Unfortunately, the books are all by authors whose last names begin with D
and the available shelf is just after the Z section.
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

In article <sp7ukv$h8p$1@reader1.panix.com>,
jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote:

> Unfortunately, the books are all by authors whose last names begin with D
> and the available shelf is just after the Z section.

Several times a decade, I rack about 12 feet of books, inserting them
into the shelves in alphabetical by author order. Moving thousands of
books is a pain.

--
"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_.
�-----------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com

On Monday, 13 December 2021 at 17:07:47 UTC, James Nicoll wrote:
> Unfortunately, the books are all by authors whose last names begin with D
> and the available shelf is just after the Z section.
> --
> My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
> My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
> My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
> My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

Carefully lay the Z bookcase on its back, then saw
off the bottom shelf, ...

In article <sp7ukv$h8p$1@reader1.panix.com>,
James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
>
>Unfortunately, the books are all by authors whose last names begin with D
>and the available shelf is just after the Z section.

Well, you get to move ALL of them, one shelfful at a time.

I get to catalog (at the least, input title and author) and pack
into boxes all the books we've each collected in our lives,
including fifty years of marriage, in order to get moved out of
Vallejo, city of too damn many hills, this summer.

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Www.kithrup.com/~djheydt/

On 2021-12-13, Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> wrote:
> In article <sp7ukv$h8p$1@reader1.panix.com>,
> jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote:
>
>> Unfortunately, the books are all by authors whose last names begin with D
>> and the available shelf is just after the Z section.
>
> Several times a decade, I rack about 12 feet of books, inserting them
> into the shelves in alphabetical by author order. Moving thousands of
> books is a pain.

Yes, I do the same. I have a 7 foot bookcase that is my staging bookcase,
for both new books and books re-read. It actually has been getting much
less use the past 2-3 years as most of my purchases have turned electronic
and I have also been reading a lot more webnovels.

I have a definite preference for physical books, but an even stronger
preference for having access to all my books. I've run out of wall space
for more physical bookcases!

Chris

On Mon, 13 Dec 2021 10:03:04 -0800, Robert Woodward
<robertaw@drizzle.com> wrote:

>In article <sp7ukv$h8p$1@reader1.panix.com>,
> jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote:
>
>> Unfortunately, the books are all by authors whose last names begin with D
>> and the available shelf is just after the Z section.
>
>Several times a decade, I rack about 12 feet of books, inserting them
>into the shelves in alphabetical by author order. Moving thousands of
>books is a pain.

You're better than us - we have enough books that we have them two
abreast on most of our shelves - this of course renders the rear row
largely invisible. This includes several first editions and multiyear
collection of magazines I should give away.

"WIGATI" "when I get around to it"

In article <2c6grgl7k02lrb9jh8cson0p0sp1emu7jc@4ax.com>,
The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>On Mon, 13 Dec 2021 10:03:04 -0800, Robert Woodward
><robertaw@drizzle.com> wrote:
>
>>In article <sp7ukv$h8p$1@reader1.panix.com>,
>> jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote:
>>
>>> Unfortunately, the books are all by authors whose last names begin with D
>>> and the available shelf is just after the Z section.
>>
>>Several times a decade, I rack about 12 feet of books, inserting them
>>into the shelves in alphabetical by author order. Moving thousands of
>>books is a pain.
>
>You're better than us - we have enough books that we have them two
>abreast on most of our shelves

I hope you're not putting more than 40 pounds per square foot on your floor.
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

On Mon, 13 Dec 2021 20:52:13 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
Heydt) wrote:

>In article <sp7ukv$h8p$1@reader1.panix.com>,
>James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
>>
>>Unfortunately, the books are all by authors whose last names begin with D
>>and the available shelf is just after the Z section.
>
>Well, you get to move ALL of them, one shelfful at a time.
>
>I get to catalog (at the least, input title and author) and pack
>into boxes all the books we've each collected in our lives,
>including fifty years of marriage, in order to get moved out of
>Vallejo, city of too damn many hills, this summer.

Decades of experience with cataloging my "stuff"
(no, really -- I began to get systematic about it in the 90s) suggests
that the less you record the faster it will go. If at all possible,
avoid the trap of excessive detail.

I found doing it in 1-hour increments, with other activities/rest
breaks in between, most helpful.

Text documents get harder to use as they get longer.

Spreadsheets can at least sort the list -- but that can be dangerous
if not done carefully.

If you can find a home inventory program that has title and author
fields, can sort on either, and doesn't freak out if you don't fill in
any of the other fields it provides, that might work best --
particularly if it saves each record to a relational database when
entered so that the chance of data loss is reduced, or at least does
automatic backups.

Note: My brother, under time constraints due to a medical appointment,
once responded to a question he misinterpreted [1] and deleted his
entire book database. Backups were, of course, an unknown concept.
Caution is required with /any/ use of computers to store important
data.

[1] He thought it was asking if it could delete all the image files
(scans of the covers, presumably) when it was really asking if it
could delete everything. I suspect he pushed the wrong key at the
wrong time to produce this enticing offer, but, hey, I've pushed a key
and found myself staring at something really strange on several
occasions.
--
"I begin to envy Petronius."
"I have envied him long since."

On Tue, 14 Dec 2021 04:40:34 -0000 (UTC), jdnicoll@panix.com (James
Nicoll) wrote:

>>You're better than us - we have enough books that we have them two
>>abreast on most of our shelves
>
>I hope you're not putting more than 40 pounds per square foot on your floor.

Well on that particular floor we have carpet with foam underlay
beneath and concrete foundation below that. (As I've found the hard
way from the wear caused by me and my computer chair which has at most
5 sq inches of contact with the floor)

In article <3iuhrg9a2llm9e7f0f1f5pchm8bp5qnn73@4ax.com>,
The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>On Tue, 14 Dec 2021 04:40:34 -0000 (UTC), jdnicoll@panix.com (James
>Nicoll) wrote:
>
>>>You're better than us - we have enough books that we have them two
>>>abreast on most of our shelves
>>
>>I hope you're not putting more than 40 pounds per square foot on your floor.
>
>Well on that particular floor we have carpet with foam underlay
>beneath and concrete foundation below that. (As I've found the hard
>way from the wear caused by me and my computer chair which has at most
>5 sq inches of contact with the floor)

That's a good solution.

--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

On Tue, 14 Dec 2021 20:39:50 -0000 (UTC), jdnicoll@panix.com (James
Nicoll) wrote:

>In article <3iuhrg9a2llm9e7f0f1f5pchm8bp5qnn73@4ax.com>,
>The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>>Well on that particular floor we have carpet with foam underlay
>>beneath and concrete foundation below that. (As I've found the hard
>>way from the wear caused by me and my computer chair which has at most
>>5 sq inches of contact with the floor)
>
>That's a good solution.

While we still call this room 'the playroom' it was the kids' playroom
when they were little. These days 20 years later it's my computer area
at one end, lots of bookshelves on either side, a table with lots of
junk we need to get rid of but haven't and my old piano I haven't
touched in years and that's proven by the fact my wife has chosen to
put the cat's litterbox directly below the piano bench! :)