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

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

Got an order delivered:

This article was written for people like us.

http://bookriot.com/2014/03/24/owning...

By Rachel
Mar 24, 2014

Confession: I own over 850 books that I haven’t read.

That’s more than double the number of books I own that I HAVE read. I discovered this startling number as I was organizing and cataloguing the books in my apartment in preparation for The Book Jar project. No longer confined to a small jar, the slips of paper with titles and authors quickly spilled over into a small box.

I have more books than I could possibly read in several decades (considering my average pace of 50+ books/year) but I still continue to buy new titles, adding more and more to my never-ending TBR list. Even books that I was completely over the moon for that I picked up during the last three editions of Book Expo have gone unread. In fact, the percentage of books I got at BEA that have been read is…dismally low.

Shouldn’t I get rid of some of these books, these physical reminders that there will never be enough time to read all the things I want to read? I should, I know. But I, at some point, thought that I would like each book enough that I was willing to spend money (or in the case of BEA, physical labor) on it. So presumably I still will, whenever I get around to it.

There are many “big” books in my expanding, unread library – books that had an impact when they were released and continue to have an impact on literary culture and communities. Books like Freedom by Jonathan Frazen, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo, and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz languish. And often, so often that I’ve made a joke out of it, I will reply to a query about whether I’ve read this book or that that I “own but haven’t read it.”


But these books – especially those “big” books – I feel in some ways that just having them on my shelves means something, that it’s better than nothing. I feel like I’m doing something with those books, even if that “something” isn’t reading them. I don’t know if that feeling is about supporting the authors either through money or awareness or if its about intellectual acceptance – I know OF a book, I was current enough with the trends to buy it – or if its about none of those things and I truly believe that time will slow and someday, I will get around to reading each and every one of these unread volumes.

If there ever was a moment for me to adjust this mode of thinking, it would’ve been when I packed and unpacked so many unread books in my most recent move or when I spent hours and hours cataloguing books and then cutting strips of paper so I could fish a random slip out of a jar, one at a time. But this particular piece of baggage is not one I seem to be able to unpack (nor can I unhook myself from the compulsion to buy new books). Do I really want to?

Do you?

Paulfozz wrote: "That's rather impressive Joseph! Are these cheap books or new ones as I can probably understand picking up loads very cheaply but perhaps not if they are all new books at full price!

I had a bad..."

It's a mix of new and used, mostly bought online. I think that is part of the problem, it's just too easy to buy over the internet, just a click and you're done. Fortunately it's not like I can't afford them, I just won't eat for a while. ;-) But I am quite a bit over my usual budget for books per month.
For some reason, I feel like I just can't stop shopping, it's an itch I can't seem to scratch. I think I've bought enough for now, at least until next month (which of course is only a week away.) But I'll have to try not to continue this next month since I've already pretty much spent this month half of next month's budget. Oh dear.

Either that or my car keys and internet access. The reason I say this is I just realized that in the last 23 days, or so far this March, I've gone book shopping ten out of those 23 days for a total of 42 books. That comes out to an average of almost 2 new books every single day so far this month! Yikes. I don't recall every being on such a book binge. Have you? For any particular reason? I think I need help! Maybe. ;-)

This probably won't help, but my mom always told me that when I see something I think I want, to grab it then and there because no matter how sure I might be of finding it somewhere else, there's always the chance that you won't find again. This advice was driven into me when I did not listen to it and passed up buying a title that I have never seen since. If you can afford it, I say buy it. Just remember, those great deals on sites like Amazon turn out not to be so great if you end up buying so much that you end up spending way more money than you really have available. While you can never have too many books, just not enough bookcases, you can have not enough money! To paraphrase Desiderus Erasmus, if you do have the money though, buy the books. If you have anything left over, then buy the food and clothing. :-)

I ordered six books from Thriftbooks and received an order of six books from Thriftbooks. Three of them, I did order, but the three others that arrived I never ordered! It's got me wondering will I get the other three that I did order or did someone else get my books like I seemed to get theirs? I sent a message to the website so time will tell, I guess.

Update: One of my three books not yet here has arrived and I got a message back from the website that I would receive a refund for the other two and I was welcome to keep all of the books that were incorrectly sent as well as the two yet to come with no charge. I'm certainly optimistic that the other two will arrive since they were sent the same time as this last one, but in any case, it was a pleasant surprise to receive the refund.

Kiera wrote: "I even keep books I don't particularly like . Yes, I know. I am a hoarder. Siiiigh."

You are not a hoarder! Hoarders keep everything and just put their stuff anywhere. A bibliophile, like you and me, collects books and keeps them organized. This will make you all feel better, I have a little over 2000 books on my shelves that I have yet to read. But when the time comes that I am in the mood for just that book, I know I'll I have it and where it is at. So I say go ahead, keep collecting those books! When you're in the right mood for it, you'll read it then. Remember, there is no such thing as having too many books, just not having enough bookcases! :-)

Just wanted to share this current deal at a great used book website www.thriftbooks.com

Buy 5 books get the 6th one free with coupon code: SPRING

"How it works: for every 6 books you add to your cart, we automatically make the lowest price book FREE, whether the book is $4.00 or $40.00. There's no limit, so if you add 12 books, 2 will be free, and so on. Simply enter the coupon code SPRING at checkout, click the Apply button, and the FREE selection is yours. This coupon applies to all books except for SALE items (these are clearly marked as such) and bundles. It cannot be applied to gift cards or shipping. Please feel free to pass it on to friends. Remember to enter the coupon code SPRING when checking out. This coupon expires on March 16th at midnight PDT"

Another book binge. Picked up some nice finds at Half Price Books yesterday: and for a dollar a piece:
Another delivery arrived:
Found on the library's used book shelf:

Got a mix the other day. A couple of new books ordered arrived: , a used book order arrived: , and one found on the used book shelf at the library:

Fiona wrote: "Laura wrote: "I fear I just might in the same boat with Fiona and Tiffany!"

Tiffany wrote: "I am with you Fiona!"

We'll have to bequeath them on our descendent when we die. Or maybe have our grav..."

My dream was always that I would just write my will to leave my house full of books to my town and let them make it the new public library. :-)

Some real finds on the library's used book shelf:

Will your book buying come in like a lion and go out like a lamb, or in like a lion, out like a lion? ;-) Share your March purchases here.

I finish off the month with: .

It feels like it's my birthday! Another couple of packages arrived:

I'm having fun checking the mail. Another couple of arrivals:

A couple more arrived:

Ilean wrote: "Just opened a package from Penguin Books, I was picked and given a hardback copy of "MissingYou"by Harlon Coben hardback from Goodreads give always. Thank you so much Penguin books and Harlan Coban."

Lucky you! :-)

Delivered today:

Some more used additions: