Books are written for purchasing and forever saving.
We should not borrow books from a library. Returning them means severing a friendship.
We must avoid "book renter" websites at all costs. While they claim to save us money, they actually diminish us as a culture of connections.
Do not sell your books. You cannot place a value on associated learning.
Buy your books, be them on paper, or in a Kindle or of an electronic file -- and cherish them always near you by centering them forever between your mind and gut in the middle of your heart.
We must avoid "book renter" websites at all costs. While they claim to save us money, they actually diminish us as a culture of connections.
Do not sell your books. You cannot place a value on associated learning.
Buy your books, be them on paper, or in a Kindle or of an electronic file -- and cherish them always near you by centering them forever between your mind and gut in the middle of your heart.
I keep my books. Magazines and journals too. Don't get ebay and the brisk biz in buying books off people. I get why to buy but not sell.
Oh, yeah, Karvain! There is a bit of a guilt factor in "buying" the discarded friends of others -- but that's a better way than just leaving them to rot in idle hands.
Hi David,
I was completely unaware about the "book-renter" website, something like Netflix???
Interesting!
I still have 20 yrs. old magazines with me, at times I feel like I will have to rent a tent outside my house because there will be no place left for me - but I don't mind!
Katha --
Yes the book renting site is like an online library, I guess, but you have to pay a fee for the rental.
When you travel from country to country, do you take your 20 year-old magazines with you?
Do you collect newspapers as well?
I couldn't carry my old books/mags collection outside my country because there are weight constraints, so I left them behind - it's almost losing a part of "me".
Collecting newspapers and keeping them in good condition is tough - they tend to get yellow...
Do you store the magazines in a special room, Katha? Or do you rent storage space?
Hi David,
I still have my room with a huge loft left intact in my parent's house...
All my books are and will be there untill I buy a house some corner in the world...
Fantastic, Katha! You're lucky books are valued in your home. In many USA places, if a child abandons books for any length of time, they are only fit to stay in the garbage can.
Yes David - I am lucke that way but this is something very natural in any Indian society - you are considered a part of the family...no matter where where you are.
Throwing things out is something I don't understand David!
A relationship can't be based on convenience only...
That's a good thing, Katha. In the USA many parents feel that once the child leaves the nest at 18 or for a job -- that's it. Their work is done. All remnants of the child that lived in the house are removed and the child's space is reclaimed as a guest room, workout area or sewing parlor.
Yes David, I experienced it.
I used to get suprised by that but later realized it is embedded in the social norm - that's how it works.
Everything has its pros and cons...
I like the Indian system better, Katha. History and memories are preserved. Children aren't viewed as a commodity for recycling.