Can't Stop Buying Books? Join the Club

I am SO glad there are others out there like me!! I have a book obsession. Some people have a shoe obsession -- for me, it would be books. I haunt this wonderful second-hand bookstore near me, and for the sake of my marriage, I gave up half of my books a couple of years ago, and traded them for credit at the bookstore. Well, needless to say I've gotten nearly the same number back INTO the house using that credit. My husband didn't quite realize my book obsession when we got married four years ago. It's crazy. I LOVE books. Thank goodness for libraries; when times are tough, you can still get books. And it's a cheap way for me to indulge my "must have a new book!" urges.

Storage is definitely an issue, as you can see by the bookcases throughout my house. Getting rid of my books is like putting a pet down or giving up a child for adoption. I know my hubby can't understand that; but I know y'all do. I, too, have a big stack of unread books, and still come home with more. Thank goodness for Costco and the ability to buy newly-released hardbacks for about $15 off retail. I never leave home without a book, and not that this ever happens, but if I finish a book and don't have another one to start? I have to go out and get another one. I can't STAND not having another book to start right away. I'm like a chain smoker, only with books instead! LOL My husband just can't believe it when I finish a book, sigh in satisfaction. Then immediately get up and walk over to the bookshelf, shelve the book I just read, and pull out a new one. He can't even fathom that. But he loves me, so he tolerates it. LOL

Thanks for the opportunity to know I'm not alone! :-)

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." -- Groucho Marx

I am only allowed to have 50 unread books at any given time. I have a kindle, so this is pretty easy to keep track of. If I go over 50, I have to stop visiting Amazon, stop reading the New York Times book review, and stop buying books until I get under 50 again.

The kindle can hold over 250 books, but I don't want to clog it up with so many. I like to have a wide selection at any given time, but more than 50 feels overwhelming.

Having just been reading these comments and feel SO MUCH BETTER!

I'm not the only one. I've come to accept (maybe) that I actually won't read all the books I have. It was seeing one of those amazing personal libraries in those old English houses that I figured out that the books were collected for the love of the books and they weren't ALL read.

This made me feel so much better - it justified my love for books. It lets me dive into books at different times at different places. I now have shelves of art and craft books, jewelry books, atlases, quilting books, the list goes on like all of ours do.

As for novels and business books I do expect to read them but looking at my stacks around the place it would take more than a year at my normal reading pace to get through 75% of them alone.

I'm trying not to buy new books in the bookshops but when the local library has a stall at market I'm a goner, I come home with an armload of books. So there goes the plan to not buy more books until I've read more of my stacks.

Second hand book shops and those library stalls are my downfall because I argue with myself that the price is great, the book's in good nic and it may not be there next time. New bookshops don't have that edge with me - just my love for buying and hugging new books to my chest as I walk out the door grinning.

It's so lovely to find there are so many others who are passionate about books!

Happy reading!

Smiles,

Belinda

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After quitting my job of 9 1/2 years and finding myself living off savings, I realized that I had read $125 worth of books in one weekend.  These are books that I enjoyed but knew that I wouldn't reread.  I thought, something's got to give.  This makes no sense in these financial belt-tightening times.  So, I started checkingout books from two local libraries regularly.  I also hunted on my shelves for books unread and committed to reading one from the home shelf and then one from the library stash.

The other thing I've done that I've felt real good about with parts of my book collection, is donate books to a children's school in S. Africa, to the local prison library and to a youth writing program.  Giving away substantial number of books made me feel so good because other people who need the books were going to have them for free.  It also got me use to not having books falling down around me. 

I have asked that if anyone in my family happens to want to give me a gift for a birthday or Mother's Day or something, they make it a gift certificate to a book store.  That way I can get my fix without it costing me.  :-)

I also find keeping a list on my shelfari.com shelf helps me keep a running list so that I don't feel compelled to buy books as soon as I hear about them.  Despite a few withdrawal pains, I am doing pretty well staving off the book-buying frenzies.

Candelaria - Good and plenty!

I don't feel so bad anymore that I buy books much faster than I read them. As often as I tell myself that I won't buy another book until I read at least 5 more, I can't stop myself. I keep telling myself that one day I'll have time to read them all.

Jennifer at http://connectwithyourteens.blogspot.com/

I have to say for a blog that doesn't get much traffic, I am so surprised to see that I am the piont on the discussion here! Ah, just an update I bought at least ten book since I wrote that blog entry-- six this weekend at a used bookstore! Also, 75% is a number that I put out there. I am not really sure about the number of books I own. Thanks again, this was cool and I intend to visit this site every periodically. I hope you guys will do the same for me.

I can so relate! Plus for the last year or two I have a new shame to add to my book problem: My audiobooks are starting to multiply, too. I did cut back to the plan where I only get charged for one a mont. But then I'll get these emails announcing 50 and 75 percent off to buy additional ones...

The worse thing, of course, is that whereas real space in my house is limited, hard drive space (computer and iPod) is so very large.

Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast ( http://blog.lib.umn.edu/perry032/impossible/ )

I have to say that, I have greatly reduced my book-buying in the last two years, but it's because I've expanded my online book trading exponentially. While this does serve the purpose of getting some books out of my house, it has increased my stack of unread books by a lot.

And add me to the list of people with the started-and-abandoned pile!

I am sure there are folks who read as many books as I do each year. There must be. Otherwise why would there be so many books in the world?

