Bibliophile seeks storage solutions...
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I've done it!
I made some custom shelves for my Astro that fit on the side, around the right rear wheel well. They're made from 1x10 lumber, so they're not super-deep, but I don't have much room to play with anyway. They hardly take up any space, only extending and inch or so beyond the wheel well. But I think they'll be perfect, giving as much storage space as possible but having the least impact on the living quarters. I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow.
One thing I've learned so far is that I have to be organized, otherwise I spend most of my time moving things from one place to somewhere else, only to have to re-move them again a few minutes later. I plan on using only part of these shelves for books, the rest of the space will be general storage... whatever that is...
I made some custom shelves for my Astro that fit on the side, around the right rear wheel well. They're made from 1x10 lumber, so they're not super-deep, but I don't have much room to play with anyway. They hardly take up any space, only extending and inch or so beyond the wheel well. But I think they'll be perfect, giving as much storage space as possible but having the least impact on the living quarters. I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow.
One thing I've learned so far is that I have to be organized, otherwise I spend most of my time moving things from one place to somewhere else, only to have to re-move them again a few minutes later. I plan on using only part of these shelves for books, the rest of the space will be general storage... whatever that is...
highdesertranger
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anm did you incorporate something to hold the books in place while on the road, or in my case off road. highdesertranger
I've got about 50 poker books sitting in storage that I haven't looked at in years but don't really want to get rid of them. I suppose when everything else is gone and they're sitting in the corner of the empty storage I'll have to figure it out =)
In any case I'm not a big reader. At least I haven't been. I just started getting into it. There are books I want to read but don't want more stuff to hold on to, so the idea of using my kindle for them is attractive. I went back and forth for a while but have decided that I'm sold on the kindle versions of most books.
I came to this conclusion based on a few things that the kindle e-reader does. First, if I don't know what a word means I can long-tap it.. and appears the definition, wiki page and a few other resources if I still need more information. Being able to search the whole book with a simple "search" is awesome. bookmarks and highlighting works like with a real book. Sections that are highlighted by lots of ppl even show up (underlined with a subtle dashed line). All of this and the ability to store thousands of books in the cloud and/or device without taking up space in my van, storage, or wherever I end up living is awesome.
If I could trade in all my hard-copy poker & programming books for kindle verions I'd do so in a second.
In any case I'm not a big reader. At least I haven't been. I just started getting into it. There are books I want to read but don't want more stuff to hold on to, so the idea of using my kindle for them is attractive. I went back and forth for a while but have decided that I'm sold on the kindle versions of most books.
I came to this conclusion based on a few things that the kindle e-reader does. First, if I don't know what a word means I can long-tap it.. and appears the definition, wiki page and a few other resources if I still need more information. Being able to search the whole book with a simple "search" is awesome. bookmarks and highlighting works like with a real book. Sections that are highlighted by lots of ppl even show up (underlined with a subtle dashed line). All of this and the ability to store thousands of books in the cloud and/or device without taking up space in my van, storage, or wherever I end up living is awesome.
If I could trade in all my hard-copy poker & programming books for kindle verions I'd do so in a second.
@highdesertranger: I haven't included it yet, but I realize I have to. I may attach a strip at the edge of each shelf, or drill a hole at either end and stretch a bungee cord across, or maybe some kind of cargo netting, or possible just a piece of fabric, attached at the top, that can be dropped down and clipped at the bottom. That last one would also keep dust off whatever's on the shelves.highdesertranger said:
And here's a picture of the shelves installed:
They extend no more than 3/4" past the wheel well into the living space...
highdesertranger
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nice. highdesertranger
GrantRobertson
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While I know this thread has died down a bit, AND I know the OP was asking about paper books, I thought I would put in my two cents about ebooks, just because it might help someone.
