SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

I just joined, and was trying to add my favorite books to my shelf, but none of her books came up on my search.

cool! Thanks bun! Now - where's the rating button that says "don't remember - I read it too long ago"?
:-)

I have the same problem as Lisa too often lately. Failing memory or just too much time? I think I'm going to start an exclusive shelf called 'Must Re-read'. My 'To-Read' shelf is so big though!

What a wonderful problem to have!

I've got a shelf labeled "read-but-dunno-when". It's got more than 3/4 of all the books on my read shelf. I still try to give 'em ratings. Now it'll be even bigger: I'd forgotten about McCaffrey, too. That was something over 25 years ago...

my husband cannot understand why I re-read books. Some over and over again. I love it! Especially if I'd read it a long time ago, in a different point in my life, and now when I read it, I see it from a completely different perspective, and am astounded that I didn't recognize those features the first time. Others are like old friends and I just want to keep in touch.

Lisa wrote, "Others are like old friends and I just want to keep in touch."

Yes! I built a wall to wall, floor to ceiling (darn window!) book shelf in my bedroom & I love to lay on the bed sometimes & just look at them. My mind can wander through the stories as I look at each spine, some of them creased beyond anyone's recognition but mine. It IS like visiting with old friends.

"...I love to lay on the bed sometimes & just look at them. My mind can wander through the stories as I look at each spine, some of them creased beyond anyone's recognition but mine..."

Nice to know I am not the only one who does that.

I actually have an entire building where I keep almost all the books I've read, and plenty of books I haven't gotten around to yet. Since I allow others to use it, too, I call it "the public library" :-D

'Cause I live in an apartment in the city, and there simply isn't much room in here...

Yes Richard, but in this "library", you have to give the books back. =(

I have a better SF/Fantasy section than my local libraries & book stores. I've been collecting for years. Some of the books were my dad's. Some are out of print or would be really expensive to replace. Many have sentimental value that makes them special.

I try to limit the collection to available space & got rid of quite a few when we moved last year. Unless a book is worth a re-read or someone else in the family will also read it, it goes back into circulation.    So only the very best are there to browse through.

My very problem, Becky. When I have just finished an outstanding story, my first instinct is to share it with someone I think would appreciate it. When will I ever learn.
Can't tell you how many times I've gone to re-read something by a favorite author, or something that I *know* I had - only to find it's gone, and I can't remember who I loaned it to. Or I remember distinctly, but certainly didn't remember they had books of mine in time to ask for it back *before* we lost contact or moved away, or had a falling out, or...

I know, Lisa... Its terrible! I am constantly loaning books out, and I keep a shelf in my GR now so I can keep track. I list the date loaned, and who I loaned it to, in the private notes area of the book page. Makes it quite a bit easier to manage!

Jim, I recently joined PaperbackSwap.com and SwapTree.com, and I am using that exact system to determine what to trade. If I don't think I will read it again, it goes. I have lots of books that fit that category, so I will be at the post office quite a bit I'm sure.

I've taken to keeping a list & sign books out to people on the rare occasions I lend them outside the family anymore. Two books I loaned out were almost irreplaceable. Like Lisa, I loved them & wanted to share them, but wound up losing them. It's amazing what some books, even old paperbacks go for. I HATE people who treat my books 'just like their own.'

I've thought about swapping books through a service, but haven't needed to, yet. My daughter's English teacher from last year keeps a mini library for his students & I still give him some of the books. My wife keeps a box of them on her school bus & gives them to kids who want them. With a few other gifts, that keeps the pile down to size pretty well.

A friend here on GR uses BookMooch, too. What's the differences between them? Why use one over another? Any help in picking one is appreciated.

Hmm... Well, I haven't been a member for either site for long, so I am not an expert, but here is what I gathered:

Paperbackswap: You get 2 initial credits for uploading and offering 10 books for trade, and then trading works on a 1-to-1 basis. You request one book for a credit, and then when someone requests a book from you, you recieve one credit for shipping it. (Audiobooks cost 2 credits, but I think you still only get 1 for shipping it)
Also, you can keep a wishlist and the system automatically notifies you when a book is added from your list. Or you can set the system to automatically request the book for you.
No user feedback options that I am aware of, so far.

