Indonesians Who Love English Books discussion
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Owning too many books it makes you stressed out
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Do I ever. I've got around a dozen unread books lying in wait and I still can't stop myself from buying more.I never had trouble about picking which book to read next though, since I simply stacked them (first in, first out).
then you should write the reason you bought that book and keep that inside everybook! hope it helps.
Yes. That is why I often donated those books. I think if a book is already in your shelf and left unread for more than a year then you should donate/sell/give it.
Right now I try to read ebooks unless the book's only available in printed form and/or the edition is too pretty to resist collecting.I used to have a whole carton of unread books lost in the mail (it got sent back to the UK post office), and the trauma is still palpable even now. If you don't own it, then you don't miss it.
Wish there were more accessible, well-stocked libraries here where we could borrow books, in a variety of languages if possible.
Of course not! I love surrounding by books.Thats why I've always buy the books every month or everytime I go to bookstore. It relaxed me even tho I practically broke because of it.
I do have so many unread books and honestly it's getting crazy how I keep buying more. But I can honestly say I'm getting better with controlling the urge to buy. I do get overwhelmed sometimes when it comes to choosing what to read next, but at the same there's something wonderful about the promise that unread books has. Like there's a really good feeling in me to know that every time I come back to my shelf there will always be something that I haven't read and that I'll never run out of things to read.
Thanks for the many great replies! @Anny: a dozen? you're lucky! I have about 70! (no humblebrag intended)
@yonkyunior: the reason is I want to read them! haha.
@Silvana: my "OCD" prevents me from letting books go, I'm always convinced I will have read them all someday, haha.
@sanny: yes, if only there's a proper, up-to-date library in my city...
@Aisyaraisya: yes, people by decorations and we buy books instead to decorate!
@Natasya: having so many unread books makes me less tolerant toward boring books. if by 50-70 pages a book leaves me cold then it's time to shelve it.
One of the big factor that contributes to my self constraint is the simple fact that there are no 'English' bookshop in my hometown. So I don't really get the chance to buy often.As for online bookshops, I prefer browsing actual books so I rarely used them.
I have the same problem. Currently, I'm reading 4 books concurrently and I have lots of books unread. It range from Salinger's, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's, etc. Maybe around 20-30 printed books and more on ebook (you can check my To Read List).My solution is quite the same with Sanny, buying Kindle unless the edition is not in Kindle (like Salinger's) or because there's some uniqueness in the printed one (Illustrated edition of Middle Earth series, S., or movie companion book). I still have so many books at home though, maybe I will sell them in near future.
Aditya, let me quote Christopher Paolini for you: “Books should go where they will be most appreciated, and not sit unread, gathering dust on a forgotten shelf, don't you agree?”
That quote prevents me from being a book hoarder.
And I have another tips for you: whenever you go to a book store, ask somebody to come with you and restrain you when you find yourself walking to the cashier. Or, if you are alone, avoid bookstore completely. Or, ask yourself whether you can guarantee you gonna read the book you are planning to buy within a month or so. Believe me, impulsive buying never works. At least for me. Almost all unread books are impulsive buy.
Aditya wrote: "having so many unread books makes me less tolerant toward boring books. if by 50-70 pages a book leaves me cold then it's time to shelve it. "For me personally, I always try to finish the book I've picked up, no matter how bad or slow it is at the beginning. I'll try to positively think that there might be something redeeming, either in a for of a minor character or perhaps the plot would pick up. Unless, there's something so atrociously and irredeamably bad (usually its the characterization) that I'll just put it down unfinished and probably donate it sometime in the near future.
But yeah, I've been better about my compulsive need to buy books. Perhaps I could even say I've developed a bit of self-control :D
I have over a hundred unread books on my shelf. I used to stress out over them, feeling guilty and banning myself from buying more books, resulting in a reading slump.But then my husband told me to take it easy and just buy one book at a time, picking something that I was really interested in, and I got my reading mojo back.
I have the same problem lol why do I keep buying books and get picky when it comes to read them.... Dat guilty feeling... T__T
Mod
For me it's the opposite Sil, most of my impulsive buying books happened when I was waiting for my flight in airport. I walked to periplus, bought a book and read it all the way to Jakarta or wherever I was heading. So impulsive buying works well for me.
But I do have many unread books; some are books I bought on discounted price and some were given by friends (I never reject book, never!).
Perhaps we should open a library, haha!
Well yeah, that's a problem for me too, but as long that 's book, it's fine. Now I prefer to buy books in ebooks form because my bookshelf already full of my and my brother's books. And I have dozens unread books tho I'm not shelving it to my TBR list, I feel like I don't want to running out of it. A bit of a hoarder but not that bad. I keep trying to control it now 'cause money isn't come that easy :p
It's better to buy ebooks nowadays for me. Paperbacks occupy too much space and I am trying to live as simple as possible now. Other than the books that I know I'd read again (like The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jane Eyre, the poems of Emily Dickinson etc), I'd donated the rest of the paperbacks I own to charities. I don't do impulse buying. Money is tight and life is too short.
@Lyn: Hmm for me, discounts worsen book hoarding habit. Same like other stuff, not only books. Unless they are for books you're dying to read right away or collect. And having an e-reader also helps me for not buying books just because I need something to read. You'll never run out of books if you have one :D
Mod
That's right, I think I should buy another e-reader. I had one and I broke it, or the thing broke itself, but since it was bought in Germany, I couldn't get it changed.
Then there's a principle reason why I don't buy kindle: monopoly by amazon.
I have to find the right one for me.