I am a techie, bibliophile, and information junky from way back. Like many other paper-book aficionados, I like to be able to highlight, bookmark, and write in the margins of my books. At one time I had about 3,000 books. With so many books, I had no way of remembering where I had read a particular thing, or where I had written a comment. When I decided I was going to sell my house and go back to school, I had to pare way back. I ended up giving away what seemed like a ton of books. Yes, that sucked. Over the years, I ended up building up another quite large collection. But life has its ups and downs and after a few downs, I realized that I was going to have to pare my life down to what could be moved in a single economy car. But I did have the luxury of time. I had about a year before I was going to have to move. So here is what I did:
I scanned all of my books, papers, and photographs. ALL of them.
I purchased a scanner that is made especially for scanning books. It is called an OpticBook by a company called plustek. Mine was the 3600 but they don't make it any more. The closest match is the 3800. The scanner is designed to allow the scan-head to come almost all the way up to the outer edge of the platen. You lay the inside margin of the book over the edge and mash it in so that you only miss about 1/4" of the inside margin. The rest of the page lays flat, so you get perfect scans. At $250, the thing costs a bit more than a regular scanner, but it was well worth it to me.
I can scan a 200 page book in about an hour. Add another half-hour to an hour of computer time to convert it to PDF and perform optical character recognition (OCR). The scanner comes with software to convert your scans to searchable PDFs, which means you can select text and copy it. Windows Search will also index the files (with an additional plug-in) so you can use your library of PDF files like a huge, personalized Wikipedia on your own computer. Now, I don't use any of the OCR software that came with the scanner. I just scan to .BMP files then use my copy of Adobe Acrobat Pro to do the conversion and OCR. I get a more than adequate result, I have more control over the process, and the process is a bit less tedious for me, but that software ain't cheap. Though there are several other PDF editing programs available for a more reasonable price.
Now, as to file formats and readers: I use .PDF for everything I can. I did a lot of research and found that proprietary e-readers may allow you to add highlights or annotations, but NONE of them allow you to actually get those out for use anywhere but inside that book. With PDF, you can add highlights, comments, all kinds of things. Then you can search for them, and copy and paste them anywhere else you like. On the one hand, it is not as convenient as simply grabbing a book and thumbing to the right page, but on the other hand, you can search through thousands of books instantly.
If I download an e-book that is not in PDF format, I use a free program, called Calibre to convert it to PDF. Of course, this only works for non-DRM (Digital Rights Management) books, but I only have three of those and they are only fiction.
It is also easy to read PDF files on an e-reader or regular Android or iOS tablet. Now, most proprietary e-readers will not allow you to add annotations to the PDF files; or, if they do, the annotations are trapped in the e-reader. So my preference is to use a PDF reading program on my Android tablet. My favorite PDF reader is called RepliGo Reader. It only costs about $5. Repligo Reader allows me to add comments and highlights to my e-books. Then I can transfer/synchronize my books back to my PC and be able to access those comments directly. (The synchronization process can be a little tricky and depends on which type of device you have.)
Finally, if you have thousands of e-books, as I have, then you might want to start organizing them a little bit. I'm pretty OCD about the whole thing so I worked out a whole system for that and wrote an entire blog post about it. It is a bit of a long read, but if you really want a way to organize your e-books, I have already done all the hard work for you.
I know this is a bit of a long post. I hope it will be helpful to others who are dealing with the issues of fitting a lifetime of books into a new life on the road.
I am a techie, bibliophile, and information junky from way back. Like many other paper-book aficionados, I like to be able to highlight, bookmark, and write in the margins of my books. At one time I had about 3,000 books. With so many books, I had no way of remembering where I had read a particular thing, or where I had written a comment. When I decided I was going to sell my house and go back to school, I had to pare way back. I ended up giving away what seemed like a ton of books. Yes, that sucked. Over the years, I ended up building up another quite large collection. But life has its ups and downs and after a few downs, I realized that I was going to have to pare my life down to what could be moved in a single economy car. But I did have the luxury of time. I had about a year before I was going to have to move. So here is what I did:
I scanned all of my books, papers, and photographs. ALL of them.
