Books have always interested and fascinated me. I like all of them: reading, browsing, buying and collecting. You can never have too many! We bookworms are in a good company: “I cannot live without books.” wrote Thomas Jefferson to John Adams.
I find TV very educational. Every time someone turns it on, I go in the other room and read a book. Groucho Marx
Home Library
Over time, I have assembled a library of over 1,600 volumes. About 20% are professional titles in the field of electronics and computer science. I have collected them in the course of my professional career as an engineer. The fiction section includes my favorite authors and many classics. My nonfiction titles cover subjects that are of interest to me. These are history, politics, military, aviation and technology, health and nutrition, sports and recreation, travel, languages, how-to’s, self-improvement, and even farming.
Classic: a book people praise and don’t read. Mark Twain
Rare And Special Editions
I own a few rare sets. The 10-volume 1906 edition of The Story of the Greatest Nations demonstrates a XIX century view of the world. Special editions include Durant’s monumental The Story of Civilization and the gem of my collection: the 50-volume 1965 edition of Harvard Classics. It’s the famous Five-Foot Shelf of Books.
Saving the Trees
The electronic books enjoy exploding popularity. In 2011, their sales topped paperback sales for the first time. I own a Kindle, iPad, and several e-books. It’s so easy to get one! Consequently, my paper library has been shrinking…
Favorite Authors
We book lovers have a tendency to get attached to our favorite authors. We seek and read everything ever written by them. In my case, a good example is Earle Stanley Gardner. He has written over 50 criminal/suspense novels in the time period from the 1920s to 1970s. I have read all of them!