Ten Tips to Build the Book Collection You've Always Wanted

Lessons of experience from 40+ years of book collecting. Build it on a budget. Find hidden treasures. Avoid overpaying. Beat the professionals at their own game. And have fun while doing it.

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Brodart Just-a-Fold III archival dust jacket covers can be purchased here:

(I have no connection to the company. I just really like its product.)

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#booktube #bookcollection #bookcollecting #rarebooks #childrensbooks #fantasybooks #fantasy #sciencefiction #scifi #classicbooks #horror #literature #thriller #suspense #booktubesff

[aden]

Why is this man has the most soothing voice I've ever heard 😮

[astronomicafilms]

I collect ex-library books as often as possible: the library I haunted as a kid was a special place for me, a place I'd go to get lost when I felt down on life. My goal is to recreate that special place. I love all the library stickers, and LOVE if the book still had the card in it so I can see who checked it out and when. Also, I feel like I'm saving an old book and giving it a new home, which makes me happy.

[jakeg]

Bro your voice is relaxing, you could make a killing at ASMR

[captaingrumbletummies]

I have to admit, when I first started collecting, I bought books that I felt I “should” read. I didn’t care about condition or edition, I just wanted to be able to say to myself, I actually read all the classics. But many of the classics were a chore to get through and it made reading something I began to dread. I was drowning in books I didn’t actually care about. One day, I stumbled on an old sci fi book at the thrift store. I fell in love with the cover art and gave it a shot. It was fantastic! After some soul searching, I cleared out my old collection and started buying what I actually liked reading. Seems silly now, but if I had seen this video years ago, perhaps I could have skipped all that nonsense.

[murph_archer]

I'm not much of a collector but your collection is insanely impressive

[jackasswhiskyandpintobeans]

The sad part of finding a treasure trove of books at a thrift store is the thought at the back of your mind that these books were in a loved collection and when that person died his family thought it was detritus.

[bobtarr]

I am so glad that I found your channel. I have been collecting SF & Fantasy books for over 50 years. I have a small number of hardback and trade paperbacks, but the bulk of my collection is mass market. Early in life that was all I could afford and I just continued to extend my mass market collection. I love the cover art on those old paperbacks and I particularly enjoyed the old Ace Double Novels. I've now been trying to fill in my gaps in those books. Thanks for all of your book collecting tips and please keep the channel going!

[iluvsakuraandsyaoran]

I'm not necessarily motivated by having books that are worth a lot, but I love hardcover, well made books because they're just lovely and made to last. I'm extremely jealous of all your lovely hardcover copies of books!

[karlstriepe]

I live in LA. The god of books in this city is Michael Silverblatt. Dude rents two apartments! One for him, the other, in the floor below, for his library! Baller.

[brandybarris]

I am swooning over your channel and working my way through the videos and comments. I’m learning a ridiculous amount from both. I’m not a newbie, but I’m taking notes like a school girl. Thank you for the brilliant content and for sharing your library. If you ever decide to do classes on book care, repair, insider tips, more on collecting, a membership…I’m in! In the meantime I will continue to enjoy your content like a fanatical bookish geek that just wandered into a book laden estate sale after winning the lottery. Gushy run on sentence is intentional. 😊
❤📚❤📚❤📚

[happymaskedguy]

The books I collect right now are those which I think will give me something back — be that knowledge, personal enjoyment, expanding my horizons, and aesthetic value.

[Zarred]

I am currently around 1500 books in my library. I have become pretty proficient at rehabbing some ex-library ones and I tend to buy bulk at book fairs and then extras or others that I don't keep or sell I also use a website that allows you to mail books to other people in turn you get a credit to order books from other people. I started just wanting to collect the books I haunted my public library for as a kid and now it has taken off. My next big book fair run is in may and I usually get enough to make back what I spent and still pick up books for my own collection!

[pioneerpublishinggroup]

Great video, fellow collector and seller here! Your point about collecting books that genuinely make you happy resonated with me - it's like choosing friends who truly understand you. Your tips are spot-on, especially about being patient and hunting for those rare finds. It's like a thrilling detective story where every book is a clue to a larger literary puzzle. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

[groofay]

As someone who's recently gotten into collecting physical books, Thriftbooks has become a good friend. I recently got a first US edition copy of Diana Wynne Jones' The Time of the Ghost, in beautiful condition with its dust jacket, for under $10. And of course I found it at the right place at the right time.

But I will be trying some of these other tips for sure. Thanks!

[kimboosan]

Thank you for the insight! I've wanted to be a book collector for a long time but it always seems out of reach but clearly I have just not been to clever about it. :D

[spinstercatlady]

I tend to read from just a few genres and sub genres (historical fiction of the Victorian gothic genre, children's classics and picture books and classic women authors), so my collection is pretty niche which I love. You have the most calming voice btw - would be perfect for storytelling!

[taog-htao]

your voice is INCREDIBLE, and its nice that you still interact with comments here despite this video being a year old :)

[rokentom]

Ah yes the video I’ve been waiting for. Thank you very much for all the insights! Certainly made my day.

[doorran]

good advice.. I buy Dresden Files hardcovers right away... because the print run doesn't last very long and soon the book is selling for 8 times when it sold for fresh. I try to get old hardcover of classics... because I hate what some people are doing to original text and censorship or "modification for modern audiences".

[AnotherBrownAjah]

My goodness your library seems like such a delightful place to get lost between some bindings.