Just the Group I have been looking for!!!

Greetings!

I can't believe it has taken me so long to discover the existence of this excellent Group. I had long thought Library Thing needed a group like this, and lo and behold here it is!

The reason I am excited to find and join you is not only do I have a few unique books in the LT community (though not nearly as many unique items as some group members), but there is something intrinsically conceptually great about a group whose main purpose is celebrating what they don't have in common. The rarities, the oddities, the arcana, the out-of-print, etc.

Anyway, as soon as I discovered the group I had to count and tag my ULTB items. The resulting count (until someone else catalogues them or I add further singular items to my library) is thirty-three unique books.

I also noted what I would call my 'near misses', those books that narrowly missed qualifying for unique status because they were shared with one or two other people (but no more). These numbered sixty-nine in total.

Anyways, I just wanted to say hello. I look forward to exploring the ULTB tag and seeing what interesting obscure books are out there.

Cheers!
Emrayfo

Under your profile, and its sub area called Stats/Memes, there is something called Vous et nul autre, which lists all the books you share with exactly one other person. It is kind of fun to see if there is anyone you share mayb 3 or 4 books with.

Dear Charles,

Emrayfo, the only reason I commented was because you seem to be interested in Aussi though you live in Argintina. Getting ready for the next Olympics? Or an expatriate?

Well Unique to LT aint that great a thing, I must confess I haven't catalogued MY copy of the "Guttenberg Bible", for obvious reasons, but I do have some obscure local histories.

I am sure you could find a book on say "...goucho songs of the 1880's..." somewhere in a flea market in BA. Is it important/significant/valuable ?

Probably not. BUT...But...It's your 'unique' copy. Enjoy!

Goucho songs of the 1880's? I've been looking for that one!

You must realize that is NOT the same as "GROUCHA's" version from the 1930's.

Quite a different beat.

Thanks everyone for the welcome comments!

Lol. Guido, I'm sure you're right it would not be difficult to source very obscure publications for the sole purpose of filling out your ULTB list, but I'm sure most people don't approach it that way and for me anyway that's not quite in the spirit of it anyway. I agree having a unique book is no reason to congratulate yourself. Because, as you say, it is most likely not going to be something of value or broad interest (Gutenburg Bibles excepted, of course!). For me it's just for the fun of it, really. To be honest I'm often surprised at which of my books have 5 or less owners on LT, just as I often find something I expect to be uncommon is actually owned by hundreds if not thousands of Library Thingers! The other plus of the uncommon books is that it helps build LT into an ever bigger archive of books and reviews that goes beyond the mainstream choices that are already well represented. But thanks for your thoughts, and next time I'll make sure to keep my eyes open for a copy of Gaucho Songs of the 1880s next time I'm in San Telmo. ; )

On nationality, yes I am actually an Aussie, currently on sabbatical and spending a good chunk of this year living in B.A. As for the Olympics, Australia did terribly in 2012, but that's okay. UK did very well and good for them.

Vpfluke - Thanks very much for that tip! I wasn't aware that facility was available on Library Thing. It must be a good way for discovering members with similar interests. I'm definitely going to check it out. : )

Cheers,
Charles

Welcome, good to see there is interest as a new comer myself. I notice from my own list of ULTBs (surprisingly large ) that books are more likely to be in that category if they are a specialist area or on or from an unusual country. I see lots of my Africana collection is ULTBs but that is just because there are relatively few Africana collectors on LT not because there are minimal nos of copies around . also I notice that the older a book the more likely it will be ULTB. I agree that building the database of LT books . also worth putting effort into finding author pics for author pages of ULTBs .

Hi Africansky,

I definitely agree with everything you said. Another common reason for ULTBs is works in another language (and that are not otherwise available in English translation), given most members are predominately English language rates.

Cheers,
Charles

Thanks #6 for "lol' at me.

I do sometimes need that.

When I find a 'ULTB', the first thing I look for is potential combinations.

Then, if not found, I think like #7 does, what makes this book unique, re. LT.

The language, the topic, what?
I always remember that at least 500 copies were printed. Why am I the only one to have a copy on LT?

OK, OK there is also probability...

Yours, Guido.

PS. You MUST be an Aussie!. I don't expect us to always be in the top 5 medal winners.

PPS. Just most of the time :-}

Yes, I am a very proud Aussie, Guido!

I think what you said about ULTBs makes a lot of sense. The only thing I am not clear on its what you mean by 'combinations'?

Regards,
Charles

>10 Emrayfo: Combinations, as in, there are other copies of the book already, but it just hasn't been properly combined with them yet.

Thanks PolymathicMonkey for clarifying.