Entertainment, specifically books

[SilentJim1980]

So I have a bit of a problem, well a rather large problem. I'm in the process of de-cluttering & for the most part, I'm just getting rid of almost everything I can part with to start getting a visual idea of the footprint that my belongings will have in my van. I have a rather large collection of books (100's) that I've been collecting for the past 30+ years. Unfortunately, the author(publisher) hasn't digitized majority of these books & I obviously can't turn a van living space into a BookMobile. I'm curious as to what others have done in similar situations? I know I can't be the only voracious reader living the van life, how do you store your books or keep your mobile libraries?

 

[WanderingRose]

If you’re going to have a storage space you visit regularly, maybe use that for most of your books and rotate them out.

Carrying reading material in small spaces is challenging, and we went to Nook/Kindle apps early in our retirement travels for just that reason.

BookBub is a subscribed to website that sends ebooks of your type and/or author at deeply discounted prices.

Space issue solved.

 

[Morgana]

Gave most of them away* and cried like a baby. But it felt like I had to decide, did I want to try to do the stuff the books inspired me to, or did I want to keep the books.

The only alternative I can see, if it's an option for you, is the kind of storage situation WanderingRose described.

* (for downsizing/increased mobility, not van living, which I haven't done yet. though I did fit all my stuff in the car on the last move. about 1/3 of it was books and papers lol.)

 

[SilentJim1980]

I've thought about rotating them out but it's unlikely that I'll have a storage place for them. I'll have to look into finding Kindle copies although, I hate spending more money on books I already have physical copies of just to turn around & buy a digital copy. Even though they are at (sometimes) a much cheaper price.

For those interested in westerns/horror/adventure & fiction here is the author: William W. Johnstone. The list is quite extensive & I have physical copies of almost all of his books, only the rare ones I've not been able to find.

 

[user 29855]

So I have a bit of a problem, well a rather large problem. I'm in the process of de-cluttering & for the most part, I'm just getting rid of almost everything I can part with to start getting a visual idea of the footprint that my belongings will have in my van. I have a rather large collection of books (100's) that I've been collecting for the past 30+ years. Unfortunately, the author(publisher) hasn't digitized majority of these books & I obviously can't turn a van living space into a BookMobile. I'm curious as to what others have done in similar situations? I know I can't be the only voracious reader living the van life, how do you store your books or keep your mobile libraries?

There are lots of sites that have books that have been digitized by someone other than the author or publisher. Perhaps this could help downsize your footprint? gutenberg.org is a great place to start, as is openlibrary.org. I have almost 2000 digital books, and only 3 hardcover. I also have 9 Kindle books, but they tend to be a little pricey for my budget.

Previously, I had about 220 hardcover books and about 250 paperbacks. I donated these to a veteran's group to be added to their library. You could certainly find someone eager to accept any donated books. Of course, you can sell on eBay, but I found it too time consuming.

Hope that helps some.

 

[Ken in Anaheim]

There are lots of sites that have books that have been digitized by someone other than the author or publisher. Perhaps this could help downsize your footprint? gutenberg.org is a great place to start, as is openlibrary.org. I have almost 2000 digital books, and only 3 hardcover. I also have 9 Kindle books, but they tend to be a little pricey for my budget.

Previously, I had about 220 hardcover books and about 250 paperbacks. I donated these to a veteran's group to be added to their library. You could certainly find someone eager to accept any donated books. Of course, you can sell on eBay, but I found it too time consuming.

Hope that helps some.

How do you typically access (read) the books from those sites?.........thnx

 

[frater secessus]

I have a rather large collection of books (100's) that I've been collecting for the past 30+ years.

My most massive possessions, by space/weight, were books. I converted to ebooks and am completely satisfied; I sent the relative few that were not available digitally to 1dollarscan for (destructive) scanning to pdf.

 

[JDub]

Don't even get me started on books, Half the reason I don't sell out and leave for tropical climes is due to my books - I have several cases in addition to below. The silver lining to the sad fact that few people read books anymore is that the price for them is dropping. I deal with Abebooks.com to do my online shopping. I've been really pleased with the service and have been able to add some really cool titles to my collection at good prices. Perhaps folks looking to cull some weight on their rolling libraries could get a seller's account and be able to do business online with their current overage and whatever they find on the road?

https://www.abebooks.com/


Cheers!

 

[TnTravel]

There are lots of sites that have books that have been digitized by someone other than the author or publisher. Perhaps this could help downsize your footprint? gutenberg.org is a great place to start, as is openlibrary.org. I have almost 2000 digital books, and only 3 hardcover. I also have 9 Kindle books, but they tend to be a little pricey for my budget.

Previously, I had about 220 hardcover books and about 250 paperbacks. I donated these to a veteran's group to be added to their library. You could certainly find someone eager to accept any donated books. Of course, you can sell on eBay, but I found it too time consuming.

