Do Your #Kindles and Readers Runneth Over?

How many times have we heard it, read it and said – My Kindle is ready to burst with books and my wish list is ever-growing. But yet, we’re compelled to purchase that next book. It’s ingrained in us avid readers and writers when enticed by a book’s lure, we must have it. It’s no different from any other desire or addiction – we just have to have it when we’re captivated by a book. And of course being a blogger and writer and constantly being introduced to new shiny books – it’s like Christmas, but always.   Books give us something to always look forward to, and they’re a great escape from reality, which is always a welcome break – especially now in our dystopian-like times. Whatever the occasion or mood, there’s something for everyone to read. Whether taking in lessons from a nonfiction story or escaping into a steamy beach read or going into an alternative dystopian universe, there are so many places books can take us. But how on earth are we supposed to choose what we read next? I know I always have good intentions and try to create a strategy for my next read. I’ve always got 2 books on the go. One on my Kindle and one in paperback. Usually the one on my Kindle is a novel in one of my favorite genres – historical fiction, family sagas, memoir and chick-lit are my favs, depending on my mood, ( My mood of course dictates what I feel like reading and there-in lies how good intentions for next planned read to go awry). My paperbacks are the majority of my books pertaining to writing and resource guides. For me, I need tangible books where I can mark-up, dog-ear, and refer back to sections easier than digitally when it comes to books on writing and reference books. So, as I said, I will have my next reads planned before I finish a current read but that could change on a whim. When another jewel crosses my path, I might be swept up in a moment of great anticipation that may not allow me to get through another book before I can sink my eyes into the newest one. I’m like those little kids on Christmas morning unwrapping gift after gift with new enthusiasm for the current one almost forgetting about the one I just opened 2 minutes before. I’ve shuffled my planned reads around so many times with good intentions for my next to read books I don’t know how many gems are awaiting their turn to be read anymore as each new book adds to the load, further burying my good intentions. The book problem becomes like the toy maker who pulls out another new and shiny object – another shiny book with a tantalizing cover and enticing blurb to draw me in, and oooh, magically intrigued, I want to read this new one next. It’s like the thrill of the next chosen read gets overshadowed by a newer thrill of another discovery and before we know it, that book we were dying to read 3 books ago gets toppled over with more new books we want to read. This is the only way I can explain it. If only we could spend a year with no responsibilities or cares and just read! I can’t conceive the thought that I could actually plow through all the books I currently have, and how many hundreds or thousands more to come. But like a brand new pretty pair of shoes that I probably don’t need, there’s always room for one more book!   Please feel free to share how you handle your own toppling book piles, and how you choose your next reads!   ©DGKaye2020