~TW ( http://ramblewoman.blogspot.com )
Retro-Food ( http://retro-food.com/ )

( http://ramblewoman.blogspot.com )

Nobody can relate to you because NOBODY reads as fast as you do. And I mean NOBODY.

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings ( http://www.flamingohouse.net/ )

The ratio of read to unread books on my shelves. I know that i have more than 100 unread books on my shelves (my guess is somewhere between 125-150).  I really probably could read exclusively off of my bookshelves for a full year (but I'm not going to). I honestly don't know if I've ever had all the books on my shelves read at any point in my life...

Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca/ ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.wordpress.com/ ).

( http://sassymonkey.ca/ )

I know I can go at least a month without buying books because I've made myself do it on several occasions. The problem is that I usually end up buying a stack of books either right before or right after.  

I've seen some creative book storage options out there on the net but nothing for ceilings yet.

Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca/ ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.wordpress.com/ ).

( http://sassymonkey.ca/ )

I'm lucky that I'm not moving nearly as far and don't have to pay by weight. Because I don't know that I could resist a half price day.

On the plus side, you have a good library for borrowing books - even if they don't have Willig. ;)  

Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca/ ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.wordpress.com/ ).

( http://sassymonkey.ca/ )

Probably. But I only say that because there were a couple of books that I know I didn't consider read until I actually got all the way through them (in one case it took me at least 5 tries to get through the darned thing...). As part of a challenge at one time or another I challenged myself to finish 3 books that I've started and never finished - I still have one left to do. I find I'm particularly more likely to do that with non-fiction.

Been there and done that with the shoes too! What I would give for a pair of shoes that didn't give me blisters or make me bleed. Thankfully books don't do that although I have suffered from the occasional papercut or bruised toe (hardcovers HURT when they land on your toes...). 

Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca/ ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.wordpress.com/ ).

( http://sassymonkey.ca/ )

I have a few scattered about but not too many at the moment - but they do increase on a regular basis. It's almost time to buy another bookcase. Fiction and non-fiction for me too. 

Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca/ ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.wordpress.com/ ).

( http://sassymonkey.ca/ )

My problem is that I truly believe that I'm going to LOVE LOVE LOVE every book I buy.  Well, turns out that I don't.  Shocking, I know. 

I have stacks of books on my nighstand, endtables, bookcases. . . all started - invested - but never quite what I'm feeling at the moment.  So, they sit there for years before I go back to them.

I guess I do the same thing with shoes.. "OhMyGodTheseAreSoCuteIMustHaveThem!" And then I take them home toss them in the closet and wonder why I thought they were a good idea in the first place.  They were a little too tight, too tall, too narrow, too... cute!  I'll try them on again every couple of months... to the same decision, "uh, yah, I'll go with my black flats."

cryssteen
target me not ( http://targetmenot.wordpress.com )

How is it that anyone hasn't read 75% of their books? You uh just read them. I can't imagine a situation in this house where this could even be a remote possibility except MAYBE after the Library Book sale IF we had just picked up books from the library but still...25% of our books would be more than I would be allowed to purchase. More often...there is nothing left on the shelves that I haven't read. 

~TW ( http://ramblewoman.blogspot.com )
Retro-Food ( http://retro-food.com/ )

( http://ramblewoman.blogspot.com )

They are my air, my cats/dogs, I pick up remaindered books that need a good home. I have it so bad that I pulled a few out the the recycled bin that my college-aged neighbor put in the bin.

I don't leave home without at least one book in my bag. And the bed, you don't want to know about the bed.

It's not the books. It is the lack of shelving options. Yeah, that's it. Now if someone would look into accessible ceiling storage space utilization I would greatly appreciate it. Oh, and if it could be designed with recycled material that would be a bonus.

Gena - Out On The Stoop ( http://outonthestoop.blogspot.com )

Because we are moving this summer, we are really REALLY not buying anything between now and the move. We can't afford to move the stuff we have now and we certainly don't need to add any more weight to the mix.

The hardest thing to not buy is books - The Friends of the Library book sale is in a couple of weeks.... we're going to be in Chicago, house hunting, for the first couple of days of the sale. But we'll be back in time for half price day and nickel day...

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings ( http://www.flamingohouse.net/ )

If you've been to my house, you've seen the piles of books. In just about every room of the house. I like to pretend they're not too intrusive or obvious, but I'm sure I have dozens and dozens of books I absolutely must read. Fiction and non-fiction.

And I can't imagine stopping until I've read 75% either. Not. Gonna. Hyappen.

Elisa Camahort
BlogHer
elisa@blogher.org

And figured out that if I were to do that it would take me at least a year - probably more - to read 75% of my unread books. There's no way I could go a year without buying books. 

Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca/ ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.wordpress.com/ ).

( http://sassymonkey.ca/ )

No more books til you've read 75%? Crazy. And I thought I was doing good with my little from the stacks challenge.

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings ( http://www.flamingohouse.net/ )

I admit, I *probably* have too many books . . . I actually gave 200 away to Godwill when we moved last month, and I still have well over 500 in my collection.  And when I get married next weekend, that's going to double.  But even though I try to check out library books, I can't help actually buying more.  And the problem is that I need more shelving, pure and simple.  My book habit isn't the issue; it's the lack of shelves.  Of course, thanks to wedding expenses, we can't afford shelves right now.  Maybe some dumpster diving is in order . . .

This is What a Feminist Blogs Like ( http://feministblogproject.wordpress.com )