# Non Survival Library



## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

I think one of the the things to contend with in a survival situation (any situation really) is boredom. 

Aside from literature pertaining to survival and preparedness do you collect books outside of your interest?

I've been building a children's library and collecting books I have no interest in now in case I'm looking for something different later. 

Anyone else do this?


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

We, too, have storybooks and childrens' books, from toddler on up to teens, partly for Grandchildren that visit, and partly so if TSHTF there'll be reading material here.

For us grown-ups, my husband has his Louis L'amour and Tom Clancey collection, and I've been collecting some of my favorites, like Murder mysteries and biographies/autobiographies. I often find them in "free" boxes at yard sales or for sale at the library for a quarter. I don't have time to read them now, but if TSHTF I'll have a lot of good books waiting for me to read! (Or if life ever slows down, I can curl up and read!)


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

I have collected quite a few non-prep how to books - pre computer era technology stuff, pre electricity farming gadgets, etc. I also collect the classic literature books; they would be the most interesting and lend themselves well to reading aloud. And I have a huge austere medical book collection; surgery under 3rd world conditions and the like.


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## Bigdog57 (Oct 9, 2008)

Been collecting books for thirty years.
Men's Adventure, Sherlock Holmes series, various military (Navy and USAF mainly) reference works, old Gun Digests and other gun related books, lately classic Westerns (Lamour and others).
After that long, reading them is just like the first time!


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## SageAdvicefarmgirl (Jun 23, 2011)

One thing I never throw away is a good book, and I have lots of em! I have multiple copies of western paperbacks, several of the classics, an entire hardbound set of (C.1880) Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, a full set of Sir Walter Scott classics hardbound, tons of childrens books, hardy boys mysteries, bible stories, etc. LOVE TO READ! 

I always tell young children: "Learn to read! If you can read well, you can learn anything else!"


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

I have a ton of books, reference and novels both. One series that I really like are the "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader" series. There are a bunch of them. They are basically trivia books, little factual essays and the like, but they are great reading. They are meant to be read in the bathroom but once I start one I pretty much read the whole thing straight through.


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## valannb22 (Jan 6, 2012)

I am an avid horror and fantasy reader. I'd say I probably have well over 200 books right now tucked away in boxes and storage totes. My absolute FAVORITE are zombies books. Through the years, I've gotten to know and become friends with several of my favorite writers.


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## survivalist72 (Jan 4, 2012)

we have also stocked board games and decks of cards as well as a well stocked library.


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

Reader's Digest does good compilation series so there's a lot of everything based on the subject material. 

I have one on mystery stories and am looking for more.


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

I've been increasing my focus on large print books now. 

I'm trying to get it to where everyone could read something if they so choose.


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## Clarice (Aug 19, 2010)

We too have lots of books as well as board games, dominos, chess, etc.


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

Clarice said:


> We too have lots of books as well as board games, dominos, chess, etc.


I have a lot of board games and about half dozen unopened packs of playing cards.


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## IlliniWarrior (Nov 30, 2010)

come fall time and stores are running "back to school" promos ..... stock up on the door busters .... almost free paper, pencils, pens, crayons ect ...... don't forget the chalk & slateboards for those post-SHTF schoolhouse lessons ......


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## Clarice (Aug 19, 2010)

IlliniWarrior said:


> come fall time and stores are running "back to school" promos ..... stock up on the door busters .... almost free paper, pencils, pens, crayons ect ...... don't forget the chalk & slateboards for those post-SHTF schoolhouse lessons ......


Good idea on the back to school supplies.


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## MichaelK (Aug 3, 2011)

I have quite a few of the 19th century classics by authors like Mark Twain, Jack London, Jane Aston, Laura Ingalls, Thoreau, ect. Besides being entertaining, they give insights to life in a pre-electronic world that might be valuable after the SHTF.

My other genre is science fiction, and I have copies of survival oriented literature like "The earth abides", "Lucifer's Hammer", "Wolf and Iron", "One Second After" and "Dies the Fire". Some are totally unrealistic, but importantly, they provide a window into human behavior that most of us don't want to think about.