SwapTree: No credit system. Books you enter into your "Have" list are cross-referenced with other user's "Want" list and possible trade notifications are generated by the system for the users to approve or deny. Users then trade directly (or as a 3-way) with each other.
Feedback system similar to EBay (rejecting trades generates possible negative feedback.)
No wishlist, as your "want" list is your wishlist.

BookMooch: 1/10th of a point for every book you type into their system, and one point each time you give a book away. In order to keep receiving books, you need to give away at least one book for every three you receive.
Wishlist available, but from the info on the site, it automatically requests a book from it. (Not sure if there is a way to alter that preference.)
Has option to donate your points to charity.
Also offers EBay-esque feedback option for trades.

On all 3 sites, membership is free, and the shipper pays shipping cost (I use USPS media mail, which is about $2-3 per book, depending on weight and address, etc.)
PBS and SwapTree only allow trades in the US, but BookMooch offers international trades.

PBS and SwapTree also offer the ability to print shipping labels and even postage from the site directly, but PBS requires money to be kept in your user account for this feature. Swaptree bills your cc monthly if you use these features. Neither is required.

Hope that helps Jim... I may join BookMooch too and give it a try. ;)

I never lend books. Then I have to worry about getting them back . I consider books the best gift I. Can give

Becky, thanks for the run down on the services. I got to thinking about it & did read up on them all some. I'll look over them again (using your wonderful synopsis) & decide because it really would be worth it to swap for the cost of shipping. That's $1 less than the penny books on Amazon - I'm a big fan of those.

Anyway, thanks for bringing it up. You know, it would actually make a good topic to get more input on what makes one service work better for a person.

Kevinalbee, I agree that they're great gifts & often I do give them away, but some of the best are just too scarce. For instance, I wanted to turn a friend on the the Casca series by Barry Sadler, so I LOANED him the first book in the series. He read it, liked it & lost it.

I tried to replace it. OUCH! Right now, Casca: The Eternal Mercenary, a paperback is going for $33.25 used on Amazon! I managed to get it after several months of looking on Ebay for a lot less, but it was tough.

I got Karl E. Wagner's "Exorcisms & Ecstasies" (I just added this book to Goodreads, it's rare.) in a book store that sold remainders - books that hadn't sold new & were cleared from the shelves. I think I got it for $5 or so & could have picked up a couple more copies. I wish I'd known. Now they're $120 used on Amazon!  It's also one of the best books by & about Karl E. Wagner that I've ever seen. A great intro to his works, so I'd love to lend it - if I could afford it, but I can't. Even my son has to read it in the house.

You're welcome Jim. Hopefully, if you join any of the trade sites, you will find some rare out of print books. I mean, there are sure to be people out there who have valuable books and don't know it. ;)

Thankfully, none of the books in my collection are invaluable, except to me. But they can be replaced if necessary, so I loan without fear.

None of my books are worth anything more than the cover price, but I absolutely hate when I loan them out and they come back all bent and dog-earred and creased. My sister has learned to get recommendations from me and then go out to get her own copy, because she "can't stand reading by your rules, Brooke."

That is very true, Brooke... I loaned out a hardcover copy of The Historian to my friend's wife. She never ended up reading it, but kept it for almost a year, anyway. By the time I got it back, it had survived through 2 floods and a move, so it was a little worse for wear, but not unreadable.

I'm not all that upset about it though. I don't personally like hardcovers, and I will probably end up donating that one, and other non-favorites that are in less than great condition, to charity.

I am a used book junkie though, so hardly any of my books start their lives with me in pristine condition anyway. Maybe that's why I don't sweat it if they come back a little more used than they left me. I would prefer it if people treated books better in general, but I'm not going to start making people sign indemnity agreements! ;)

Becky, you should see me in a used bookstore, desperately trying to find a copy of a book I want that doesn't have a broken spine and creases in the cover.

It's one of those things I try to wean myself off of, walking up to the counter with a battered book and thinking, "It's okay. It's cool. I can do this."

Haha! I just took a trip to the thrift store, and 10 minutes later I had a basket-full of books. (At an 80% discount, who can resist? Not me!) But then, my boyfriend held an intervention (really, right in the store) and I ended up getting only 2 books. *sigh*

I refuse to admit that I have a book addiction. If I don't acknowledge my "problem", then I don't have one... right?

