FAO those who own all the books

[BenKenobi]

I've the entire Lone Wolf serie (books 1 - 28)... some of them are so old that the pages are flying away all over the room !!!
I've played them many times: a gamebook is not done to be conserved in perfect conditions... it is a "lived" thing !!!
Some books still have the holes on the Random Table, made by the pen, by hundreds of combat and re-playings....

[StoneCold]

Being in a bibliophile myself I always try to keep my books in order, and open my books to an angle of no more than 70º :-)

I have a lot of books and comics that might fetch some money, but have never ever wanted to part with them. They were not only an important part of my childhood, but also a reminder of a simpler era, with many happy memories. I remember how excited I was each time I saw a new one on the shelf, although the lack of a colour map in the last few were disappointing.
My first book was Book 5. Gary Chalk's illustration on that cool black cover just sucked me in.

Anyway, probably thanks to the humidity of Singaporean weather, my paperbacks all have these freaking yellow marks on them.

If anyone here has advice on:
1. What one can do about them
2. What one should do in terms of segregation from other books once a book has them
3. How to prevent new books ever getting them

I would be very much indebted to you!

[Zipp]

Hi there. I've had similar problems before, although I live in the cold, so yellowed pages is not foremost among them. I'm a bookaphile myself, and own some rare novels and collections. There's not a whole lot you can do about yellowed pages, and it's gonna happen sooner or later, especially in humid weather. So I have to tell you:

It's best not to worry about it.

When I get in the mood, I can drive myself insane worrying over the condition of some of my books (even those that are in excellent condition). But we must remember that life is impermenant. If we don't enjoy the books, then we are actually doing the books a disservice. Just as you wouldn't keep an apple for ten years (and if you did, trust me it wouldn't stay in perfect condition), we will ultimately lose against time in our battle to preserve our literary treasures.

My advice to you is to reread the whole series starting now, get as much as you can out of those books, and don't worry overmuch about their condition. You ain't the only one who wishses these things lasted forever. I'm sure yours will last a very long time, at any rate.

[WaitingOnPassword]

I've got all the books, and while the earlier ones, up until 14, are in various degrees of tatterment, 15-20 are perfect or as close to as you can get. And it wouldn't matter if they were all perfect, as I'd never sell them.

I remember an earlier thread, and it had link to where some of the books were going for $300+.

[HuntingWolf]

I'll be buried with my Lone Wolf books.

[Dronak]

I have all of the US printed books, meaning 13-20 are abridged. I got many of them when I was a kid, so they've already been read and show some wear (e.g., cracked spines). My newest purchases, a few books towards the end of the US line, I bought a couple years ago off eBay or some such place. I think that those are in somewhat better condition. I rarely buy things as an investment, to keep in pristine condition. I buy things because I want to use them. I do try to keep the books in good condition though. I don't mark the sheets inside and I try not to rough up the books too much. But they're meant to read, and that's what I do with them.

[nigthhunter]

xhuntingwolfx said:

I'll be buried with my Lone Wolf books.

That's a good solution to beat the time.

[HuntingWolf]

LoL

[Ofecks]

I actually sold my LW collection last summer. In the quest to try and rid myself of possessions, I decided that my books took up quite a bit of space and had to go. Thanks to Project Aon, I can still read them. I admit it's not the same, though. Oh well.

I had books 1-20 LW and 1-4 GS, all US editions. Most of them later printings, but a few were originals.