How many books does your elementary child own? How many do you and spouse have?

[Anonymous]

Having a large book collection at home and going to the library frequently often go together! We have hundreds of books, maybe over a thousand. DS8 returned a half dozen books to the library today and checked out another 10. It’s winter break for us, so he is going through them quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is number of books you own so important? We go to the library every week. My child has likely read more books than yours.

Well, studies show that number of books in a kid’s home tracks with better educational outcomes. Reading tons of books from the library doesn’t have the same effect. Look at the Freakonomics stuff on this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is number of books you own so important? We go to the library every week. My child has likely read more books than yours.

Well, studies show that number of books in a kid’s home tracks with better educational outcomes. Reading tons of books from the library doesn’t have the same effect. Look at the Freakonomics stuff on this.

Let me guess, you're also a big Emily Oster fan?

I don't need an economist to tell me my child's outcome based on the number of X in my home. There are always several books lying around the house and my children are both always reading something. They're excelling in school and in their extracurriculars. They're doing just fine. I don't need to count the number of books on our bookshelves to tell me that. I'm sorry you're so insecure in your parenting abilities. Work on that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having a large book collection at home and going to the library frequently often go together! We have hundreds of books, maybe over a thousand. DS8 returned a half dozen books to the library today and checked out another 10. It’s winter break for us, so he is going through them quickly.

PP here - we are the same. I have no idea how many books we own and don't care to count. My kids read. A lot. And they retain what they read. That's really all I need to know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1000+ for all. Books and shelves in every room. Lots of non fiction. We read in multiple languages so those are hard to find. My kids keep finding DHs old kids books and reading them which is great.

I’m so envious! I can barely read in my second language and the fiction in that language doesn’t often resonate with me. My MIL speaks two other languages that cover a pretty wide variety of countries and cultures and is always telling me the plots of really good novels, and of course those are ones that aren’t in translation.

[Anonymous]

Two kids: they basically have a kids library filling up 12 shelves. I’ll be saving the ones in good condition for grandkids someday. We will always buy them books, which is why they have so many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is number of books you own so important? We go to the library every week. My child has likely read more books than yours.

Well, studies show that number of books in a kid’s home tracks with better educational outcomes. Reading tons of books from the library doesn’t have the same effect. Look at the Freakonomics stuff on this.

I am a huge book owner but that sounds like correlation not causation. Although I do think there is probably something to be said for the type of families that value books taking up their space passing that value down to kids. I like that when my kids look around they will almost always see a book because we have full shelves everywhere. But quoting freakanomics makes me roll my eyes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate hoarders

I don’t like hoarding either but sounds like some PPs have what used to be called home libraries. Sad that books are considered clutter.

NP and it just seems unnecessary to own that many books when libraries around here are so accessible and allow you to check out so many books. Why deal with the hassle of owning (space, expense) when you can easily borrow?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate hoarders

I don’t like hoarding either but sounds like some PPs have what used to be called home libraries. Sad that books are considered clutter.

NP and it just seems unnecessary to own that many books when libraries around here are so accessible and allow you to check out so many books. Why deal with the hassle of owning (space, expense) when you can easily borrow?

+1. We also have a small house and keeping lots of books is a challenge. Between libraries and buying and then donating, we can read a lot and not be crowded out of our house by books.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate hoarders

I don’t like hoarding either but sounds like some PPs have what used to be called home libraries. Sad that books are considered clutter.

NP and it just seems unnecessary to own that many books when libraries around here are so accessible and allow you to check out so many books. Why deal with the hassle of owning (space, expense) when you can easily borrow?

Because some of us just love books and like to surround ourselves with them. I don't see owning all my books as a hassle. If anything, it's a luxury and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to be able to afford books and bookshelves.

I want the accessibility of being able to grab something off my shelf when I want to look something up and revisit a topic. A fair number of the books I own aren't readily available at the library and I just like not having to wait. Jimmy Carter died yesterday so of course I'm grabbing one of my books that discusses SALT II, because seems like the perfect time to revisit that bit of history. I get it, I'm weird. But I'll never see my books as a hassle.

And for what it's worth, not all of us on DCUM live in the DC area. We don't all have access to the wealth of titles you do. My booming southern city's library system leaves much to be desired. It might be a bit niche, but in a system with 23 branches, not one of them has what is one of the most important first-hand accounts of the Rwandan genocide, Romeo Dallaire's Shake Hands With The Devil. The branch nearest to my house in particular leaves a lot to be desired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate hoarders

I don’t like hoarding either but sounds like some PPs have what used to be called home libraries. Sad that books are considered clutter.

NP and it just seems unnecessary to own that many books when libraries around here are so accessible and allow you to check out so many books. Why deal with the hassle of owning (space, expense) when you can easily borrow?

Because some of us just love books and like to surround ourselves with them. I don't see owning all my books as a hassle. If anything, it's a luxury and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to be able to afford books and bookshelves.

I want the accessibility of being able to grab something off my shelf when I want to look something up and revisit a topic. A fair number of the books I own aren't readily available at the library and I just like not having to wait. Jimmy Carter died yesterday so of course I'm grabbing one of my books that discusses SALT II, because seems like the perfect time to revisit that bit of history. I get it, I'm weird. But I'll never see my books as a hassle.

