Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally

HairyHandofDartmoor

carbootcrazy wrote: »

The office alcove shelves sound great and very :money:. OH and I both love using things up:j.


I'm a bookaholic but unlike you I consider most of mine to be clutter:o. I rarely read a book twice and apart from reference books I try to work on the one in and one out principle but I fail dismally. I can never resist a bargain when it comes to books. A bargain bin draws me like a magnet:eek:. People know I'm an avid reader and pass on all sorts of books to me. I give every one of them a try even if I'm not sure it's my cup of tea. Sometimes it isn't and I give up on it but I've discovered some wonderful new-to-me authors that way. I'm the middleman (woman) between them and the charity shop as I get to read them first and then I donate them. Sadly, I end up with more than I can read, hence boxes and cupboards full. All our bookshelves are bursting at the seams:eek:. I wouldn't have any time to cook, shop, clean if I read them all. On second thoughts though......:think:

I do often read books several times if I like them a lot like, Agatha Christie, Ann Cleeves, Stephen Booth, Simon Beckett, Andrea Camilleri, Robert Barnard, Julian Symons, etc (some of my favourite crime authors). If I think I won't read a book again then I tend to donate it. Books look lovely though, I like looking at the colourful spines on the shelves. A room looks undressed to me without books .

It is good to try new authors, which is why charity shops are great as you can try them cheaply and you haven't wasted much money if you don't like them. I have a notebook where I've jotted down books that are missing from a series I'm collecting, so that I don't accidentally buy duplicates in the charity shop.

I do agree with the one in one out rule generally speaking (apart from books).

[Deleted User]

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

authors). Books look lovely though, I like looking at the colourful spines on the shelves. A room looks undressed to me without books .

I really agree with that:T. I love visiting people for the first time and seeing bookshelves full of books:j.


The main problem here is that, although we have big rooms, we have very little wall space to site bookshelves:(. Our lounge has 3 doors in it, 2 massive windows and a big fireplace. I don't like furniture sticking out into the room so the sofas are pushed back against the little available wall we have left. I have narrow bookcases in other rooms which allow them and a big one in a spare bedroom but we also need to display other things on the shelves too as we have nowhere to put display cabinets. It's a very badly-designed house IMO. If I was starting over again it would be much more user-friendly;)


By the way, the mediaeval crime book you bought from the charity shop on Saturday sounds intriguing:T. I had never heard of Michael Jecks before. I might see if anything by him is in my county library's catalogue and order it. The mobile library is a blessing round here but only visits my village once a month for 15 minutes so not much use for a good browse:(. I tend to order books online and they bring them in the library van. It's a brilliant service and all for free:j

HairyHandofDartmoor

Michael Jecks is a good author, I'm sure you'd enjoy his books. Try and read thee early ones in the series first. You can read them as standalone's, but it's nice to understand what goes on in the life of the main characters .

We are lucky that we have alcoves in our rooms which are perfect for book shelves, but our bedroom is hopeless for book shelves because we sleep in an attic with sloping walls :mad:. Most of our alcoves don't have shelves however because of no time/money to buy wood. I hate chipboard because it sags under the weight of books eventually :mad:.

So most of my books are in boxes in our bedroom which looks TERRIBLE :eek:.

elizabethhull

carbootcrazy wrote: »

All our bookshelves are bursting at the seams:eek:. I wouldn't have any time to cook, shop, clean if I read them all. On second thoughts though......:think:

I'm a bookaholic too, and frequently re-read favorites. I dread to think how many books are in the house. We estimated around 2,000 when we moved over 30 years ago !!! Still, now I have a Kindle with loads on it, all classics are free and I regularly get sent a list of selected books by BookBub, some of which are free and others only 99p.

It's amazing how little space you need for growing something edible. Our elder daughter lived in a 1st-floor flat in Leicester with a walkway, on which she set up a mini ladder of shelves for growing chilli peppers. They got quite a little harvest and of course the peppers are very freezable. Now they have a tiny garden with their house, but actually grow strawberries.
We are very lucky to have several fruit trees that I fancifully call 'the orchard'. You do have to be happy to eat a ton of one thing in season if you have a whole tree of it, and if you are fruiting wonderfully, everyone else's trees are too so they don't want any ! Our frozen rhubarb lasts us all year, and the perpetual spinach gets regularly picked & frozen. Hubby sows and tends, I reap and cook - the work division isn't fair but he's ok with it as he doesn't cook at all.

parsniphead

I love my books too and and its nice to see recommendations for authors I haven't read before.

I had to cull my collection when DH moved in as he had lots of books too. We both had to be ruthless but at least someone else would have got joy from them and the charity shop made some funds. It was hard though.:(

beanielou

I have to say that I too notice a huge difference between 45 & 55. Bah.

mummytogirls

Garden sounds lovely HHOD, I really need to get some more plants for my garden. I seem to never buy plants which come back so end up having to redo them every year. Do you have any suggestions for plans that come back and are easy to maintain? xx

Sun_Addict

I'm another book fan - I like the Richard and Judy Book Club recommendations as they make you read books you might not have picked. I like thrillers and chick lit but not anything soppy or gory. I like real books not Kindle, you can't beat the smell of a new book

Seasidegal58

I like real books but only got room for one bookcase so all novels go on kindle now. One day perhaps I'll have some more room for actual books! DD and OH have walls of books but have the space for them. Good thing about kindle though is that I've always got something to read when I go away and don't have to fill the suitcase up with books. Can also order the kindle books straightaway if you're abroad!:)

System

I think we all like books, I'm like SA love real books to hold. However Kindle has it place when you are on hols.

HH I am going to research some of your suggestions for authors I need to broaden my horizons.