Your Library Options

While I'm not a beginner in the occult, one of the things that I would love to have is my own occult library. Here's the conflict. I don't know whether to shell out the money for the books, or just print them out, put them in a binder, and leave it like that. Personally I feel its more attractive to have the physical book there in my hands, but then again, printing out the pdf's is a good way to write notes on the print out, and record experiences. What do most of you do, and would recommend? Thanks for reading.

I'm all about hard copy books. The PDFs seem somewhat bland and souless, thats just my opinion. However, some occult works are extremely expensive and if u must get the data then by all means get the data (copyrights be dammed). Myself Ive had great fun tracking down, bidding, trading and eventually finding the hard copy books Ive wanted. Its a long process but its all part of the experience; the thrill of the hunt. On a practical note, I think electronic data is just as useful for actual work(ings) and practice as "real" books. As for me I love my bookcase. (its taken me years to get a halfway decent collection)

I fully agree. While I get scads of information off the internet and wherever else I can, there is nothing that will ever be able to replace books. A library is probably the most valuable tool of a working magician, not just for the information itself but for the space and the energy it retains. There is a theory that books retain energy every time they have energy focused on them, so having a large library has similar effects to setting up magicshop on a ley line. The same theory also suggests that just having a very old book that has passed through a lot of hands, like one of those dusty falling apart dictionaries, can increase the power and energy of a ritual space. Personally I put a lot of value in books and just like having them around.

Yes, me too. Even though, I read a lot at the internet and in general, documents in electronic format, books have completely different feeling.

I find the electronic documents very useful, in cases when I want to find quickly something specific (using search button), or to read at work (I can’t bring a book to the work with me), also in order to keep notes (I hate to write inside my books, when I find it so comfortable to have my notes written next to the book-text to which they refer to). But on the other hand, I want to have the book; to hold it in my hands; to browse through it, feeling the pages; to speak to it (yes, I am opening discussions with my books); to read it before falling asleep and leave it on the bedside during the night. Somehow printed electronic documents never give the same feeling.

What I really want is both. I have thought before that I want the books that I am buying, to be accompanied by a CD with the text in pdf format. I don’t know about other places, but here is impossible to find something like that.

Greetings,

I have amassed some 200 odd books and texts in the years since I started in magick, and all but 22 are in electronic form. As alia mentioned, PDFs have the added benefit of the extra features (search, notes, exc.) that books lack. Such features are most useful; however, some books are alive- I'm thinking of the Necronomicon in particular. An electronic copy is fine, but to get the full effect one must have a really copy.

Aside from the living aspects, there are the textile sensations of a beautifully printed hardbound book. I have a hard time enjoying PDFs, an issue that has not arisen with a book. On that note, a physical copy of PDF is as good, even if some of the allure is lacking. One can print and bind a PDF in as little as two hours, which has all of the aesthetic appeal, and life with only a fraction of the cost.

If a proper book is desired, I would recommend searching used book stores, either on the internet (Amazon, or AbeBooks, and Alibris) or local shops. Many times one or the other will have a decent copy for fewer than ten dollars. Yet even a physical copy is not perfect, aside from the before deficiencies, books tend to age. Many books printed only twenty years ago have aged so poorly that they are utterly unreadable.

A solution is to have both a print copy and an electronic one; this is the fix I have employed. The PDF copies provide, in addition to quick reference, and fact-finding, a back up copy in case of lose are damage.

As it can be guessed from the length of this post books are something of a hobby for me. Electronic media has it’s useful aspects, but I am looking forward to expanding my own library.

Cheery-Bye

Greetings Sagdili Urbara,

I personally own over 200 books, manuscripts, etc on magick, and I wouldn't trade the experience of haveing them for anything. It's exhilerating to walk into the temple room and see a library you call your own. If you have the money to spare and your heart desires them, then follow your heart. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/book.gif)

Well I'm doing both. I have a bunch of books on my hard drive and at the same time I'm building up a physical library. I try to get hard cover books when I can but sometimes they're just not published that way. Here is a good resource for you.

ABE books

It is a network of used bookstores. They will have pretty much any of the older tomes for reasonable prices.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/velho.gif) Well I personally hate pdf files, and only go for the real thing. But sometimes PDF files are all you have!

have been having a hard time finding some older versions of the books I want.

For example The Black Raven.

Its here in SM library. But ill be darned if I can not buy it from Amazon.com or Barnes and Nobles.

Here is what I have been thinking. What if I find some way to print out the pages and bind them as a book? I could even pour in a little magick during that creation process.

Is there any creative value in that?

Also how would I bind such books? If I knew a way to bind it efficiently I think it would make it worthwhile to print.

Peace!

You could take it to kinkos or office depot or something like that and have them bind it.

... or you can google "book binding" and find some websites that show you how to bind a book for yourself. My boyfriend once made a book like that. It even has leather covers with patterns on them (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) So if you want to put some magick in the book, I think, that is the way. Good luck, if you decide to make one or two (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bye.gif)

I am definitely a fan of nice, hardbound books.
Yes, they can cost a large amount of money, but they are worth it.

If you can't afford them, or one cannot be found hardbound, then pdf files are a good way to go, or even the softbound books.

If you REALLY want some energy involved, then buy some blank books and HAND COPY the books. It takes a LONG time, but you have a personal copy that's as nice as you make it, and will have beaucoup energy in it when completed. Plus this really gets "old-timey", since this is how grimoires were done in days past because
1.) printing opresses were not invented yet

and/or

2.) such books were illegal and had to be copied on the Q.T.