Joseph ’s Comments (group member since Jul 28, 2009)

Joseph ’s comments from the Book Buying Addicts Anonymous group.

It's a little late in the year for this challenge, but I just discovered it at BookRiot http://bookriot.com/2015/12/15/2016-b... I say still give it a try. I think I will.

Read a horror book
Read a nonfiction book about science
Read a collection of essays
Read a book out loud to someone else
Read a middle grade novel
Read a biography (not memoir or autobiography)
Read a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel
Read a book originally published in the decade you were born
Listen to an audiobook that has won an Audie Award
Read a book over 500 pages long
Read a book under 100 pages
Read a book by or about a person that identifies as transgender
Read a book that is set in the Middle East
Read a book that is by an author from Southeast Asia
Read a book of historical fiction set before 1900
Read the first book in a series by a person of color
Read a non-superhero comic that debuted in the last three years
Read a book that was adapted into a movie, then watch the movie. Debate which is better Read a nonfiction book about feminism or dealing with feminist themes
Read a book about religion (fiction or nonfiction)
Read a book about politics, in your country or another (fiction or nonfiction)
Read a food memoir
Read a play
Read a book with a main character that has a mental illness

Two delivered: and

Share here your book buys made in September.

I think I'm on pace to go way past my goal. I'm currently at 271
books out 300 completed which puts me at 72 books ahead of schedule. If I somehow keep this up, I think I'll end up finishing somewhere around 390 books read this year. Wow.

I'm a perfect example of a Book Buying Addict. I went to the mall to look for some clothes, and what did I come home with instead? Books, of course! Well, Desiderus did say, "When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes." :-)

I haven't thought about putting book plates in my books, but I have considered making use of all those address labels that charities like to send. However, considering I have over 8700 books, I don't think I'll do it.

Clare wrote: " Left Neglected" A very interesting read!

More deliveries:

Another delivery :-) :

Found this interesting article. Which of reasons these fit you?

http://bookriot.com/2013/08/12/why-ke...
WHY KEEP BOOKS?
TASHA BRANDSTATTER
08-12-13

According to Plato, Socrates mocked people who kept books, because he said they used them as a crutch. By owning books, they believed they owned the knowledge in the books, even though they might have never even read them (I’d love to find out what his response would be to the Twitter hive mind). Of course, Socrates himself never wrote a word—he was more interested in thoughts than words—but even if his basic argument that the only knowledge people truly possess is what’s in their own heads is true, there are more reasons why people hold onto books than just because they think books will make them smarter. (And by owning, I mean books on shelves—I don’t know about you, but I don’t see the point in permanently hosting an ebook on my Kindle, especially with the cloud function. When I want to keep a book forever, I buy I physical copy.)

But what are the reasons to own books? What makes people hold on to some books and not others?

1. Rereading

Some people think the possibility of rereading is the only justifiable reason for keeping books after you’ve finished them. I personally am a huge fan of rereading novels because a good book will reveal more of itself every time you pick it up. Back when I was a kid there was no way my parents’ book budget could keep up with my reading pace and I regularly reread books, especially during the summer. I think the book I’ve reread the most times is either Night Train to Memphis by Elizabeth Peters (my mom owns that book, but she did buy me my own copy when I went to college) or The Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith, which I was absolutely O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D with in middle school.

I always reread the entire book, but I know other people who just reread their favorite parts and call it good.

2. Love

Other bibliophiles never reread books. My mom is one of those people, yet she still owns every Elizabeth Peters, Mary Stewart, and JRR Tolkien book ever published. She keeps those books because she loves them.

Confession: I’ve never reread my favorite book of all time, Jane Eyre. I suppose I’m frightened if I do, it won’t be the same as that one, perfect experience of reading it for the first time. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to own a copy of my favorite novel—or three or four, but preferably the original. Because even if I can’t recreate the experience of that perfect book, it’s easier to remember if I have that specific copy.

3. Plan to Read, Eventually

Sometimes we buy books that aren’t our thing, but maybe we wish they were. Like once I bought Brideshead Revisited at a library booksale. Am I ever going to read that thing, considering I refuse to even watch the movie? Nope. Probably not. But hey, you never know! I might get to it eventually, right after I read about the first visit to Brideshead.

In my experience, library sales are a great way to stuff your shelves with these type of books.

4. Gifts

When you get a book as a gift, you’re kind of obligated to keep it, especially if it’s from someone in your family. Really this isn’t a big hardship, and I think demonstrates how books can tie people together.

This is true even for non-readers: I insist on giving my brother a book every Christmas, because I’m stubborn like that, and he’s kept every single one even though I have my doubts he’ll read most of them.

5. Unique Editions

Whether they’re first editions, signed, or family heirlooms, some books are too valuable to let go of. And value doesn’t have to mean monetary worth: a book I’ll probably never give away is a silly romance novel I didn’t like, but my mom slipped a note into on the first day of my first “real” job.

Books aren’t just repositories of words and facts, but can carry memories and hopes in their pages. Maybe retaining some ownership of all those things by keeping books is as silly as Socrates believed, but personally I think there are good reasons to own and treasure books.

Only 38 out of 49 for me. But I knew I was a Book Addict, and proud of it! :-)
*=Yep, that's me all right.

*1. Books > people is your general outlook on life. People are cool but reading is your preferred social activity.

*2. You know what a book hangover is and you have them frequently.

*3. You plan whole afternoons around browsing bookstores.

*4. If you go too long without buying or reading a book you feel a huge sense of withdrawal and are thinking of the next time you can get away to a bookstore or library.

5. You have trouble functioning at work or school sometimes because you stayed up late reading.

*6. You’re constantly sharing your favorite book quotes on social media and have either a Pinterest board or Tumblr dedicated to these quotes.