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

I like scifi but hardly ever read it. 

I'm more into graphic novels and Japanese Manga. 

It will only have entertainment value when things go up in smoke, but it seems I can read them over and over so it will benefit me.


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

Heading to half price in a little bit. Any suggestions?


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## Wolfe1759 (Apr 14, 2012)

I have a well stocked library of books, generally non-fiction (history, culture, biography, science), as well as some fiction and science fiction. I also have a variety of board games and several chess sets, backgammon boards, dominoes, and playing cards. 

That's all well and good for bugging in, but for bugging out, I will only have my survival books in paper form, plus the couple of dozen or so books on my iPad.


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## FrankW (Mar 10, 2012)

I have a couple thousands books on various subject.
not as much as my father had though..
My fathers place used to be a library in living room and a library in dining room and libray in basement a library on the attic and a library stacked on various parts of the floor.

I swear he had more books than some small town libraries!

Which reminds me if I may say..:

I very much miss my father. 
he recently passed away and we were never close, he was one of the great intellectuals in his state and I dont think I ever gave him quite the respect he deserved..

Also I should have found a way to save his book collection(s), it would have been enough to serve as a major flame of learning in a post apocalytptic environment.


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## Turtle (Dec 10, 2009)

MichaelK said:


> I have quite a few of the 19th century classics by authors like Mark Twain, Jack London, Jane Aston, Laura Ingalls, Thoreau, ect. Besides being entertaining, they give insights to life in a pre-electronic world that might be valuable after the SHTF.
> 
> My other genre is science fiction, and I have copies of survival oriented literature like "The earth abides", "Lucifer's Hammer", "Wolf and Iron", "One Second After" and "Dies the Fire". Some are totally unrealistic, but importantly, they provide a window into human behavior that most of us don't want to think about.


Sounds a good bit like my library. I also have a lot philosophy (Epictitus, Aurelius, Paine, Locke) and religious study (of various religions) and a LOT of history books.

I seem to remember catching a ton of flak for suggesting something like this about a year ago.... I am very happy to see that attitudes have changed over time.


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## Wanderer0101 (Nov 8, 2011)

Last time we moved I had 126 boxes of books. The movers were not happy with me. The collection has grown since then to my wifes dismay.. 

In addition, I have several thousand e-books.

My books cover a quite broad range of topics, I could probably start civilization over again if I had to.


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## jens_funny_farm (Apr 21, 2012)

We're fans of books as well. My prepper library is solid but our general interest library is pretty impressive. My husband has tons of political and sports books. I'm a fan of medial thrillers (Robin Cook being my favorite) and I keep several Lehman's catalogs on my bookshelf. Ideas if nothing else, pour from those pages. And lots of kids books. Family Bible study books. We have widely varied interests, so we have lots to choose from!


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## mdprepper (Jan 22, 2010)

Austin said:


> I've been increasing my focus on large print books now.


What a great idea! I never would have thought about that. Add that and cheap reading glasses of different strengths to my lists!:2thumb:


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## moose2find (Mar 11, 2012)

Just starting my survival library, but we have tons of other books. I taught elementary school until just recently, and have a whole library of kids stuff and anything I could ever need for homeschooling. Have been stocking up on puzzle books...mazes, crossword, word search, sudoku and logic. What I need to gather is games that do not involve DS, iPad, smartphone, laptop or Wii!


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## OdieB (Mar 18, 2012)

*Well rounded library*

Hey - I have a large library for myself and family, but in addition to that I have books that would interest every age level and genre. I have educational books (What every 4th grader should know, etc) and "how to" books (Dummies for everything) I have Sci-Fi, Religious, Bibles, Mystery, Non-Fiction, History (lots of good history books) Autobiographies, Childrens books, Poetry books.

My best friend gave me a Kindle Fire for Christmas, and even though I LOVE the concept and love to read it in bed, I preserve my "real" books with great care. EMP or not, they will be very valuable for mental sanity and diversion when and if (when) things get bad.

