utter defeat

[mangaroo]

Not exactly the optimistic note I had hoped to strike for the second day of the new year. I am utterly defeated by my books and videos. There's just nothing left to throw away. Or, rather, the remaining books are either read regularly or read only occasionally but I want to know they're there, waiting for me. I have four shelves' worth of books on

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Re: this response sponsored by the word "available"

[collarnojutsu]

Don't even get me STARTED on this issue.

And if I don't value them enough to buy the DVDs, shouldn't I just throw them away?

Not necessarily. My opinion is to keep them while you are able; if you lose your VCR and don't buy another, get rid of them THEN. Unless of course, you prefer to stream/watch online (if available) - I do when I can tolerate it (for ex: new shows on Hulu), but I keep my physical media for when I can't. Of course, only you know how likely you are to watch them at all; over the years I've found that -- provided I remember I HAVE them -- I will occasionally put an old commercial tape in. Some have even seen quite a bit of repeated use - Adventures in Babysitting, Fierce Creatures, Romy & Michelle, I'm looking at you! It may be that you just need to remind yourself on occasion of the titles and you might be in the mood to watch them? :P

Just for the record, it's not that I don't love things enough to replace them, it's that I can only afford so much and the big DVD revolution was happening when my times were at the leanest. But frankly, even today, as long as I have a working VCR (I have two, in fact), there hasn't been much to tempt me to replace those things that don't improve tangibly via DVD production and/or have had bare-bones releases. Upgrading simply for the SAKE OF UPGRADING is beyond my interest and ability. (Which is the reason I won't buy anything blu-ray -- It isn't that I can't search out a good deal on a player, it's that I don't have a TV that can even remotely handle the upgrade. And since it's not all that old, I'm hardly going to drop money on a new one JUST for the privilege of upgrading my media. Yes, I I KNOW, I will want to upgrade if I could truly experience the beauty... but I suppose this is one of the good things about having absolutely no social life to provide me with such opportunities. ;))

Incidentally, I do still work on upgrading worthy VHS tapes. It helps that I'm getting old and everything I once loved keeps getting 20/25/30/whatever-th anniversary releases with nice new extras and packaging and restorations. ;) As the DVD medium dwindles, those prices do too. It's when I feel justified in my waiting, let me tell you. ;)

Re: this response sponsored by the word "available"

[mangaroo]

You and Wednesday are like the little cartoon angel/devil pair on my shoulders. Except morally neutral. I love that my internal debate actually has external representation this time!

the big DVD revolution was happening when my times were at the leanest

I'm just grumpy because I bought one fairly expensive "special edition/collector's" thing in VHS after the DVD revolution started (but before I had a DVD player...even on my computer). And it's sitting on my shelf making me feel like a fool for not grasping the significance of the change in media. On the other hand, I would probably feel more foolish if I had shifted to laser disks. Not that I think those caught on so much in the U.S.

Re: this response sponsored by the word "available"

[collarnojutsu]

*laughs* Am I the angel or devil??? (I MUST KNOW.) I'm not against tossing, the universe knows I am in a space conundrum myself, its just that I don't think you should do it just because. I don't pretend to believe it's always as black or white as "keep if you want, toss if you don't" but it sounds good, right? :P The best part (??) about cleaning my tapes out last year was when I didn't have to make the decisions at all: most of my non-commercial tapes were moldy (due to improper storage methods I suspect), which made the decision infinitely easier. It was a little sad to throw away shows I thought I always wanted to keep, but then again, I can't say nostalgia has ever REALLY been my best friend.

Also: LOL at the collectors set on VHS. I didn't make that blunder especially but I still acquired tape versions of things thru various frugal means long after I probably should have stopped. At least I was also buying the occasional dvds at the time - long before I had a dvd player of my own? (LOL)

Re: this response sponsored by the word "available"

[mangaroo]

Since the choice is morally neutral, you are both and neither...or a hybrid. Really, it depends upon the tape under consideration. If you were sitting on my shoulder urging me to keep Gidget or Slayers, you were the devil. I'm not entirely certain where you would fall on the X-Files, since they do take up SO MUCH SPACE, but you are definitely an angel on Jurassic Park and Seven.

I have deterioration issues with my books. Not my manga, which I acquired after I understood my apartment's humidity problem, but the old romance novels. I do need to come up with a plan to replace or destroy some of them. Sadly, too many are out of print, I don't have any used bookstores in my area geared toward romance (so very different from the areas where I grew up)...and I do kinda want to start "collecting" books in electronic format. Except I guess a potentially outdated digital format isn't going to help me preserve my library against the ravages of time, either.

Re: this response sponsored by the word "available"

[sara_tanaquil]

Sadly, too many are out of print

Another whole thread I missed while I was on the road!

Have you tried abebooks.com? They are great for used books in general, and I've found a lot of my (very small collection) of hard to find Harlequin romances through them. It's a pain to order from a bunch of different sellers, but things have always reliably arrived.

I wish it were allowed to make a pdf backup copy of the digital reader books. I don't mind paying for books in digital form and I realize they have to protect their investment with DRM, but formats are just too unstable, and for some reason I find having to rebuy things in different digital formats even more offensive than being forced to replace physical media.

Re: this response sponsored by the word "available"

[collarnojutsu]

Do you need to bring your romance books to a store that specializes in them? Can't you just bring them to any used store that will buy them back? (Serious question; there is this store here that is known for having mysteries, but otherwise the used stores are anything goes.)

Preserving any kind of library against the ravages of time is a conundrum for the ages. And digital is tricky still; I wish they'd work it out so that it's not a question of format but of ease of transfer. :/ What did the humidity do to your books? And how do you protect your manga from it?? I have central air here which is probably the only reason my books are in such good shape, lol. Kills me with dust, though.

(Slayers the anime? The season sets are super cheap now on dvd, especially when they go on sale, so those I would recommend replacing - I did. I have Jurassic Park on VHS, too.)