Books vs. Library vs. Ebooks

For the past few years, I’ve been more cautious about things I buy and keep. Part of it, I attribute to my dad’s passing. He left behind a massive Donald Duck collection thanks to friends and family spoiling him with the Disney character he often imitated to make children laugh. Plus, why have all that stuff in the house to sit there and take up space?
The Books Must Go on … elsewhere
I hope to donate my Theatre World Annual collection. Each book is an encyclopedia of theatre for that covers one year. The shows that played, the shows that closed and recognized actors. I started collecting them in the early 1990s when I discovered the first five books. I wish I had never started the collection because I spent more time loading and unloading the books from shelves than I did reading them. Besides, today we have ibdb.com and many Internet resources where I can look up show information.
Yet, I can’t just give them away. I tried to sell some of the books, but it’s hard to find the hardcore theatre fans who actually collect these. I sold a couple on eBay, but it wasn’t worth the time to post and repost each book as collectors will be looking for specific editions, not a bunch in the set. Shipping a bunch of books in one box is pricey.
The Second Kindle Book Purchase
My book club announced the latest book (It’s a new year — so we haven’t put together our list yet) the day before I had two doctors’ appointments. While I could grab one of my many books I want to read, I needed to read the book club’s choice because of the deadline. With two doctors’ appointments, I expected to read a bit even with a kid in tow.
I don’t keep fiction books after I read them, so why pay for it? I checked with the library. I put my name on the waiting list that had seven people in front of me. I couldn’t tell how long it’d be before the book would be available.
Since I have a Kindle and a need to get a book ASAP, I bought my second Kindle book. (And I’ve had the thing for almost a year.) The first Kindle book came in August when I was heading out of town and found out my book club’s read the night before leaving town. Since I read a lot while traveling, I thought it’d be worth purchasing and it was.
I checked in my library’s website to cancel my request. Aw, man! I couldn’t. A copy is on its way to my library and arrived at the library on the day of the doctors’ appointments. Thanks, Murphy. It’s OK. I read at least 13 percent of the book, so I’d say it paid for itself (it was cheap for a Kindle book, too).
Quirky Book Buying Habits
By the way, the Kindle has a bunch of free books and PDF files loaded. (Check Amazon’s limited-time offers page for free books — scroll down past the fee books.) Have yet to read them just like the many books on my bookshelf. Isn’t that odd? I don’t want to buy an ebook unless I’m absolutely sure I’ll read it soon. Yet, I have books on the shelf that have been sitting unread for years. When buying books, I don’t think about when I’ll get around to reading it — just that it has value because I typically buy nonfiction reference and advice.
Even though I, a geek and gadget lover, still prefer books to ebooks — the ebook readers have a purpose. For me, I can grab a book that I need in a hurry without fuss. As much as I’d like to cut down on books and bookshelves, I’m not going to buy an ebook version of all of the nonfiction books I own and keep. Ebooks aren’t cheap enough to replace a big library.
Besides, I make a lot of mistakes with the tiny mouse / joystick on the Kindle. The administration and categorization process is tedious on the Kindle.
How do you feel about ebooks today?

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