I purchased a scanner that is made especially for scanning books. It is called an OpticBook by a company called plustek. Mine was the 3600 but they don't make it any more. The closest match is the 3800. The scanner is designed to allow the scan-head to come almost all the way up to the outer edge of the platen. You lay the inside margin of the book over the edge and mash it in so that you only miss about 1/4" of the inside margin. The rest of the page lays flat, so you get perfect scans. At $250, the thing costs a bit more than a regular scanner, but it was well worth it to me.
I can scan a 200 page book in about an hour. Add another half-hour to an hour of computer time to convert it to PDF and perform optical character recognition (OCR). The scanner comes with software to convert your scans to searchable PDFs, which means you can select text and copy it. Windows Search will also index the files (with an additional plug-in) so you can use your library of PDF files like a huge, personalized Wikipedia on your own computer. Now, I don't use any of the OCR software that came with the scanner. I just scan to .BMP files then use my copy of Adobe Acrobat Pro to do the conversion and OCR. I get a more than adequate result, I have more control over the process, and the process is a bit less tedious for me, but that software ain't cheap. Though there are several other PDF editing programs available for a more reasonable price.
Now, as to file formats and readers: I use .PDF for everything I can. I did a lot of research and found that proprietary e-readers may allow you to add highlights or annotations, but NONE of them allow you to actually get those out for use anywhere but inside that book. With PDF, you can add highlights, comments, all kinds of things. Then you can search for them, and copy and paste them anywhere else you like. On the one hand, it is not as convenient as simply grabbing a book and thumbing to the right page, but on the other hand, you can search through thousands of books instantly.
If I download an e-book that is not in PDF format, I use a free program, called Calibre to convert it to PDF. Of course, this only works for non-DRM (Digital Rights Management) books, but I only have three of those and they are only fiction.
It is also easy to read PDF files on an e-reader or regular Android or iOS tablet. Now, most proprietary e-readers will not allow you to add annotations to the PDF files; or, if they do, the annotations are trapped in the e-reader. So my preference is to use a PDF reading program on my Android tablet. My favorite PDF reader is called RepliGo Reader. It only costs about $5. Repligo Reader allows me to add comments and highlights to my e-books. Then I can transfer/synchronize my books back to my PC and be able to access those comments directly. (The synchronization process can be a little tricky and depends on which type of device you have.)
Finally, if you have thousands of e-books, as I have, then you might want to start organizing them a little bit. I'm pretty OCD about the whole thing so I worked out a whole system for that and wrote an entire blog post about it. It is a bit of a long read, but if you really want a way to organize your e-books, I have already done all the hard work for you.
I know this is a bit of a long post. I hope it will be helpful to others who are dealing with the issues of fitting a lifetime of books into a new life on the road.
My problem is that I Like books, physical books that I can hold, flip through the pages, throw at someone's head, use as blocks to level something, use as a weight, and even read. I know that you can do all of that with an ereader, but I like books...
GrantRobertson
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anm said:
I don't see that as a problem at all. It is just a personal preference. I like paper books too. But I decided that I liked the information in them (and easily getting to that information) even more. Most of my books are non-fiction. Most of the fiction books I have read were from the library, so the librarians get to store them for me. If I want to read any of them again, I can find them in another library. But I rarely need to get to the information in those fiction books. They were for entertainment purposes only.
One should never view "liking books" as a problem.
mconlonx
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I went from something messed up, like up to 200' of bookshelves worth of books to about 9' of books I just could not part with. Currently, they are in storage. By May, there will be another sort and further reduction. I may take a dozen or so with me, but any other keepers will go over to my brother's place for storage.
It was incredibly gratifying to let go of all the books I'd kept for so long.
It was incredibly gratifying to let go of all the books I'd kept for so long.
That's not the way I look at it. For one thing I have always gotten rid of books that I didn't want to keep, so all I've got are those with some significance for me. I don't find getting rid of books gratifying, I've had to do it too many times in the past...
