Book Collecting in a time of social distancing

Traditional advice to those starting out in book collecting has always been to spend as much time in local rare and second hand bookshops as possible, to become familiar with the look and feel of collectable books, to learn from the booksellers and to begin to get a feel for where you might source the sort of books you are interested in.  In these times, as coronavirus spreads and social distancing becomes a requirement, many may wish to spend more time collecting as a small distraction from the rather scary world outside.

So, here at BookAddiciton, we thought it may be helpful to offer some tips on how to start  from scratch or develop an existing book collection in ways that don’t require you to visit physically a bricks and mortar bookshop or auction house.  In the next few days, we’ll be launching a series of blog posts on book collecting.  We’ll be giving our tops tips on how to shape a collection, identify first editions, keep your books safe and sound, add to you collection or dispose of items that no longer interest you and, particularly, how to buy collectable books on line with confidence. We’ll also be covering some wider concepts designed to appeal to those with an interest in books, such as an introduction to the history of the book, print history, features on significant books and what to look out for while you’re off on a book hunt (always one of the thrilling parts of collecting!).    And we’ll be re-starting our series of posts on Queer and Quirky Titles, Lost Between the Leaves and Collectors’ Notes.

Why not sign up to our blog now to make sure you don’t miss a thing? Tell us what you’d like to see and share your book collecting stories.