Hope that helps some.

What are the titles of the 3 hardcovers? Interested in what made the cut

 

[Cammalu]

Books can get ruined by mold and bugs in storage unless climate controlled. Get a library card and your books will be free to read.

When I’m driving I like to listen to audio books and I get them free from the library online. They really eat up my driving time and make a long drive so much easier.

 

[scaredycat72]

I have 1,000s of physical books as well as e-books. I'm going to have a huge tote on my front seat filled with books, especially books related to my new hobbies. I'm in a SUV but I'm traveling alone so I can easily carry 100 books in a tote if I want. I'm going to secure the tote with a seatbelt and make sure the tote is see through so no one is inclined to steal it. The one thing no criminal wants to steal is a tote of books.

That being said, I'm also keeping my house. If I was getting rid of my house, I would actually keep a few hundred books and donate the rest to my local library. They sell donated books to raise money for their extracurricular programs.

 

[Morgana]

I sent the relative few that were not available digitally to 1dollarscan for (destructive) scanning to pdf.

That's an awesome resource. To confirm (I know, you've already strongly implied it): you were happy with the result? Any drawbacks or limitations?

 

[frater secessus]

you were happy with the result? Any drawbacks or limitations?

Very happy. The limitations:

• Book is destroyed in the process
• Pdf is a necessary evil. Something like epub would be optimal but we are dealing with optical scans rather than raw source text; Pdf is what we get in such circumstances.

 

[frater secessus]

How do you typically access (read) the books from those sites?.........thnx

Download them in the appropriate format and copy to the reader. Some readers have web browsers and can access the sites to download directly.

Once you have this down there are more complex approaches like checking out ebooks from your home base library.

 

[jacqueg]

It was very painful getting rid of so many of my books. The ones I couldn't part with are in storage.

If you have a library card, you can borrow ebooks using Libby.

Note to Quartzsite visitors - you can get a guest library card that is good for a year, and they participate in Libby. No one cares if you borrow an ebook from Quartzsite and are currently in Ohio.

I'm such a bookworm that I doubt I would be able to travel full time without Libby or something like it. I have NEVER had enough money or room to accommodate my book habit.

 

[RonDean]

Once I made a decision to go mobile, I knew dealing with my books would be a THING! Hauling them around or paying storage simply didn't make sense. So, I took a hard look at exactly what I was stacking on the bookshelves and moving around with me for all those years. I took each book and asked myself if I couldn't find its contents online or in digital form. In the end, I realized I was just being a hoarder. So, I ripped off the bandaid and never looked back.

 

[Morgana]

Pdf is a necessary evil. Something like epub would be optimal but we are dealing with optical scans rather than raw source text; Pdf is what we get in such circumstances.

Thanks for the follow-up info!

FWIW, depending on how much work you want to put into it, you can convert PDF to epub using the software Calibre (https://calibre-ebook.com/). It's free. Its developer, Kovid Goyal, is one of my all-time heros.

If I remember right from my glance at the 1dollarscan website, the PDFs they give you are OCR'd (ie the text is actual text, not just a picture). As long as that's true, you should be able to convert them in Calibre. (It even has a function to batch-convert multiple ebooks at once, but I've never used that.)

The bulk of the tech support for Calibre comes from the MobileRead forum (Calibre sub-page here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=166). BTW that forum also offers a ton of free ebooks created by volunteers.

Not the easiest software in the world to use, but straightforward and well made, and definitely do-able if you take your time.

 

[Sofisintown]

I have not owned more than 10 books in the last 6 years.

After the last time I had to face the issue of hauling dozens of HEAVY boxes to my new house for the upteenth time, I decided to take all of them and donate them to the local library, keeping only 5 that I did not want to part with. I had read them all anyway-some a couple of times, and keeping them stashed somewhere would take space, and would keep other people from reading them, which is the sole reason for their existence.
Since then, I download books, or I buy very few, which I promptly replace with others once read.
My books on hand at any time is now always less than 10.

 

[Calaverasgrande]

One of my side projects is reading through all of my many books, then disposing of the finsihed books at the various mini lending libraries I encounter while traveling. Paying it forward.
I'm trying to whittle down my heap of nonsense in storage to a more manageable size.

 

[user 29855]

What are the titles of the 3 hardcovers? Interested in what made the cut

Actually, I misspoke. The real number is four:
Walden and Civil Disobedience (Thoreau). I've had these two books for over 50 years.
Dante's Divine Comedy (translation by Ciardi) has been on my "shelf" for about 35 years.
The Rubyiat (translation by Fitzgerald) has been a proud possession for over 40 years. This is a great read to keep things in perspective. A source of several phrases we use every day. My favorite quote:
And much as Wine has play'd the Infidel,
And robb'd me of my Robe of Honour — well,
I often wonder what the Vintners buy
One half so precious as the Goods they sell