Posted on 03/02/2013 1:18:46 PM PST by dagogo redux
I’ve been an avid reader since childhood, and probably several thousand books have come and gone from my shelves over the decades. As with many other accumulated belongings, I’m getting to the age where the end is in sight, even if these perilous times pass, and society does get back on track.
And so, last weekend I loaded many boxes of books into my pickup, and took them to sell for in-house credit at a local used book store. The money/credit was not that important to me - I mostly wanted to circulate the books back to people who might get something from them. The store owner called me that evening after going through it all for many hours. He was rather amazed at the widely eclectic nature of the books, some of which he said he’d been looking for for years, so I quipped, “You ought to see the ones I’m keeping!”
This got me to thinking that it might be of interest to some of you if I spark a discussion by listing the few I’m keeping that might be of general interest to Freepers. Since almost no one here would care or understand, I will not list the core Buddhist and Hindu scriptures and texts I’m hanging onto, nor my professional medical or psychiatric library, nor books on bonsai, chess, writing, nor quirky little odds and ends of various types that are probably of special interest to me alone. I think I’ll leave the SHTF books and manuals off the list for now, too - perhaps some other time.
Probably hang on to ‘em all and let my family keep what they want and toss the rest when I kick off - most of them probably aren’t worth much to anyone else anyway, since reading a book is more like a dialogue with me, and any book I get into usually ends up thoroughly underlined with all sorts of comments, from snide to summaries, in the margins - adds extra time to the reading but seems to help me better grasp the totality of the book - anyhow it’s been that way since long ago at university and I can’t see myself undoing it now......
good place to bump the thread
It’s interesting to see what others keep in their libraries. I have an extensive library of history books; no fewer than 36 titles just on the war between Nazi Germany and the USSR.
It's great to see a freeper author's name in your list. I have two of Larry Schweikart's books.
My Foxfire books. A history of the Appalachian people. A good source for learning to live off the land.
Every book that I have acquired in my 58 years of life I still own, unless it fell apart from too much reading. My will states that until they find new homes any and all money is to be used to support them till they are placed with a book lover before any money is dispersed to human relatives. Not quite but now that I think it, may be time to modify the will!
Before you give away a book, even to a fellow bibliophile check what it is worth, my Dirac’s The Principles of Quantum Mechanics 2nd Edition, is worth about a grand, but what shocked me was when the current gun control debate started again I recalled my favorite book on the subject, Unintended Consequences by John Ross. I was checking Amazon, thinking about submitting a review, I was surprised to see a book I bought back in 98? for $20 or so was now selling for $400 used.
I too have some valuable books, not to be parted with.
In view of what has been happening to our country for 100 years, that we are seeing the ugly manifestation of Satan’s aaaaenda, may I suggest all Americans read “The Light and the Glory:”, by Peter Marshall and Davbid Manuel?
I have often said on thesee threads that without God there can be no America, for America and our Constitution was made for Christians by Christians. There was a day that unless one was a proven Christian, one could not run for pubhlic office! The sheep of His pasture have strayed, but He still searches for them.
Thank you for athe ping. See #29.
I’ve found that keeping old history/science/psychology gives an interesting perspective on things. One notices huge philosophical changes in understanding. The common reaction is usually “Gee how backwards they all were” whereas my reaction is usually “ gee, how insensitive we’ve become”. Case in point; Richard Weaver’s Ideas Have Consequences.
It’s the ancient psychology in Herodotus that I thought would have interested you. I love histories for what they reveal of the “memes” of the time it’s written in- not the time written of. Man never changes.
I recommend The Business of May Next every appropriate opportunity, It’s gratifying that I may have found a fertile recepetion... so let’s assume.
That’s a great quote on The Golden Book. It’s much the advice a father would work in while working on a car with his son: practical and straightforward. Wish fervently that I’d read it when a teenager or a father to a teenaged son instead of in my dotage.
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