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Books I Loved So Much I Had to Get a Copy for My Physical Library

I love this idea in theory and have done it occasionally. Practically, however, I really need to downsize my personal physical library, and Kindle and public library books are cheaper and take up much less space on my shelves. Right now, I'm not buying books if I know I will always be able to get them at the library (classics or consistently bestselling authors) or if I can easily read them on Kindle (living authors I want to support). That might or might not always be the case.

Hope everyone who got one had a relaxing Labor Day weekend. Happy Top Ten Tuesday!

Books I Loved So Much I Had to Get a Copy for My Physical Library

  1. Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg--A colleague originally loaned this to me, and I found it so helpful, I wanted to have my own copy.
  2. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert--I originally read a library copy, but I wanted to own it and picked it up in a used bookstore.
  3. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant--This was a formative book for me but I read my mother's copy so when I found it in a used bookstore, I bought my own.
  4. LOTR 1970s paperbacks, in good condition--My dad had these which he read in the '70s and I also read, but the copy of The Two Towers fell apart and some of the others look a little, er, well-loved--I found an identical set in better condition at a used book sale, except for TTT, which I found on eBay. 
  5. The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman--I read the first two from my school library in the early '00s. My mom bought me The Amber Spyglass when it came out, and I got a copy of The Golden Compass when I assisted a class teaching it, but I didn't own The Subtle Knife, which was the one that first caught my eye in the school library. I finally found and bought the matching edition in a used bookstore.

Comments

Pam said…
A great list! Thank you for sharing the story behind the books.

Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/popular-books-that-are-on-my-dnf-list/
It's always hard to balance shelf space versus wanting to have physical copies, isn't it?

I read Writing Down the Bones back in college and found it inspiring :-) And how cool you have copies of LOTR just like the ones your dad and you read!!!
Lydia said…
LOTR is a great pick! Have you been watching The Rings of Power? It’s interesting.

My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-books-i-loved-so-much-i-had-to-get-a-copy-for-my-personal-library/
Lectrice Vorace said…
Those LOTR 1970s paperbacks, in good condition, are pretty special.

Hope you'll visit my Top Ten Tuesday list.
iloveheartlandX said…
I'm the same, I tend not to buy copies of books I've already read in another format as I just don't have the shelf space, it's the same reason I don't get multiple copies of different editions of the same book very often.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2022/09/06/top-ten-tuesday-384/
lissa said…
#1 - I also have a copy of this book and enjoyed reading it. I might have to re-read since I have forgotten most of it.

#4 - Those copies looks good. I might have gotten those copies if I have seen them before my purchase of the books.

Have a lovely day.

My list: Reasons why I would purchase books for my library
Thanks for the comments, everyone! I am especially attached to these 1970s books for sentimental reasons, but I also think the illustrations of Middle Earth are pretty sweet.

@Lydia--I have been watching the Rings of Power--I like it so far, but I do think it's very inside baseball. It's both probably hard for non-hardcore Tolkien fans to follow (even big LOTR movie or book fans; you have to have read the Silmarillion/Lost Tales to get this) AND makes up some storylines that don't follow if you know the lore (Gilgalad sending Galadriel to Valinor?), so not sure who the intended audience is. I do love how they've expanded on Harfoots and dwarves though.
Greg said…
I LOVE those LoTR covers- I have a couple of that set as well. there's something about those covers that jusy appeals to me... especially The Hobbit one!

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