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thedeadhaji
39489 Posts
I've been buying quite a few books recently. I've bought well over thirty books over the last month. Towards the end of the spree, a someone asked me, "why don't you just use the library?" It was something I hadn't considered for a long time. I've been in and out of town over the last decade, but I still live in the same neighborhood that I grew up in. The closest library is the same one that I went to when I was in elementary school, needing to choose a book for a book report. It's the same library that I visited to find material for many a research papers during high school. Over the years, nothing much has changed about the library. As I stepped through its doors for the first time in a decade this Saturday, I saw that a few shelves had been added, but that the overall configuration of sections, desks, and study rooms had remained constant. It's actually kind of refreshing to see a constancy that seems so rare these days. For the next thirty minutes, I paced around the adult section, walking past aisles to see where each section was, and considering what could interest me. I went to the computers section and flipped through a few Python books, went to the Law section hoping to find an introductory book on corporate law, and sauntered through others. It was an amusing experience. In my youth, the "adult" section of the library seemed to be filled with gigantic tomes filled to the brim with convoluted syntax (a natural consequence of going there only for research). Walking the aisles of the library was a bit of a tortuous experience. Fast forward more than a decade, and I found myself thinking that 80% of the books on display were trashy and lowly, 10% were too esoteric to consider at the moment, and the remainder to be actually quite interesting. In the end, I ended up borrowing three books: Blink, by Gladwell, The Art of Thinking, by Harrison and Bramson, and *The Upside of Irrationality" by Ariely. Not only did this save me a good $30, it also allowed me to consider two books (the latter two) that I definitely would not have considered if not for my face to face encounter with them in the Psychology section. It dawned on me that we shouldn't have to lament too much about the demise of the brick and mortar book store; the not-yet-reproduced-online virtue of spontaneous book discovery was alive and well at our public libraries. I bet I'll be back again soon, and not just to return those three books.
Crossposted from my main blog
  
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Nice read. I found a great library on campus today, one that I didn't even know existed. It's reserved for Art History students, but apparently the filter system is broken. I fled the main one because of the noise; even in quiet study areas people talk, bleat, their phones beeping.
Such calm.
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I should check out the library....another good one.
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Got to be careful which library you pick, my neighbourhood library is 100% full of romance novels and other crap for illiterates. And at my old library they started throwing out stuff that wasn't loaned out regularly, WHICH INCLUDED THE BLOODY REFERENCES WORKS WHICH ALWAYS HAD TO STAY IN THE BUILDING LIKE DICTIONARIES AND ALL THAT. Big central library only has a limited stock of books so they're all constantly away or reserved for months ahead.
Guess that's what you get for living in a third world country 
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I would save a fortune if I used the library more often. But I don't.
There is just something about owning all the books I read and keeping them in my book case, which is already piling over.
In fact, I just took a look at my desk. There are sixteen books stacked to my right, my tower of finished books. To my left there are nine books which I am still planning to read.
Yeah, I really should use the library more often.
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Wow, this is a great blog. I loved your description of viewing a library as a youngster then as an adult. Beautiful writing, great imagery.
You make me want to start visiting libraries 
(I was going to say 'again' but I never do. Like you, however, I do buy a lot of books in book stores. This not only gave me confidence because so many bookstores have closed in Sydney recently, but also was the best recommendation I've ever received to visit a library. I feel like I might not know what I'm missing).
@nepeta Sadly university libraries are throwing out books here .
@zalz hahaha I have 8 piles now of books next to my bed. They're an unofficial 'desk' all read unfortunately. And my bookshelves are still overflowing.
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South Africa4316 Posts
If you ever get around to reading the Ariely, let me know what you think. My research is purely in that field (applied to investment), so I've used quite a bit of his work in my research. In fact, I applied for a PhD at Columbia (I think it was Columbia) hoping that I could work with him. Didn't get in though
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Same exact thing happened to me yesterday. I've been reading a TON on my Kindle – buying books left and right. I take one trip to the library and discover the biography section. Hot damn, I think I've got my reading list picked out for the next several years.
All for free, I might add!
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My school has the largest selection of books in like a 100 mile radius or something and just yesterday i actually wen't and looked for a book for the first time ever going to this school. I ended up finding two great books that i never would of found otherwise. Now with only a few weeks left of classes i have to find a way to read as many books as possible before summer break while still studying for finals.
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United States22883 Posts
The library is awesome, especially if you're at a university. The serendipity of discovering books is something that Amazon hasn't quite replaced yet, and it's easy to jump into things you're totally clueless about.
Also, unlike brick and mortar book stores like Barnes & Noble, libraries are still focused on good books. There's no Kardashian biography getting in the way of your search.
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I was surprised a year or so back when I started reading again (after many years of forced reading left me sour on it) at all the great books I had missed reading in high school. Most of the material is fiction, mind you, but still... libraries are definitely great things to have.
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Finally have some time to catch up to reading some of your blogs before football 
I used to go to the library every day and read tons of books. Until I learned loving football & discovering the internet I never went to the library again.
Nowadays I just purchase books online and get them delivered or on my iPad. Don't have any regrets on the books I have.
