Beginner in Book Collecting

How flowery could I be about book collecting? In a sense, I already am. The urge to list all the titles in my possession to add to the word count is strong, though. The truth is, a few books though I own, I rarely visit. The titles I do mean to reference often should be more valuable, if you have certain interests.

If you're like me, you struggle to complete tasks because of chatty friends and various interests. You might enjoy The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey.

My copy sits more weathered than a desk at an elementary school. I found this in the garage of my parent's home. Imagine my happiness that this survived as long as it did, despite its condition. It looks almost as if someone began charring the back cover.

If you're like me, you have clothes strewn everywhere as if a small twister recently touched down. Only issue, you're the weather system. Maybe it's different and your digital files less order than a two-year old. Email inbox could house 60,000 emails or something. You might enjoy the life-changing magic of tidying up by Marie Kondo. (Admittedly, I haven't read much of it. As my blog's audience, you'll be the first to know.)

And lastly, you're a lot like me, to an uncanny extent, if you've got things you want to improve. Well, maybe we all have that in common, but I bet you haven't found The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time And Life Management for an astounding value of two dollars.

This title in particular seems to connect so many threads from other titles I've discussed like Atomic Habits and Paradox of Choice. In all, I'm beginning to shape my curriculum for staying intentional and effective.

I had my virtual assistant generate a plan to accomplish collecting even rarer books, like this one: Margin of Safety by Seth Klarman. Why'd this title even appreciate so much in price over time? It was originally published in 1991 and sold for $25.

While I cannot answer that, here are the steps to take if you want something like that:

1. Research the genres within your interests and identify reputable rare book dealers and auctions.
2. Set a budget for the costs of books and decide how far you're willing to go.
3. Join communities and network where collectors share information.
4. Monitor auction houses for chances and attend estate sales.
5. Since regular customers get the hookup, connect with rare book dealers.
6. Explore online platforms like marketplaces and sites for antique bookshops.
7. Pick your book picks carefully, since the game is a marathon not a sprint.
8. Learn about book grading and preservation.
9. Consider restoration if the value increase merits, but I oft remain skeptical.
10. Stay informed continuously, following books, market trends and valuation methods.

Since I found value in the warning, remember to strike a balance between passion and budget constraints. I'm also someone who spends above his means! What a curious cocktail of qualities.

Question-Behavior Effect

I don't write as prolifically as some. They often say glib comments when I self-deprecate like, "You're your own worst critic!" While self-defeat does come from within, so do those small questions. Apparently, some research suggests that outcomes depend on them.

The research explored the question-behavior effect (QBE), where asking questions about a behavior influences subsequent performance. The study, involving 1534 participants, aimed to determine if QBE can change multiple health behaviors and if enhancing dissonance during questionnaire completion increases its impact.

Three conditions were tested: dissonance-enhanced QBE, standard QBE, and control. The results indicated that the QBE had significant effects, increasing health-protective behaviors and reducing health-risk behaviors.

The dissonance-enhanced QBE intervention showed greater effectiveness than the standard QBE, supporting the notion that magnifying dissonance enhances the impact of QBE.

This study is the first to demonstrate that a brief QBE intervention can influence performance across multiple health behaviors.

Revisiting Enclothed Cognition

I am on my game, updating all two of my platforms three days in a row. The information I found discussed how clothes may hold a strange power over us all. It confirms that based on your perception of the clothes and the clothes symbolic meaning to you, you might have enjoy a "buff".

Subjects wearing doctor coats, that were identified as doctor coats, did better on doctor-related tasks and questions when compared to those who received indications their coats were for painters, instead.

Nothing says just owning the look helps. For everything else, you might have to own and read the book.