The Demon Haunted Bookshelf
30/07/2022 10:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
izmeinaAfter much procrastination, today I finally got started on sorting out my giant stash of books. I need to take baby steps because the job is just too overwhelming.
I think it was about a year ago that I picked up a copy of Carl Sagan's "Demon Haunted World" at a charity shop and as is usual I read snippets of it while sitting in a cafe that day. At some point I returned to the Lair and probably put the bag of my latest stash on the floor some place.
Part of the problem, well actually - the main problem is that there are just too many temptations at the charity shop. Not only do we sell the books pretty cheaply - most between $3 and $5 except for brand new hardback books and coffee table specimens which usually go for around $6 to $8. Volunteers get a 20% discount.
We did recently sell a rather ancient looking rust stained tenth edition of Gray's Anatomy for $80.
These days, we can sell the really unusual books online. The one I remember most of all was a limited edition hardback copy with a slip case of Neil Gaiman's "Anansi Boys". It was one of 500 signed copies. I googled it and the going price was around $250 so that got sent to Head Office.
We still have the copy of Enid Blyton's "3 little Golliwogs" The price of that book online fluctuates more than Bitcoin.
In theory I am supposed to sort my daily stash into categories - fiction, geekish books about maths and science, witchcraft, religion and occult, politics and history, goblin porn and business, cooking and general health and last but not least - gardening and books about weeds.
You see, my book babies not only lurk in the library and lounge room, they even have their own bedrooms.
Back in early 2018, the Cat had recommended a 'library' app and I decided with the best of intentions that I would enter all new acquisitions so that I could keep them in order virtually if not in real life. But that was around the time that Petunia was dying and not too long after that the tablet died too.
I was also reading "Hell Week" at the time which with 20/20 hindsight was very appropriate.
I never did get back to it but did remember one very useful tip - apart from general fitness, a big reason why soldiers can get so much shit done is that someone else has done most of the thinking for them. All they have to do is follow the routine. So I tried to use Mojo days to come up with routines and habits so that I did not have to think about what to do on a dreadful Dementor day.
A few months later, someone was raving about that very Carl Sagan book on Twitter and I realized with great shame that I had no idea where I had put the infernal thing.
The same book was mentioned on the radio last week and I still have not found my own copy yet. It is not the first time where I have considered getting a book from the library because it would be easier than looking for my own copy.
I probably will end up getting "The Demon Haunted World" from the local library but I am definitely taking it as an omen that it is finally time to get my sorting hat on.
During the first week of January, I found my long lost copy of "Putting the Tarot to Work". I had gone through all my witchy books and Tarot collection a dozen times and no luck at all. It turned out to be at the very bottom of a random pile of books in my bedside cabinet.
It is such a pity that it is out of print because it is one of the best tarot books I have ever read. Using the tarot for productivity porn is a take that I have never seen before. Definitely a lot cheaper and a lot more fun than hiring consultants.
Even a simple little trick like bring 3 books with me every time I go upstairs would make a dent. The trick is to automate such habits until it becomes easier to do them than not to.
I think it was about a year ago that I picked up a copy of Carl Sagan's "Demon Haunted World" at a charity shop and as is usual I read snippets of it while sitting in a cafe that day. At some point I returned to the Lair and probably put the bag of my latest stash on the floor some place.
Part of the problem, well actually - the main problem is that there are just too many temptations at the charity shop. Not only do we sell the books pretty cheaply - most between $3 and $5 except for brand new hardback books and coffee table specimens which usually go for around $6 to $8. Volunteers get a 20% discount.
We did recently sell a rather ancient looking rust stained tenth edition of Gray's Anatomy for $80.
These days, we can sell the really unusual books online. The one I remember most of all was a limited edition hardback copy with a slip case of Neil Gaiman's "Anansi Boys". It was one of 500 signed copies. I googled it and the going price was around $250 so that got sent to Head Office.
We still have the copy of Enid Blyton's "3 little Golliwogs" The price of that book online fluctuates more than Bitcoin.
In theory I am supposed to sort my daily stash into categories - fiction, geekish books about maths and science, witchcraft, religion and occult, politics and history, goblin porn and business, cooking and general health and last but not least - gardening and books about weeds.
You see, my book babies not only lurk in the library and lounge room, they even have their own bedrooms.
Back in early 2018, the Cat had recommended a 'library' app and I decided with the best of intentions that I would enter all new acquisitions so that I could keep them in order virtually if not in real life. But that was around the time that Petunia was dying and not too long after that the tablet died too.
I was also reading "Hell Week" at the time which with 20/20 hindsight was very appropriate.
I never did get back to it but did remember one very useful tip - apart from general fitness, a big reason why soldiers can get so much shit done is that someone else has done most of the thinking for them. All they have to do is follow the routine. So I tried to use Mojo days to come up with routines and habits so that I did not have to think about what to do on a dreadful Dementor day.
A few months later, someone was raving about that very Carl Sagan book on Twitter and I realized with great shame that I had no idea where I had put the infernal thing.
The same book was mentioned on the radio last week and I still have not found my own copy yet. It is not the first time where I have considered getting a book from the library because it would be easier than looking for my own copy.
I probably will end up getting "The Demon Haunted World" from the local library but I am definitely taking it as an omen that it is finally time to get my sorting hat on.
During the first week of January, I found my long lost copy of "Putting the Tarot to Work". I had gone through all my witchy books and Tarot collection a dozen times and no luck at all. It turned out to be at the very bottom of a random pile of books in my bedside cabinet.
It is such a pity that it is out of print because it is one of the best tarot books I have ever read. Using the tarot for productivity porn is a take that I have never seen before. Definitely a lot cheaper and a lot more fun than hiring consultants.
Even a simple little trick like bring 3 books with me every time I go upstairs would make a dent. The trick is to automate such habits until it becomes easier to do them than not to.
no subject
Date: 2022-07-30 09:19 pm (UTC)