Googled the book "The Art of Thinking". Recommendation? Seems interesting but I'll ask for a recommendation first
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Bisutopia19392 Posts
I worked at a University Library for a year. I would go to the fifth floor and read Tom Clancy novels or stare at medical picture books until my shift ended.
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You're going to love Blink. I bought that book and it's an, no pun intended, eye opening experience.
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I haven't read blink, but from what I can tell from reading summary's and reviews(I will buy it tommorow) It seems to celebrate the idea of ''rapid cognition'' a bit too much. There are multitudes of situations where thinking instinctively like that leads to a lot of trouble. The best would be to have the ability to recognize situations in which thinking rapid is beneficial and in which it is not. The other books seem interesting as well. I highly recommend Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. It's very much related to all your books you have chosen in the library.
A good review about the book:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/books/review/thinking-fast-and-slow-by-daniel-kahneman-book-review.html?pagewanted=all
But for those who are merely interested in Kahneman’s takeaway on the Malcolm Gladwell question it is this: If you’ve had 10,000 hours of training in a predictable, rapid-feedback environment — chess, firefighting, anesthesiology — then blink. In all other cases, think.
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South Africa4316 Posts
On April 04 2012 06:06 Recognizable wrote:I haven't read blink, but from what I can tell from reading summary's and reviews(I will buy it tommorow) It seems to celebrate the idea of ''rapid cognition'' a bit too much. There are multitudes of situations where thinking instinctively like that leads to a lot of trouble. The best would be to have the ability to recognize situations in which thinking rapid is beneficial and in which it is not. The other books seem interesting as well. I highly recommend Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. It's very much related to all your books you have chosen in the library. A good review about the book: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/books/review/thinking-fast-and-slow-by-daniel-kahneman-book-review.html?pagewanted=allShow nested quote +But for those who are merely interested in Kahneman’s takeaway on the Malcolm Gladwell question it is this: If you’ve had 10,000 hours of training in a predictable, rapid-feedback environment — chess, firefighting, anesthesiology — then blink. In all other cases, think.
I should actually still read that. The only problem I have, in general, with reading books like Ariely and Kahneman's is they're less interesting if you've had to study all the source journal articles already.
For the research I'm currently doing we purchased ten hardcover copies of Thinking Fast and Slow and sent it to the heads of equity at the largest finance firms in SA. The idea is to make them aware of some of the behavioural issues in finance as well as to invoke a sense of reciprocity so that they'll allow us to use their analysts for some research. So far we've got one of the firms on board, still negotiating with the others
EDIT: Sorry for the offtopic Haji, it's just interesting to see people discuss behavioural economics on TL.
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I love libraries. In the UK they've become amazing, but due to a lackluster/invisible PR campaign, no one knows. Once you have your free library card, not only can you take books out from you local library, but you can use your card online (say from home), and order any book from any library in the country, to be delivered to your local library, for free.
It just blows my mind how good the service is, yet no one knows...
I feel the same as you about most of the adult section being pretty lowbrow in my local library.
Good choice on the Gladwell - have you seen his TED talk about the bomber sight? He's a great speaker as well as a writer.
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On April 04 2012 03:03 Jibba wrote:
Also, unlike brick and mortar book stores like Barnes & Noble, libraries are still focused on good books.
You must be going to different libraries than me. The last few times I've gone to a public (non-university) library I've left depressed.
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thedeadhaji
39489 Posts
On April 04 2012 01:46 zalz wrote:
I would save a fortune if I used the library more often. But I don't.
There is just something about owning all the books I read and keeping them in my book case, which is already piling over.
In fact, I just took a look at my desk. There are sixteen books stacked to my right, my tower of finished books. To my left there are nine books which I am still planning to read.
Yeah, I really should use the library more often.
I agree, the books we own are in a way a projection of ourselves (or so at least we seem to believe). There's a bit of ego and showmanship involved.
On April 04 2012 01:55 Subversive wrote:Wow, this is a great blog. I loved your description of viewing a library as a youngster then as an adult. Beautiful writing, great imagery. You make me want to start visiting libraries (I was going to say 'again' but I never do. Like you, however, I do buy a lot of books in book stores. This not only gave me confidence because so many bookstores have closed in Sydney recently, but also was the best recommendation I've ever received to visit a library. I feel like I might not know what I'm missing). @nepeta Sadly university libraries are throwing out books here . @zalz hahaha I have 8 piles now of books next to my bed. They're an unofficial 'desk' all read unfortunately. And my bookshelves are still overflowing.
On April 04 2012 02:03 Daigomi wrote:If you ever get around to reading the Ariely, let me know what you think. My research is purely in that field (applied to investment), so I've used quite a bit of his work in my research. In fact, I applied for a PhD at Columbia (I think it was Columbia) hoping that I could work with him. Didn't get in though
Sure
I should get around to it in a few weeks
On April 04 2012 03:03 Jibba wrote:
The library is awesome, especially if you're at a university. The serendipity of discovering books is something that Amazon hasn't quite replaced yet, and it's easy to jump into things you're totally clueless about.
Also, unlike brick and mortar book stores like Barnes & Noble, libraries are still focused on good books. There's no Kardashian biography getting in the way of your search.
There's plenty of mildly trashy book in the library, but you're right, it doesn't go too overboards in that regard.
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I often keep notes in books so it doesn't make sense to use the library for these.
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EPT