*7. You’re always looking forward to the weekend but mostly because you can’t wait to get 2 whole days for unadulterated alone time with a new book.

*8. You carry a book with you at all times because you never know when you’ll have a spare minute to do some extra reading.

*9. Your friends and family have stopped asking you what you want for Christmas or birthdays because they know you’ll always say books.

10. You take your book clubs seriously. If you show up and you haven’t read the book? GTFO.

11. When you go out to dinner you find yourself wanting to gush about a book you’re reading and the characters in the story. You’ve been spending so much time with them you feel like they’ve become a part of your life just as much as anyone else.

*12. You don’t mind layovers so much because you know it’s a perfect time to get in extra reading.

*13. When you travel you always bring as least two books because you’re not sure what kind of mood you’ll be in or what sort of story you’ll feel like reading.

*14. And if you don’t have a Kindle you just sort of assume half of your luggage will be all books.

15. When someone talks smack about one of your favorite writers you instantly get defensive and suggest they try reading another work by them.

*16. You legitimately don’t understand people who say they don’t read.

*17. When the movie version of a book comes out you’ll go see it but you know there isn’t any way the movie could be better than the book.

*18. And when you do see the movie you’re appalled at how much of the story they left out.

*19. You feel as though your employer should just start forwarding your paychecks to your favorite bookstore in exchange for many must have reads.

*20. One of your favorite things to do when arriving in a new city is to check out the local bookstores.

21. You actually have a bookstore bucket list of amazing bookstores around the world you absolutely want and need to visit before you die.

*22. You’ve stopped lending books to friends because you know they just won’t care for the books in the way they should be cared for.

*23. You don’t understand how people can be lonely when they have books.

*24. You’ve skipped over entire meals or canceled plans just so you could finish a book.

*25. You honestly can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday than reading a book and drinking coffee or tea.

*26. You buy all your friends and family a book for Christmas.

*27. You always check out the max amount of books you can at the library and get annoyed when someone asks you if you’ll actually be able to read all of those by the due date. Hello, do you even know me?

28. You have words from your favorite author or book tattooed on your body somewhere.

*29. You buy more books even if you have a stack of books that haven’t been read yet.

*30. And you feel sort of guilty that you haven’t read those books yet but you will! Someday!

*31. Pretty much your entire apartment is filled with stacks of books.

*32. You sort of hate when a book is 250 pages or under because you know you’ll just end up reading it within a day or two and will have to find something else to read when it’s finished.

*33. But that’s okay because you always have at least a few emergency books you can choose from if you have nothing else to read.

34. Some of your wardrobe choices are influenced by your favorite characters.

*35. Or you straight up own t-shirts and sweaters with covers of classic novels.

*36. When people can’t find you they just assume you’re at a bookstore.

*37. And if you’ve stopped answering texts for the night people know you’re probably just engrossed in a book.

38. Significant others have caught you weeping at 3 a.m. clutching a novel but they’ve learned not to be alarmed by it anymore.

*39. You feel legitimate sadness when a book only has a couple chapters left. You don’t want to leave your characters yet.

*40. You love seeing people in public with books and you’re always try and catch a peek at the title to see what they’re into.

*41. When the ending of a book sucks you feel seriously betrayed by the author. I mean, how could they do this to me?

*42. You think the only way you can truly get to know an old, used book is by smelling it. Ahh, old book smell.

*43. When you find a used bookstore you get ridiculously excited. The level of excitement can sometimes trump excitement over other awesome things like pizza places, icecream shops, etc. Your enthusiasm for used bookstores knows no bounds.

44. You take it personally when you recommend a book to a friend and 6 months later they still haven’t read it. What are they even waiting for?

45. Or even worse when you buy a book for someone and they don’t read it. How are we supposed to bond over our favorite passages!?

*46. You wake up in the morning thinking about the characters in a book and wondering what will happen.

*47. You own a variety of different editions of your favorite book. If you see it in a foreign bookstore or with a new cover you can’t help but want it for your collection.

*48. You’ve yelled at a book in public.

49. Most of your Instagram photos are of stacks of books next to a cup of coffee.

A bunch of arrivals:

Here is a fun question for you:
Say you woke up in the morning and found that the characters in the LAST BOOK you read came to life and you are NO longer where you went to sleep the night before. Now after your initial shock answer me these:
1- who are they?
2- where and when are you?
3- what will you do with them?

That's a tough call, since I want SO many books! ;-) However, I guess I can make it simpler by just listing the newest coming out soonest, which would be:
Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire
Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley
Elite by Mercedes Lackey
Alton Brown: EveryDayCook by Alton Brown
By Familiar Means by Delia James
The Question of the Felonious Friend by E.J. Copperman
Shadow Silence by Yasmine Galenorn
The Witch and the Dead by Heather Blake
Dangerously Charming by Deborah Blake
High Heat by Richard Castle

Two for me, too: &

Summer's almost over. Share your August acquisitions here.

I know there's no good reason for it, but I just don't like lending my books to anyone, family or friends. I'll do it, but almost as soon as I lend a book I want to ask for it back.

I spent the last week traveling the US. I spent time in North Carolina and then went from Georgia Spells and Scones to Kentucky Where the Wild Things Bite to New York Stuck-Up Suit to California Primal Instinct to Washington Wicked Ride and then crossed over to France The Secret Language of Stones: A Novel

Lenny wrote: "My best friend has already decided he is going to murder me for my books, so it's not in my hands any more :P"

LOL!

Lenny wrote: "Let's see.
Gold could count as yellow, too, right? The Golden Gate"
Actually, go ahead and count Gold as its own color, the more colors, the prettier the picture. :-)