Books as Comfort

Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." I always know where my copy of that book is, because I never know when I'm going to need to be reminded to "DON'T PANIC" in giant glowing friendly letters.

I have new books on my shelves all the time as well - and I love how you said... "The thought of going into my library and discovering I've read all the books... that scares me. Unread books are full of possibilities -- there's more to learn and new worlds to discover." ...that totally describes why I think I buy books all the time. So exciting discovering something new.

And yes, I totally am in a much more "reading" mood in the winter time, when it's cold outside and I would rather curl up under a blanket (or 2).

I have moved so many times over the years that my book collection has gotten smaller and smaller out of necessity. But I do have a handful of books that I will never part with - an ancient, dog-eared copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a few favorite books that I read when I can't sleep. Those books will stay with me no matter how many times I move. I can't imagine ever getting rid of them!

"I will never again have a home large enough for all my books."

Friends and I were sharing this thought over the weekend. Downsizing is tough in the closet and the kitchen but it is physically painful in the library. Thanks to a local used book store I could turn them into cash, but parting with them was a teary experience, for sure.

a/b

While I don't stock up books and I tend not to hang on to many once I've read them, I do need several books at my disposal at any given time. It's rare that I don't have a nice big stack of library books and in the rare instance I find myself without new library books (such as after I gave birth this summer) I feel almost a sense of panic. I need to read just as I need to breathe. And so in those moments of booklessness, I turn to the books that are given keep-forever status: Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gables, and re-read them for the millionth time.

I have a stack of partially read neighborhood book club books that I intend to revisit and finish someday. I also have trouble culling books, as I like the feeling of having my own little libary to display. I don't tend to re-read many books, but I have re-watched my favorite movies countless times over the years.

Oh I had such a hard time culling my books, but I needed to because I didn't have the space - especially with the wee ones taking over my bookshelves with their toys and books. After I moved into our most recent house, I gave away seven packed large bankers' boxes of books. It was so hard for me, but I went through each book to decide if I would read it again or if it was a one time book. With libraries so prevalent and me visiting them so often, I can always get books again. I want books to be my friends though, which means that if I own it, I want to have read it and I want to have enjoyed it. It's important to me now to want to reread it if I keep it. But I know that's just one philosophy - the new books and the trials are the ones that I get from the library. I'm still experiencing a variety of new books, but ... they aren't MINE. Yet.

I totally used to collect books. I had all of my shelves double-stacked - two rows of books per shelf. And then one day, I thought, "Why am I keeping these? Why am I keeping all the crappy paperback versions of novels I'll never read again?" And I started to let go. There are so many more books out there to read. And I've rediscovered the library.

Of course, I still want a library of my own some day, something like the professor's in My Fair Lady (which is what I always picture when I picture my own library). But I've also decided that when the day comes that I can afford to have a library like that, I can afford to buy hard back versions of all the books I truly love - all the books I'll read and read again.

Until then, I'm cutting back.

I find books very comforting too. Little House on the Prairie brings me back to my childhood. To Kill a Mockingbird to know that there is good in the world. Bridge to Terabithia if I want a good cry. I never get tired of re-reading a good book. It's like having a conversation with your siblings about the good old times. :-)

I've been doing my best for the last couple of years to not be a book hoarder. I've been using paperbackswap.com to trade for new book favorites. But I've been hoarding the Outlander series & light chick lit like Jane Green's or Jodi Picoult. I can re-read all three of those authors for a pick me up at the end of a long day or a quick pick me up.

I've moved around a lot and I have over 30 boxes of books. I'm pretty sure that my books have cost me thousands of dollars in additional moving expenses (I mailed them all "media rate" via the post office at one point -- yeah, those postal employees LOVED me.). Only recently, have I been able to begin to part with any of them. (So many memories!) My kindle, however provides a way to secretly hoard many of my new books, while saving on moving expenses.

I don't cull books I really liked, so I never feel like I'm saying goodbye to friends. As a result, I have more books than I probably should. I do reread them when I want to remember certain truths. I have something of a bad memory, so I often stare at a book and try to remember all the details and find myself reading it again if all I can remember is that I loved it.

I can't have unfinished books in my library. They make me feel unfinished or like I have a huge to-do list. That drives me nuts! I also don't keep a whole lot of books in hard copy. The only books in my library (which is still huge) are books that I feel are worth re-reading over and over. If I don't like it enough to re-read it once a year, it goes to be donated.

I do have all kinds of e-books though. If I'm not sure if it's going to be a keeper or if I know it won't be, I buy an e-book. That way it's not quite as wasteful or cluttering.

