Ramble - Using Your Library, You Don't Have to Buy Everything

[@sirrathersplendid4825]

Thanks for the tip about Project Gutenberg! I’ve noticed that the main search engines are not as good for finding out-of-print books as they once were. 😕

[@ZenMiniPainting]

You are welcome. I noticed the same thing re: search engines. Gutenberg isn't perfect, but if you know what you are looking for it can be rather helpful.

[@howarddavies3011]

Some interesting points there. I'm also trying to stop buying so many books with mixed success; Agree that you need rule books. I've bought several as pdfs and then ended up buying the hard copy. As for Osprey, in the past I've joined their website for a month or so and simply downloaded the plates and info that I needed. Once or twice this has also resulted in a physical purchase for subjects that I'm really interested in. The library option doesn't work well for me because I live in a non-English-speaking country and getting English books is a somewhat laborious process. The result is a library room with double-stacked shelves, some of which are beginning to bend under the weight on them!

[@sirrathersplendid4825]

Double-stacked shelves, Lol. 😏 Was warned about this by a friend who has that problem. He can never find anything. When installing my own bookshelves some years back I made sure they were so narrow that it’s hard to stack anything but the smallest paperbacks more than two deep. :-)

[@ZenMiniPainting]

I had forgotten about the Osprey subscription thing. I signed up for that many, many years ago, but didn't really use it enough to justify the cost. And I totally get that the library option isn't for everyone. I think my major issue is that I feel that there isn't much value in me buying a book for a photograph or plate, and honestly, some Osprey books feel like that. I think in a world where both space and money are becoming more scarce, for some, we have to make tougher choices. I think, though, that as wargamers we have this tendency to accumulate stuff. I suppose I choose to accumulate toy soldiers rather than wargaming books where possible. In a rather reductive sense, a battalion of troops represents a better purchase investment that a book that I only need for a bit of research and then never revisit again.

[@sirrathersplendid4825]

@@ZenMiniPainting - I’m more worried about my miniature purchases getting out of hand than my book-buying. Books you can put away on the shelf and come back to a decade or more later and still get full value from. I was a Napoleonics fiend in my teens and perhaps half my book collection was Waterloo-related. Then my interests switched and the books sat unread in a closed cupboard for three decades: I nearly sold them. Currently it’s my number one interest again and those books are getting a lot of use. As for minis, I bought a huge amount of them online during the pandemic, mainly obsolete stuff that’s normally hard to find. To be honest I got into a bit of funk when I realised how big my pile of shame had grown. I’ve now put a blanket ban on any new projects and that seems to have helped save my sanity. As it is, I have only two active periods of interest (Napoleonic and early WW2/Spanish Civil War) and all in one scale 20mm/25mm. The single scale is key as I can use the same terrain, and also play both massed battles and skirmishes.

[@RalphAstley]

I'll do a video response to this at some stage as I have different views that stem from my past experiences and my age.

[@ZenMiniPainting]

I look forward to it. As I said, I don't think the library method is for everyone, but it is a resource that is oft neglected.

[@totalburnout5424]

I also find it better to have paper and weight in my hand. Saw the good old WFB 3rd Ed. and WH Siege. Unfortunately I lost my version of Siege... or rather I lent it to someone years ago. C'est la vie. Unfortunately, in Germany you can no longer find suitable books in the library. New focus...

[@ZenMiniPainting]

Ja, there are several books that I have lost over the years, and I cannot figure out how. I suspect it is usually because I lend them out and they never return. I've been leveraging my library over here for all it is worth, but I have made peace wit the fact that I simply need to purchase certain books.