And for what it's worth, not all of us on DCUM live in the DC area. We don't all have access to the wealth of titles you do. My booming southern city's library system leaves much to be desired. It might be a bit niche, but in a system with 23 branches, not one of them has what is one of the most important first-hand accounts of the Rwandan genocide, Romeo Dallaire's Shake Hands With The Devil. The branch nearest to my house in particular leaves a lot to be desired.

+1. Agree. We’re in Fairfax County and even so, we still occasionally search for book only to find out that it is not owned by the county. It’s not just niche adult books either, there are many children’s science books that are not available in the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate hoarders

I don’t like hoarding either but sounds like some PPs have what used to be called home libraries. Sad that books are considered clutter.

NP and it just seems unnecessary to own that many books when libraries around here are so accessible and allow you to check out so many books. Why deal with the hassle of owning (space, expense) when you can easily borrow?

Because local libraries often do not have the particular books that one is interested in. Different readers have different preferences. Local libraries focus limited book purchase funds towards the most popular books.

Quite separately, there was a scandal in Fairfax County a few years back where the head librarian was having used library books thrown into a dumpster (rather than having “Friends of the Fairfax Library” sell them as used books to raise funds to support the library). I think that particular individual now is gone, but Fairfax County libraries still de-accession (i.e., get rid of) books if they are not checked out often enough — even if there still is shelf space for the books. I have bought several used library books from the “Friends” and a small number of used books I bought at Amazon originally were from a Fairfax County library. So to repeat the main point, local libraries often don’t possess the book one is seeking to read.

I recently was looking for a particular book, but Fairfax County library system does not have it. I was told it is not readily available through inter-library loan either. So I am likely to look for a used copy to buy.

[Anonymous]

We have about 50 children’s books ( kids now in college). These are classics children’s books that were my husband’s when he was a child. His mother gave them to me and I am now saving them for the grandchildren. We also have about 4 books that also has a video recording of my husband reading them. These were played over and over to the kids when they young and he was deployed. Now all my books get redistributed through free libraries around my neighborhood. I love placing them and seeing them gone later, knowing someone else’s is enjoying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate hoarders

I don’t like hoarding either but sounds like some PPs have what used to be called home libraries. Sad that books are considered clutter.

NP and it just seems unnecessary to own that many books when libraries around here are so accessible and allow you to check out so many books. Why deal with the hassle of owning (space, expense) when you can easily borrow?

Because some of us just love books and like to surround ourselves with them. I don't see owning all my books as a hassle. If anything, it's a luxury and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to be able to afford books and bookshelves.

I want the accessibility of being able to grab something off my shelf when I want to look something up and revisit a topic. A fair number of the books I own aren't readily available at the library and I just like not having to wait. Jimmy Carter died yesterday so of course I'm grabbing one of my books that discusses SALT II, because seems like the perfect time to revisit that bit of history. I get it, I'm weird. But I'll never see my books as a hassle.

And for what it's worth, not all of us on DCUM live in the DC area. We don't all have access to the wealth of titles you do. My booming southern city's library system leaves much to be desired. It might be a bit niche, but in a system with 23 branches, not one of them has what is one of the most important first-hand accounts of the Rwandan genocide, Romeo Dallaire's Shake Hands With The Devil. The branch nearest to my house in particular leaves a lot to be desired.

You seem like a history buff! For someone who is a woefully undereducated adult in terms of history, what are your top recommended books? Anything history related - books that give a general overview of US or world history, books that do a deep dive into a particular topic, etc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate hoarders

I don’t like hoarding either but sounds like some PPs have what used to be called home libraries. Sad that books are considered clutter.

NP and it just seems unnecessary to own that many books when libraries around here are so accessible and allow you to check out so many books. Why deal with the hassle of owning (space, expense) when you can easily borrow?

Because some of us just love books and like to surround ourselves with them. I don't see owning all my books as a hassle. If anything, it's a luxury and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to be able to afford books and bookshelves.

I want the accessibility of being able to grab something off my shelf when I want to look something up and revisit a topic. A fair number of the books I own aren't readily available at the library and I just like not having to wait. Jimmy Carter died yesterday so of course I'm grabbing one of my books that discusses SALT II, because seems like the perfect time to revisit that bit of history. I get it, I'm weird. But I'll never see my books as a hassle.

And for what it's worth, not all of us on DCUM live in the DC area. We don't all have access to the wealth of titles you do. My booming southern city's library system leaves much to be desired. It might be a bit niche, but in a system with 23 branches, not one of them has what is one of the most important first-hand accounts of the Rwandan genocide, Romeo Dallaire's Shake Hands With The Devil. The branch nearest to my house in particular leaves a lot to be desired.

You seem like a history buff! For someone who is a woefully undereducated adult in terms of history, what are your top recommended books? Anything history related - books that give a general overview of US or world history, books that do a deep dive into a particular topic, etc?

My particular interest is 20th century history/post-communist transition/NATO and EU expansion/rise of hybrid regimes, although I will happily read darn near anything history related. Two recent-ish books I enjoyed and are very timely about how we're got to the mess we're in today are M.E. Sarotte's Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of the Post-Cold War Stalemate and There is Nothing for You Here by Fiona Hill. Sarotte has published a number of books on the the end of the Cold War and the post Cold War world that I think are excellent and generally accessible for the wider public.

For a nice DC-specific book, Grand Avenues is a lovely biography of Pierre L'Enfant and the making of DC.