There is a problem with having too many books? *blinks*

We have a neat used book store in Frankfort. It has an attic that is wide open, almost the size of the old building. It's full of books, a few, weak bulbs & a huge window that overlooks the street at one end. The rest of the walls are floor to ceiling bookshelves. The floor is covered with 6' bookshelves stuffed with books. It's the kind of place you can spend hours in, looking at the prizes in the window seat.

Hey Brooke, I HATE it when 'friends' mess up my books too! Recently moved to a new town and have been making new friends (friends who don't know my book rules). I loaned a couple books to the only friend who is a reader and the first thing she did was fold the cover all the way back, purposefully CREASING the edge so it would lay flat, and wrote my name it in so she would know who to give it back to.

I about had a freaking heart attack! I didn't say anything because she is a new friend and I didn't want to scare her off, but that was the last book I will ever lend to her. She noted the pristine condition the book was in and said she would try not to mess it up, but I don't plan to ever see that book again...or if I do, it won't be readable so I will just send it to the used book store.

I suppose she was attempting to be a good book friend by making sure she knew who the book belonged to, but damn! She also mentioned that she reads books in the bath tub! I should interview someone before I loan books out. ;)

I only loan books out that I don't care about (which aren't very many). I recently loaned an entire series to my uncle, but I know he will take care of my books! And he loaned me one recently that I plan to finish over the Thanksgiving holiday.

There are also some hardcovers I loaned out over 15 years ago that I will never see. I've moved 200 miles away from there and I've lost contact with those people. Oh well!

Thank goodness for BookMooch and garage sales and used book stores and Amazon venders! :)

Oh my goodness. I'm not as finicky about my books as some, but I don't know if I could have kept my mouth shut after watching that. I applaud your self-control, Gbina!

My mouth, independent of my brain, probably would have said something like, "That book was worth $175 but since you just ruined it, you can keep that one and just write me a check." The look on her face would be priceless, even if its not exactly true.

But hey, books should be valued and cherished, not scribbled on and beat up and bathed.


Jim, I probably WOULD spend hours there. It sounds like the perfect place to me. I love bookstores, but I hate bookstore chains because they are always like Wal-mart without all the other crap. People there act like they're in their living room, instead of a bookstore. *sigh*

And, Brooke, there is NOTHING wrong with having too many books. ...Unless you don't read, which is the problem my boyfriend has. ;)

Valid points... Books should be read and enjoyed, definitely. I just hate when people go out of their way to destroy them (such as Gbina mentioned), or just don't care, especially if they are someone else's. *shrug*

You and me both... I never understood people who won't actually READ the books they own.

You only have too many books if the floor collapses from the weight. Up until that point, you have too few...

I knew there was a reason I prefer living on the ground floor! ;)

That's an EXCELLENT rule, Jensownzoo!

In message 26, Brooke said:
There is a problem with having too many books? *blinks*

Certainly. I've got a friend who is steadily filling his home with boxes and grocery bags of the books he's read (he lives alone, and its a big suburban house).

In my case, I started collecting the books I'd read and then realized I almost never re-read. So I got rid of them, except for three categories: books that I do think I might re-read, reference books, and especially pretty books (mostly a small collection of leather-bound poetry from the late 1800s, pride of place to Shelley and Byron). I'm sure I've read well over 1000 books, and I'm glad most of them aren't cluttering up my life.

Certainly. I've got a friend who is steadily filling his home with boxes and grocery bags of the books he's read (he lives alone, and its a big suburban house).

Books make excellent insulation in big, drafty suburban houses...

There is no such thing as too many books. However, I regret to say there is such a thing a too little space and too little time.

I offer recommendation to friends---just joined this site--but I have very few friends in person who read?!

I do not have too many rare or expensive books but the few I have I do not loan out. If I reallly want a friend to read a certain books, I sometimes just pick up a used copy---library book sales, hurrah--and just give the person the book. If I do not get it back--well, I have my own copy. If I do get it back, I just keep the duplicate for trade in purposes or donate to library book sale.

Most of my books are used anyway.