About this course

For some people, reading is just another thing they have to do to get what they want.

They need skills and want to keep up to date, so they read.

They want to be entertained and enjoy a good story, so they read.

But for some of you, reading is more than that.

It's the history of the modern economy.

It's a way of life.

It's one of the most enjoyable ways to spend your time.

Some of your most important relationships are with your favorite authors, through their printed word.

Today, books are commoditized.

Whether in print or on your Kindle, books are bought and sold without much deep thought about what they contain and where they belong in the larger cultural conversation.

If you've taken my speed reading or research courses, you know that one of the most critical mistakes to avoid is judging a book, a course, or anything else by it's price tag. Price and value are not the same thing.

When collecting books this matters even more.

Books that mean something to enough people can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

Bill Gates recently set the record for the highest price paid at auction for a book, when he paid over 30 million dollars for the pages of one of DaVinci's notebooks.

In this course, you'll learn everything you need to know to get started in the world of book collecting.

It starts with deciding what you want to collect.

There are lots of different ways to collect books, and there are lots of different types of collectors.

You'll learn how to decide on you first collection, and then how to go about finding the right books.

You'll also learn where to buy books, and the relative advantages and disadvantages of each method.

If it sounds like book collecting is a mostly solitary affair, be assured it is not.

Book collectors are people who love books, who love ideas, who love history and their collections reflect these values.

In the final section of the book, you'll learn how to connect with authors.

Whether you just want an autograph, or you want to know how to strike up a conversation at a public reading or signing, you'll learn how here.

Welcome to the world of book collecting,

Timothy