how many books do you actually own? and keep in your house?

I can't be bothered to count them but we have 2 overflowing massive bookshelves in our bedroom, one bookshelf in ds' room and one in the hall.

The living room is reserved for dvds and games (because I hate people snooping around my books).

But dh and I never get rid of any of our books/dvds etc because just maybe one day we will want it again...

"Encyclopædia Britannica"

actually, it would be Encyclopaediae Britannica.
the plural is on the Encyclopaedia.

however, if it's one full set, then it's just Encyclopaedia Britannica, because that's the full name of the set.
had you a couple or more sets, then use the plural.

I'd have said Britannicas as it's not possessive.

I have a quandary. I lovingly hoarded kept all my favourite childhood books - and they are now on the (large, full) bookshelf in DS's room. Now DD has arrived it's occurred to me that at some point I'm going to have to decide which child gets the Narnia and which gets Elidor/Owl Service etc. I guess DD can have my mum's copy of Alice in Wonderland and DS can have my dad's copy of the Hobbit? But not until they're very very much older.

Probably about 800 non-fiction and about 200 fiction - mainly poetry/plays because I tend to give away/recycle novels once they've been read unless they're classics that one of us will want to read again. Always hoard the non-fiction ones though - just cos you never know when they might come in useful!

About 2,500

When we moved house and downsized (having got rid of about 3000 books) the removal man told us that he had never moved so many books in a private house before

DH and I are both voracious readers and book hoarders. A few years ago we agreed to a book in/book out policy sayig that everytime we bought a new book we would get rid of an old one but we failed miserably

We have about 1000. Librarything says about 850 but I've not updated it much since DD arrived.
You can never have too many books. 1 wall of our lounge is books.... and we have bookshelves in each bedroom.
As far as I'm concerned it's good insulation.

I'm another one who judge's people on their bookshelves. Most of my friends scour the music collection, or spice rack, for me it's always the books.

ohnoshedittant - I'd feel very uncomfortable in your house.

After a little hunt around I think we probably have a couple of thousand plus maybe the same again in the children's rooms. That's after charity-shopping a thousand or so when we moved. I thought it would be nice to downsize the amount of bookcases and shelves and so weeded out the ones I wasn't so attached to - sadly I have missed most of them at various times and will never have another cull.

Too many to count and then their is my DH's CD collection!!

i was reading this and looking at the very small bookcase in living room whic holds about 100 books.. thinking i dont have that many books compared to some people.

Then i looked at the dining area with the new waist height bookshelves i have which goes round 3 full walls(and is full of textbooks as study table is in here too)

then looked in the kitchen where there is 30+ cookbooks

then the kids room where they have their own bookcase.

and my collection started from scratch 3 years ago when I upped and left the old collection. I thought i was doing really well in swapping with people recently.

i notice people dont even ask to swap. my mum was doing my childcare on friday, she left a carrier bag of books in a space where she had removed books

A house without books is like a garden without flowers.
I agree ziptoes, people without books are very very strange.
I read somewhere that years ago Tory party canvassers would peer into people's windows to check our their book situation and would only ring the bell if the house was book-free. Says it all really
Unfortunately DH is of the Tory persuasion and has in the past called my books mini fire hazards

Hundreds and hundreds, at home and in my office. I must have spent about £100 on charity shop books while on mat leave (it's a good way of killing time while DD sleeps in the buggy). I'm one of the people that buys old university texts from the Oxfam shop. ;) The thing is I love libraries too - and I get about 2-3 books out every 2 weeks as well as the kids'. I feel its important to support the library, especially now.

I think people without books in their homes are weird, and I worry about their children.

Never counted, but between DH myself & DD probably several 1000, we have whole walls dedicated to books, especially reference books - we ALL love books :)

maybe 100 and that´s only because I haven´t passed them on yet. I LOVE reading but I do not hang on to books, i read and pass on and now I have a kindle so will have even fewer. my parents had tons and tons and tons of books and we moved so often they made up a huge part of our storage and were always in and out of boxes. Even when we settled for a while they were in the attic always waiting for shelves to be built. I don´t know, it just made an impression on me, so I don´t keep mine.

I do like the idea of floor to ceiling shelves crammed with books but I wouldn´t like the reality.

I have hundreds of books, but I only keep the ones I love and think I'll read again. I don't keep anything trashy (though I'll happily read it!) and I don't keep stuff I don't like. I take the unwanted books to Oxfam or give them to friends. I agree that books furnish a house, but only if they are in bookcases - I'd love a library, but piles of of books everywhere just look messy.

I don't know exactly how many books are in the house, but I would estimate at around 800-1000. That is with culls and Oxfam donations a couple of times a year, and borrowing lots from the library rather than buying them. I just love books.

Oh but i still have books everywhere!! And a bookcase in every room!!

I always kept every book i read and then when i went travelling learnt through necessity to exchange and get rid of books and since then have forced myself to do it, but have to admit that i hate it, i would love to still have them all. BUT i realised when i looked at the boxes of books under my bed that i still hadnt reread after 25 years that they were just disintegrating so i ditched them. And it is recycling books that make charity shops good. I now just keep ones that i really enjoy that my friends will borrow

I dream of having a room with No Books In At All.

I have 10 books at the moment.

I buy from charity shop and then give it back when I'm done or use the library.

I cannot stand the clutter. The thought of 10,000 books in my house is making me itch.

We easily have over 3000... not really sure how many any more. I do try to cull them, but last time I tried I went through 3 8ft Billys and managed to weed out one book...

...and I couldn't be bothered to walk to the charity shop to drop that one in, so it's still here!

They are in every room of the house- as they should be. I dream of having a room for a library though.

I am very of elkiedee though... and I follow her on twitter, and she reads and reviews loads, tweets interesting things, so everyone else should follow her too

about 4000.
from time to time we try to get rid of them and it is rather pathetic - we spend hours discussing it intently and end up with a pile of about 6 books we're prepared to let go.

even the duplicates, we end up saying 'Oh well suppose the dcs want them when they grow up?'

we need to move house really.

I have two huge bookcases in the lounge, the kids have a bookcase each in their bedrooms as well as books in the playroom, and I have two big bookcases in the spare room, which have overflowed and there is also a big teetering pile of books before the bookcase - adn this is AFTER a big slear out! Can't imagine being without all my (many) books.

A couple of hundred... Not like I'm going to go and count them though (slopes off upstairs..)