I guess I'm not really a technophile, I like an ereader as a supplement to hard books, but it could never replace them. If an ereader has a good search algorithm so I can search for any text in a book then it may be worth keeping around, and if it has the built in illumination it would obviously be good at night. I just find ebooks too difficult to jump around in and not lose my place.
Additionally, I couldn't afford to buy every book I've had in ereader format, even though that would be my ideal, having everything in both ereader and hard copies. Many of the books I have I got from used book stores or charity shops, you can't beat the prices in charity shops, and if there are books I want to get rid of I take them to the charity shops.
Additionally, I couldn't afford to buy every book I've had in ereader format, even though that would be my ideal, having everything in both ereader and hard copies. Many of the books I have I got from used book stores or charity shops, you can't beat the prices in charity shops, and if there are books I want to get rid of I take them to the charity shops.
HarmonicaBruce
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I have a 1965 high school yearbook, it was my baby sister's who has passed away. It's from my senior year in high school. I'm going to take it to my 50th reunion in September, then I'm going to give it away. If you like to have thousands of books, you need to get a house in the country and put up a pole barn. If you want to live in a van, you need to get rid of all the crap you don't need. The two aren't compatible.
Hereandthere
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Here are two places where you mail your physical books to them, they cut the books up and scan them, recycle the paper pages (or send them back to you) and provide you with PDFs.
I haven't used either company, and there may well be more. I will probably do some of this when we get back to our house.
http://1dollarscan.com/index.php
and
http://bookscan.us/
It can work out as low as a dollar a book.
I haven't used either company, and there may well be more. I will probably do some of this when we get back to our house.
http://1dollarscan.com/index.php
and
http://bookscan.us/
It can work out as low as a dollar a book.
Part of my problem is that I get something like an ereader and I never learn to use it to its full capacity, i.e., all of its commands and capabilities. If I get a cell phone, I use it for phone calls, I have a computer for the Internet. My current ereader is a kindle with the keyboard and built in cell phone to Amazon. I've occasionally looked at book marks, searching for text, writing notes, but I've never really used them, I don't know how.
I know, that's my problem, and it is, but I'm not sure I can overcome it, maybe it's a mild form of technophobia...
I know, that's my problem, and it is, but I'm not sure I can overcome it, maybe it's a mild form of technophobia...
Seraphim
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anm said:
Rather than a computer, I use an iPad. It doubles as my book reader. Most of my books went to the library. The valuable ones are stored elsewhere. I started collecting 'Seckatary Hawkins' books at an early age lol.
I keep a couple of paperback travel books, as does my wife, tucked into nooks and crannies. These titles change frequently. If I had to carry more, I think I'd get a plastic container with a sealable top to store them in - something that can be tucked away under a bed or something. I wouldn't leave laying around loose.
mconlonx
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anm said:
I never got rid of books in the past. That was the problem. And when faced with keeping as few as possible, it was good to get rid of the dead weight. Also, I work in publishing, so there were a lot of books I worked on which followed me home, but for which I had little interest in reading.
Kept very few -- the meaningful ones in my life -- sold a bunch as used books on Amazon, gave the rest away. And it happened in stages. First big sort, with "get rid of," "maybe," and "definitely keep" shelves. As time to move got shorter, a few more reviews of the "maybe" shelves, moves from "maybe" to "keep" and the other way around, and then a final purge down to just the books I could not live without. Hardcovers, out of print, signed, first/rare editions. Really good books and those I will definitely read again. Books with some kind of sentimental attachment.
Any of the stuff I sold or gave away that was at all questionable was largely fiction, where I know I can find an ebook or maybe even a free pdf if I really, really want to read it again.
And yes, it was freeing to get rid of books I'd moved many times in the past. Books are heavy...
Woody Creature
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I have been in the retail book business for 40 years. I am an avid reader. There are 4 milk crates full of books in the truck. I do have a kindle, but am not fond of it. I have compromised on weight by not packing much else, aside from books.
Finally I will have the time to read and savor the books. Oh what joy!
Finally I will have the time to read and savor the books. Oh what joy!
