How Big Are Your Libraries?

I have some 700 books of which some 110 are fantasy. I could never throw away single book so they keep piling high! :)

My books haven't fitted my shelves for ages, even though I have them in double lines. so they lie everywhere, even on top of my monitor i have two piles :)
 
I have probably around 300 books. Fantasy makes up around 75 of these.

I seriously need to buy some more bookshelves. Right now they are double lined, stacked on top and around the floor by the bookshelf. It takes forever for me to find a book if I need to look something up.

My TBR pile is around 20 and I keep buying. It usually hovers around 20 though, which someday I think I will get down to 1 or 2.:)

(Although it's been around 20 for a few years now.)
 
I'm not compulsive about hanging on to books, not anymore. Not enough space.

The other thing is that if I keep a book that I didn't really like, it annoys me -- it's a reminder of time and money wasted.

My goal is to have a library with *just* favorites, the ones that might be re-read someday.

I let all other books go as soon as possible, even if they're really good.

If I pay attention on boards like this (and in Yahoo groups), I can find homes for these books, or maybe even work a trade. I've also sold a few at Amazon.

I started using the program at www.singlefile.com to keep track, and I did have most books entered once, but I haven't kept it updated. It's a nice easy to use program though.

Right now I think I'm at about 800, almost all hardcovers, in 8 bookcases in 4 rooms. About 300 of these are unread.
 
I have around 1800 on the shelves and another 2000 in boxes. Most of it is SF and Fantasy, but there is also a lot of history and Science as well.
 
I have no idea the number, but I've got 8 bookcases full. One of those is completely double stacked. All the bookcases are homemade and pretty large. I've also got books over flowing everywhere, and I've got 300+ more books on the way because of an amazing deal at a public library fundraiser. The ones on the way are all old Science Fiction Book Club Books from the '60s, 70's and 80's. Someone donated their whole collection to the library, and they didn't want them! So they let them go for a relatively tiny donation. Their loss, my gain. Woo hoo!

BTW, my collection is about 1/3 non-fiction books and 2/3 SF/F.
 
I am in the 3580's, and growing. Those are the books I have room for in the apartment (but not in the bookshelves:( ). I have many more boxes of books in my storage unit. About 1/3 of those in the appartment are non-fiction.

My books are stacked on the floor around my shelves, on top of the case, and double stacked within in the shelves. I have 6, 8 foot high shelves. I keep hoping If I study the situation long enough, and stack them jussst right - I will get all the books in the shelves. Obviously a pure fantasy, but I cling to it anyway. :D
 
Ficus Fan- How many?!, And have you read them all?

I stopped counting individually about 5 years ago, but judging from a vague count I did, I think I have about 500 or so. I am probably being conservative, but I really don't want to think about the money I have spent, despite working next door to the excellent city library and freqeunting it at least once a week....Um, I try and read every book I buy...I should think I may have read most of them. But not all.

Wow! I am still reeling from all the books everyone has, (except the guy with 15 do you look in second hand book shops, charity shops,Car boot sales? They usually have the odd gem.)
 
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Leiali, no I haven't read them all. I buy what interests me, and read them when I have time. They go out of print so fast that if you wait till you're ready they are gone. I just have one library, I don't really keep a separate TBR pile.

I moved about 2+ years ago and had to take my books down. when I moved in I cataloged them on an Access DB I set up, which is how I know how many I have at any given time.

The books in storage are those that I am not really interested in. Stuff I got by accident from book clubs, Coffee Table books I don't have room for, and stuff from my mother and father (I got their books when they died).

In terms of buying: last year I added 725 books. Not all were purchased. Some were publishers ARCS that I got for free, many were used books, most were paperbacks. This year: so far I am running at a little over 300.
 
I went to count my books and my wife told me "Its not the size of your library that counts, but the quality of the content".
Funny how that theme plays out over and over in life:rolleyes:
I counted anyhow and found just under 500 fantasy books, 400 of which are my much beloved hardbacks.
Is that big?;)
 
Do you keep track of your novels in a database, spreadsheet and/or library software? If so which one do you use? Have you used and/or considered using an Open Source Library software?
 
My collection isn't too large. In terms of paperback novels, I have 27 feet worth of spine (I just moved and I was measuring how many bookshelves I needed). It is all fantasy because my dad walked off with all my fiction, and my brother stole all my sci-fi. I generally dont buy books unless they are hard to come by, and I never buy new books. I finished all my friend's libraries, and completely mined out the county library.

In terms of buying books, I am fortunate that the DC baltimore area has an excellent used book store selection. If you live in the area, drop me a line and we can compare notes. I am a used books store fiend.
 
Originally posted by cvazi

In terms of buying books, I am fortunate that the DC baltimore area has an excellent used book store selection. If you live in the area, drop me a line and we can compare notes. I am a used books store fiend.
Click to expand...

I'm probably moving to DC next July. Maybe you can clue me into the local used book shop scene. Sometimes the good ones can be very difficult to find.

DrB
 
Originally posted by jbcohen
Do you keep track of your novels in a database, spreadsheet and/or library software? If so which one do you use? Have you used and/or considered using an Open Source Library software?
Click to expand...

I use a Data Base that I developed myself using Microsoft's Access, but there are ready made ones available. There was a thread about that here Database Thread.


I am happy with mine, and have no plans to change it other than add a few tweaks here and there. I recently added 'Location', so I could capture where I bought books. At the end of the year I will see what my patterns are like.

Not sure what you mean by Open Source. Access is ODBC compliant.

I convert some info from my DB into several Excel spreadsheets and then download them onto my IPAC so I can take the info to the store or the con or wherever I am looking for new books. It keeps me from buying duplicates.

I also use Excel spreadsheets to track new books I am looking for. I wait for them to go into PB before I purchase, so I need a way to remember them for 12-18 months after inital publication. I also track out of print books on a separate list, so that I have a smaller list to scan when buying used books. I also keep track of the UK editions I am waiting for.

Just a good way to combine two hobbies reading and computers :)
 
First of all: all right chaps, its been a while.
To answer the question, I have four shelves of books. A shelve and a half are reference books from uni: Plato's 'The Republic', 'The Communist Manifesto', Graham Freeze's 'A History of Russia', etc. Another couple of shelves are books i've read; and a shelf are a rack of books I've still to read: 'Gormenghast', 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Confessions of an English Opium Eater' etc. Despite my huge 'to read list' I'm still hireing books out of the local library (at the moment Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy). Ah, such is life.
 
I have only a couple of hundred books in my collection, maybe a bit more- I haven't counted them in quite a while and can't be arsed getting a more precise figure. I have trouble enough finding space for those so I'm not sure how some of you make room. I thought it wasn't a bad size but all of a sudden I feel diminished and less manly...
 
It's not the size of your library that counts but what you do with it... or so I've been told. ;)
 
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