I have a few classics on my shelf that I haven't read yet, and they are totally my someday books ..Catcher in the Rye and Pride and Prejudice. They always seem to get pushed aside for non-fiction books I need to read for business, but they seem to oddly be a source of comfort by providing the hope of leisure and the promise of the simple pleasures that will always be there, waiting for me to take a look and experience them.

For me it was hard reading the parts about her books... I would be devastated if I had to give up my books. Although I don't often reread them, I like knowing they are there. They are like that security blanket in the back of the closet that provides safety by its mere presence.

It was when Browning discussed her books that I felt the most connected to her as well. I loved everything she had to say about reading. I can't remember a time before I knew how to read, it seems like I just always have! I love all books, I love to reread, and reread, and reread again. It is the ultimate comfort food for me.

It was when Browning discussed her books that I felt the most connected to her as well. I loved everything she had to say about reading. I can't remember a time before I knew how to read, it seems like I just always have! I love all books, I love to reread, and reread, and reread again. It is the ultimate comfort food for me.

I have boxes and boxes of books.. I absolutely LOVE reading and have since I was a kid. Thankfully it's one trait that I've passed onto my kids :) My teens both are complete bookworms :) I love discovering new authors in the YA section with them and sharing a few of my 'tamer' authors from the romance section with my daughter :) I have quite a bookshelf of "keepers" that I will re-read over and over but the rest I trade on papererback swap to get new books!: )

I love books as well, and have been escaping into them since I was a child. Letting go of them is not especially difficult, but I read mainly novels and paperbacks, so there isn't a lot of rereading going on there. And I love taking a huge pile of books to the half price book store, knowing that once I trade them in I get to come home with a whole new pile of books to read. Anything I know I will reread I keep no question, even if that means I move fifteen boxes of books (like I did when we moved last time). Right now I only have one small bookshelf, and it has books on it two or three deep. I dream of the day I'll have a wall of books, and I keep a list of all the books I can't wait to share with my kids when they get older.

There are certainly more dangerous things to find comfort in than books! Though there are also many things that are much lighter/less cumbersome. And I'm talking physical books, of course, because sometimes you DO want the feel of it in your hands.

I definitely have some books that I have held onto for many years because they are of some comfort to me. Some of these books are from my childhood! And once in a while I will pull one or two out to read. It's like coming back home to family!

I love books and spent most of my childhood reading as well. Now I'm passing on that love to my kids. I don't have a huge library of my own books, because of space limitations, and I have read almost all of the books that I own. I definitely have trouble getting rid of them though- it almost causes me physical pain to have to part with one. I don't have specific authors or books that I go to at certain times, but I always have to have a book nearby. I hoard library books and make sure that I always have a drawer full of them. Running out of new books to read is a terrifying thought to me. I love the experience of reading a new book and meeting new people and traveling to new places. It's a nice escape from daily life :)

I read this on my Kindle and I highlighted a lot of passages. I don't have the Kindle with me now so I can't quote, but I know that a good chunk of those highlights were sections where Dominique talked about books and reading, because they gave me a lot of "hey, me too!" moments.

Strangely, I don't have specific authors or genres that are go-to "comfort reads." I've been out of the re-reading habit for years and have only recently made revisiting old favorites a priority, but even in those cases it's not really for comfort - it's mostly come from a desire to get something more out of the book by reading it at a different life stage.

These days I don't keep very many books after I've read them, so the ones that make the cut are very special. I think my comfort comes from just knowing that I've still got plenty of reading ahead of me - I am DEFINITELY a book stockpiler!

Im really horrible at getting rid of books. Especially if its a book i really loved. I also get so upset when a book ends. Ive read a couple series books and im so terribly sad in the end. I feel as though i've lost friends. My husband thinks its crazy, LOL.

I am a HUGE rereader. I love to reread a fun book when I am in a funk. I cannot wait to read a book I have so I never amass a lot of unread books.

So well said. I am currently in the process of cleaning up books. We really have no space but it is so hard to part with them. Its like they contain little pieces of me and my memories inside each of them.

There's so much I haven't read that I want to read, but I love re-reading old favorites, and I get different things out of them depending on what point I'm at in my life. I have re-read "Anne of Green Gables" about a million times because I love the story. I've re-read the Harry Potter series in its entirety once (and some of the books a few times) to pick up on things I missed -- and I can't wait to read them with my son when he's older. Recently, I've had the itch to re-read "Poisonwood Bible," so I think that's next on my list.