NOTE: What you are about to read are meant for literature lovers, book collectors, voracious readers, and those who are just beginning to discover the magic hidden among the pages of books. If you are not any of those mentioned previously, the author will not be held accountable for any occurrences of migraine, nosebleed, epileptic seizure, heart failure, deteriorating posture, or extreme onset of boredom. Read at your own personal risk. The advice given here is based purely on the author's personal experiences. Happy book hunting!
Attempt at Definition: Book hunting is an activity that involves spending enormous amounts of time at book stores looking for good books to read but not necessarily knowing which particular books; and going through a great deal of selecting from books you don’t like until you think you’ve found what you’re looking for. Book hunting can best be compared to hitchhiking. You have a goal in mind, but you don’t know exactly how to get there. It’s a very risky endeavor – sometimes you get something good, but sometimes you get the equivalent of fecal matter. What you end up with will always be completely random, so you’d better be prepared. And it’s always, always a bit of an adventure.
Tips for the Beginner:
Know what you like. Don’t just go for any book that seems interesting. When you go book hunting, you will be bombarded by all sorts of fascinating material. Pick only those you are sure will be worth your time – unless you have a bottomless financial resource and unlimited shelf space, of course.
Go for bargain book shops, second-hand book shops, and the like. The books are open and waiting for your perusal. Peruse at your leisure. This is extremely important especially if you find a book that you’ve never heard of before or something written by an author you’ve never tried before. Many of the things you find in such shops aren’t worth a teaspoon of salt, but more often than not, gold dust is mixed into the pile – for the price of a teaspoon of salt!
Wear your most comfortable pair of shoes. Book hunting means intense extended periods of time walking around, standing on your feet while perusing books, tiptoeing to get to the highest shelves, and squatting or even kneeling down to get to the bottom shelves, in an effort to find the perfect needle in the haystack.
Clear your schedule. Interruptions during book hunting can be very irritating and will soon ruin a perfectly perfect day. Make sure you’ve got nothing more important to do than hang around in the book store; and tell everyone in your phone book that you don’t want any unnecessary interruptions that day so please keep your text messages to yourselves thank you very much.
When you find something that interests you, hold onto it. Don’t be lazy about carrying a stack of books around with you while you comb through the book store. Don’t do the “I might find something better I’ll just come back for that later” routine. When you return to it much later, you’ll most likely find it gone – taken away by another intrepid book hunter. Ah, the tragedy.
Procure a sufficient amount of plastic cover. After you have purchased your precious new bunch of books, make sure that you have enough plastic cover and adhesive tape to cover them with. The practice of covering books in plastic will add years to the books’ life span and ensure that the books will endure the test of time and rough handling. Plus, they’ll look brand-spanking-new.
A coffee shop in close proximity to the book store would be a blessing. You can go through your new acquisitions in peace and quiet with the blissful background aroma of good coffee brewing while resting your aching feet. Oh, joy.
(posted elsewhere 26 Jul 2007)
Attempt at Definition: Book hunting is an activity that involves spending enormous amounts of time at book stores looking for good books to read but not necessarily knowing which particular books; and going through a great deal of selecting from books you don’t like until you think you’ve found what you’re looking for. Book hunting can best be compared to hitchhiking. You have a goal in mind, but you don’t know exactly how to get there. It’s a very risky endeavor – sometimes you get something good, but sometimes you get the equivalent of fecal matter. What you end up with will always be completely random, so you’d better be prepared. And it’s always, always a bit of an adventure.
Tips for the Beginner:
Know what you like. Don’t just go for any book that seems interesting. When you go book hunting, you will be bombarded by all sorts of fascinating material. Pick only those you are sure will be worth your time – unless you have a bottomless financial resource and unlimited shelf space, of course.
Go for bargain book shops, second-hand book shops, and the like. The books are open and waiting for your perusal. Peruse at your leisure. This is extremely important especially if you find a book that you’ve never heard of before or something written by an author you’ve never tried before. Many of the things you find in such shops aren’t worth a teaspoon of salt, but more often than not, gold dust is mixed into the pile – for the price of a teaspoon of salt!
Wear your most comfortable pair of shoes. Book hunting means intense extended periods of time walking around, standing on your feet while perusing books, tiptoeing to get to the highest shelves, and squatting or even kneeling down to get to the bottom shelves, in an effort to find the perfect needle in the haystack.
Clear your schedule. Interruptions during book hunting can be very irritating and will soon ruin a perfectly perfect day. Make sure you’ve got nothing more important to do than hang around in the book store; and tell everyone in your phone book that you don’t want any unnecessary interruptions that day so please keep your text messages to yourselves thank you very much.
When you find something that interests you, hold onto it. Don’t be lazy about carrying a stack of books around with you while you comb through the book store. Don’t do the “I might find something better I’ll just come back for that later” routine. When you return to it much later, you’ll most likely find it gone – taken away by another intrepid book hunter. Ah, the tragedy.
Procure a sufficient amount of plastic cover. After you have purchased your precious new bunch of books, make sure that you have enough plastic cover and adhesive tape to cover them with. The practice of covering books in plastic will add years to the books’ life span and ensure that the books will endure the test of time and rough handling. Plus, they’ll look brand-spanking-new.
A coffee shop in close proximity to the book store would be a blessing. You can go through your new acquisitions in peace and quiet with the blissful background aroma of good coffee brewing while resting your aching feet. Oh, joy.
(posted elsewhere 26 Jul 2007)
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