door lifted up and slid over the top of the books. That would work well here.
 
Caribou said:
I've thought about doing this but with the books on the back side. I notice that the books are set back so you won't be kicking them. If you wore socks or slippers around the home you wouldn't have an excessive dirt issue.
I had a bookcase where the door lifted up and slid over the top of the books. That would work well here.
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I like the idea of having them accessible from the back side of the stairs especially if you made that area a sort of reading nook.
 
No plastic. Totes and bins encourage mold. I have several thousand books that I sell online too, and over the years have gone from bookcases to industrial racks that I can work at from either side. Costco has a nice, heavy duty set. I don’t trust plastic shelves or the metal baker style rack that has plastic brackets to hold the shelves. A sheet or tablecloth over it keeps dust off, and protects from the sun, too. I’ve used the heavy duty racks for 4 years now and have no complaints. We did have one bookcase with glass doors, but got rid of it after a year because of mold issues. We don’t have great air circulation in the house.
 
Tootsie said:
No plastic. Totes and bins encourage mold. I have several thousand books that I sell online too, and over the years have gone from bookcases to industrial racks that I can work at from either side. Costco has a nice, heavy duty set. I don’t trust plastic shelves or the metal baker style rack that has plastic brackets to hold the shelves. A sheet or tablecloth over it keeps dust off, and protects from the sun, too. I’ve used the heavy duty racks for 4 years now and have no complaints. We did have one bookcase with glass doors, but got rid of it after a year because of mold issues. We don’t have great air circulation in the house.
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While most of our books are on open shelves The Princess has a glass front bookcase...

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In her second kitchen for her cook books.

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Ben
 
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