What would you do?

Sweetleaf · Mar 28, 2011

On the weekend, I was engaged in my favourite activity of scrounging through the second hand shops. Scouring the book section, I found a copy of a book my grandmother wrote in 1965.

I've read it before, and my dad has a few copies, but I bought it anyway because, hey, it's my grandma.

This got me thinking: Is it better for me to buy copies of my family's books (yes, we have a number of authors) and hoard them, for the benefit of my future generations, or should I just leave them in the market, for other people to enjoy, thus retaining their literary 'life'?

What would you do? What would you rather your decendants do?

Gather what copies remain or let them pass to the hands of strangers (or possibly the incinerator)?

scope · Mar 28, 2011

I would gather what I could for future generations. I think it's a wonderful gift to pass along for anriquity and for future generations to know what their ancestors accomplished. This doesn't apply to self-published book.

My guess is that given the next 100 years and the continued presence of Amazon Used Books and the like to buy and sell, there will probably always be copies availabe.

backslashbaby · Mar 28, 2011

It depends on how many copies y'all have, I guess. If you have a good stash of them, let the rest get sold to someone new! Let them discover the story

Wayne K · Mar 28, 2011

I would hoard them and keep them for myself. Yeh, I'm selfish

Xelebes · Mar 28, 2011

We still have the four books my great-great uncle wrote on his missionary work in Malawi in the 1910s. Still a neat curiosity.

Caitlin Black · Mar 28, 2011

I won't ever have a "next generation" of family members. I plan on never having children, and my brother and sister haven't mentioned any plans to have kids.

So basically, I would have just immediate family. They'd have to buy their own copy if I were published, or get a copy for Christmas or something, so they'd have their chance to read it if they wanted to.

After that, let the public have them. If my family wants sentimentality then they can keep my notebooks with my various outlines in them.

*shrug*

benbradley · Mar 28, 2011

Do you have at least one copy of every book a relative has written? I'd at least get that, to have a complete set. If you can find autographed copies (at affordable prices, and unless the author was quite famous, any that exist should be reasonably priced), that would be even neater.

I'm not sure how worldwide these databases go, but you may want to look in these for any online copies (these cover many or most of Amazon's different sites around the world as well as many other used bookselling sites):
http://bookfinder.com
http://used.addall.com/

and also put the title in Google. Some bookssellers might have a copy listed on their webpage but not listed in those databases.

MaryMumsy · Mar 28, 2011

I would probably buy any copy that I ran across. But not go seeking them out. If they are with a book seller they most likely would just stay in inventory. But at a thrift shop, yeah, I'd buy it.

MM
who has no authors in the family, but wishes she did

scope · Mar 28, 2011

Xelebes said:
We still have the four books my great-great uncle wrote on his missionary work in Malawi in the 1910s. Still a neat curiosity.

That is neat! 100 years.

BeatrixKiddo · Mar 31, 2011

Hmmm...good question. I keep the old books that I really relish. Otherwise, if they're just collecting dust, I donate them.

What would you do?

Sweetleaf

Momentary lapse of reason

scope

Commonsensical Maverick

backslashbaby

*

Wayne K

Xelebes

Delerium ex Ennui

Caitlin Black

Wild one

benbradley

It's a doggy dog world

MaryMumsy

the original blond bombshell

scope

Commonsensical Maverick

BeatrixKiddo

Is it summer yet???

What would you do?

Momentary lapse of reason

Commonsensical Maverick

~~~~*~~~~

Delerium ex Ennui

Wild one

It's a doggy dog world

the original blond bombshell

Commonsensical Maverick

Is it summer yet???

*