I will be happy to loan my books out as well. Happy to share.

OdieB


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## Turtle (Dec 10, 2009)

I don't know why this hasn't occured to me previously, given my love for books, but....

Books could be great barter items, too! Grab a couple of copies of books on survival medicine, construction techniques, etcetera... I may start picking up a few extras when I see them on sale or at the used book stores!


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

I'm looking for more large print anthologies.

I have a pretty good collected works of Sherlock Holmes.


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

Just got a ton of Kids books. 

Most of them had suffered some water damage so I'm seeing what I can do about that.


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## moose2find (Mar 11, 2012)

Last weekend, our town had city wide garage sales. Everyone has theirs the same weekend as another event in town. My right year old had a mission to find stuff "to keep us busy if the power goes out on snow days.". He found 23 puzzles, a Jenga game, a deck of magic cards with instruction manual and a dozen books to add to his extensive collection!


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## moose2find (Mar 11, 2012)

Eight year old.....I am having a hard time typing with the baby climbing on me! Haha


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## torquemada (May 6, 2012)

I like how so many people here seem to be cut from the same cloth. I have a huge collection of books that get weeded out on occasion I will go through them and pull out anything I read once but would not enjoy reading again. I keep all the survival medicine ect books and also books that I know I can read over and over. I always keep the classics as well I find when I read them I speak and write with better grammar and use more of my vocabulary. We don't write or speak nearly as well,asmwemdidmin the past . Just read a few letters written home during the civil war then compare them to those from WWII and I'm sure they later are better written then those of today.


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

My MIL is going to give me a large chunk of her medical library. She's a surgical nurse and I'm always reading her books when I'm over there. 

Can't wait!


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## Ration-AL (Apr 18, 2012)

i have all of my comic books from my 25 years of collecting them since i was a kid, around 2,500 or so, plus all of the other books I've accumulated over my life, i often buy the same copy of a much loved book a number of times and when i travel i trade it for one in the hostel/hotel/resort for one i haven't read yet and looks interesting then bring it home for a later read/souvenir.


that said though i don't think literary items will be in much demand in our SHTF scenario, would seem like scavenging a book store or library would be easy enough.....also being able to have a good conversation would be more helpful then any book,toy, or bored game you could stock up on, imo..


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## CAN1975 (Mar 30, 2012)

When we moved into this house DH let me turn the formal dining room into my "library. I have four of the tall bookshelves and three of the short ones full of books stacked two deep. One of the short shelves are dedicated to kids & YA. When I was setting it up I even alphabetized the damn thing. Took me an entire weekend, but I will say it is probably better organized than your local Barnes & Noble.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

CAN1975 said:


> When we moved into this house DH let me turn the formal dining room into my "library. I have four of the tall bookshelves and three of the short ones full of books stacked two deep. One of the short shelves are dedicated to kids & YA. When I was setting it up I even alphabetized the damn thing. Took me an entire weekend, but I will say it is probably better organized than your local Barnes & Noble.


Sounds like my kind of formal dining room! :2thumb:


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

Ration-AL said:


> i have all of my comic books from my 25 years of collecting them since i was a kid, around 2,500 or so, plus all of the other books I've accumulated over my life, i often buy the same copy of a much loved book a number of times and when i travel i trade it for one in the hostel/hotel/resort for one i haven't read yet and looks interesting then bring it home for a later read/souvenir.
> 
> that said though i don't think literary items will be in much demand in our SHTF scenario, would seem like scavenging a book store or library would be easy enough.....also being able to have a good conversation would be more helpful then any book,toy, or bored game you could stock up on, imo..


What do you have in way of comics?



CAN1975 said:


> When we moved into this house DH let me turn the formal dining room into my "library. I have four of the tall bookshelves and three of the short ones full of books stacked two deep. One of the short shelves are dedicated to kids & YA. When I was setting it up I even alphabetized the damn thing. Took me an entire weekend, but I will say it is probably better organized than your local Barnes & Noble.


That's great. I would love to see a pic of your setup.


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