Well, except for those 30 I decided I was never, ever going to read and donated to the library last year. But I ended up buying another 30 to replace them.
Instead of putting the shelves with their backs against the dining room walls, how about with one side against the wall (i.e. perpendicular) and back them against each other? Then you'd have aisles, just like a library.
Heck, with the number of books you have, you could be a branch of the Socorro public library (the science fiction section, naturally). :)
So if you read a book, and you don't like it, you still feel compelled (at least most of the time) to keep it, even to the point of buying extra shelf space for it and its ilk?
That's... not quite how I would have put it. It's not like I'm saying to myself, "Hey, I'm going to buy shelves to house bad books!" But, damn it, even the bad books are my books. They are part of me now. They live here.
Oh, well, with a bit of creativity, I can still find space for years' worth of books yet. I'll deal with the house filling up when it happens, I guess. :)
That's because you're thinking of it as a relationship. I like to think of it as living in a space that reflects the contents of the inside of my mind -- I am, in part, made up of everything I've ever read, after all -- and recognizing, accepting, and remembering the bad along with the good seems healthy to me. :)
Do you keep all the books you buy?
ReplyDeleteYes. Yes, I do.
ReplyDeleteWell, except for those 30 I decided I was never, ever going to read and donated to the library last year. But I ended up buying another 30 to replace them.
Have you thought about buying an e-reader?
ReplyDeleteYeah. But I like books. :)
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of E-readers...
ReplyDeleteI told ya, Kath, I am totally doing my part to keep bookstores solvent, e-books or no e-books. :)
ReplyDeleteInstead of putting the shelves with their backs against the dining room walls, how about with one side against the wall (i.e. perpendicular) and back them against each other? Then you'd have aisles, just like a library.
ReplyDeleteHeck, with the number of books you have, you could be a branch of the Socorro public library (the science fiction section, naturally). :)
I'm more particular than they are about who I lend them to, though. :)
ReplyDeleteSo if you read a book, and you don't like it, you still feel compelled (at least most of the time) to keep it, even to the point of buying extra shelf space for it and its ilk?
ReplyDeleteThat's... not quite how I would have put it. It's not like I'm saying to myself, "Hey, I'm going to buy shelves to house bad books!" But, damn it, even the bad books are my books. They are part of me now. They live here.
ReplyDeleteI'm just saying: at the rate you seem to buy new books, soon enough, you're going to run out of living space.
ReplyDeleteOh, well, with a bit of creativity, I can still find space for years' worth of books yet. I'll deal with the house filling up when it happens, I guess. :)
ReplyDeleteThey are part of me now. They live here.
ReplyDeleteNow we know Betty accumulates cats the same way. :)
You reach the limit on those quicker, though.
ReplyDeleteI hated this book, never want to read it again, but I can't throw it away because it lives here now.
ReplyDeleteTo me, that sounds like an unhealthy relationship. ;)
That's because you're thinking of it as a relationship. I like to think of it as living in a space that reflects the contents of the inside of my mind -- I am, in part, made up of everything I've ever read, after all -- and recognizing, accepting, and remembering the bad along with the good seems healthy to me. :)
ReplyDelete