Aditya wrote: "Have you ever felt that you own too many unread books and you become overwhelmed and you have trouble picking what book to read next and you end up not reading anything but yet you keep buying more..."For me: YES, it was my problem.
Back on 2013, I have a full year "fasting", not buying a single bok (unless a necessity, like job related books). And just in case I received any book/ebook for free on that year, I will read it next year (2014).
On 2014 I already conditioned, it is easier not to impulsively buy books.
My unread books are still enormous (not exaggerating,above 100 books are for certain, I don't want to count exactly how many), but at least I stop the growth.
There is no such thing as owning too many books! (The problem is "buying" too many books). I understand that space is the issue. I have to reduce my "procurement speed" once I am running out of space, until I can build a larger room in my new house. But e-books is such a bless for this kind of problem, thousands of books with a space of a hard-drive (or cloud storage).(I think that I have about 500 non-ebooks that I have not read in my collection. Most of them are non fiction. For ebooks, I don't even bother to count).
And I never donate books (except the one that is ONE or TWO STAR in my ratings). I hoard books.
My intention is to build the library, so having more books that I can read in my life time is perfectly OK.
(I think that I have about 500 non-ebooks that I have not read in my collections. Most of them are non fiction. For ebooks I don't even bother to count).
Lynossa wrote: "Perhaps we should open a library, haha! "Same issue here... though I'm not that stressed out!! LOL... Currently I'm living in the middle of nowhere with zero access to bookstore in radius, let's say 300 km. Yup, even the nearest city with bookstore could not provide appropriate collection, so I'm depending so much on online bookstore. Still, I can't control myself when it comes to a big sale, because that chance is rare to me. I should drive like 6 hours and use a ferry to reach a city.
That's why, I have my own mini library at home. There are dozens of book on my shelf that I haven't read but since I'm not the only one book freak around here, I'm sharing the books with friends, they could borrow it for free. So, in the end it is not a waste at all.
Furthermore, my husband is an elementary school teacher and this new school year, he is planning to move to a very remote area in the deep of Borneo, I'll follow him and I hope my book collections could help children there to know a little bit about world outside their little world.
Wish me luck... ^^
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Mod
Same issue here... though I'm not that stressed out!! LOL... Currently I'm living in the middle of nowhere with zero access to bookstore i..."
Good luck! And I think you should have ereader to prevent carrying around 10 books at one time.
I never stressed out for having too many books. But I did stress out when the time has come for me to pay the bills. :DBUT. Those days are over. Raising 2 kids these days really forced me to live on a strict budget. Haha!
Aditya wrote: "@Silvana: my "OCD" prevents me from letting books go, I'm always convinced I will have read them all someday, haha."
Yes! This is so me! I'm glad I'm not the only one. :D *highfives*
Lynossa wrote: "Good luck! And I think you should have ereader to prevent carrying around 10 books at one time."Hmm... I don't think so, ereader is not going to match since I'm going to live on remote area with no electricity source except genset... so, printed book is the only choice, though transporting them could be a challenge, hope it worth... yay... ^^
ekarifin wrote: "Lynossa wrote: "Good luck! And I think you should have ereader to prevent carrying around 10 books at one time."Hmm... I don't think so, ereader is not going to match since I'm going to live on r..."
I think it will be worth because you have a really good reason to do it, to help children there. Good luck for you there in Borneo ^^
I'm still quite new at reading English books so I don't have a large book collection. Hence, I haven't encountered that problem. I usually read most of my TBR pile before I buy other books so that I don't get overwhelmed. I'm also picky at which books I'm going to read since English books are quite expensive and when I buy it, I want the book that I read to be worth it. I have about 5 books right now that I haven't read yet and it does make me a bit anxious but not stressed. I know I'm going to read them all, it just depends on the time and my mood.
Silvana wrote: "Aditya, let me quote Christopher Paolini for you: “Books should go where they will be most appreciated, and not sit unread, gathering dust on a forgotten shelf, don't you agree?"
On the other hand:
"The writer Umberto Eco belongs to that small class of scholars who are encyclopedic, insightful, and nondull. He is the owner of a large personal library (containing thirty thousand books), and separates visitors into two categories: those who react with “Wow! Signore, professore dottore Eco, what a library you have ! How many of these books have you read?” and the others – a very small minority – who get the point that a private library is not an ego-boosting appendage but a research tool. Read books are far less valuable than unread ones. The library should contain as much of what you don’t know as your financial means, mortgage rates and the currently tight real-estate market allows you to put there. You will accumulate more knowledge and more books as you grow older, and the growing number of unread books on the shelves will look at you menacingly. Indeed, the more you know, the larger the rows of unread books. Let us call this collection of unread books an antilibrary."
I am an impulsive person, and most of my collection was bought compulsively. I rather agree with Eco's principle, even though my TBR pile is already high, I keep buying books whenever I am able. I figure that when I am not busy (maybe when I am retired), I will have time to read all those unread piles and will not need to buy as many books as I would have to if I don't collect the "retirement saving" now. So, in the future, provided that I care for those books continuously, I will do with less book budget while having enough books to be read.
Or maybe I am weird.
Mod
But I like your reason. I like to think I will have my own private library someday, hence the book hoarding.
Thanks Myrza, greeting from the deep of Borneo...^^And that's a very good point from you Oon...
Yay... go personal library go... !!
So Aditya, are you still stressed out?
To make you feel better Aditya, I have 701 paperback that I have not read yet (and yes, I own them all). I currently live in apartment with limited space. What make me stressed out just if I must move to new place, how to bring all my books with me. Otherwise, naw. Never stressed out because I have too many book to read or dont know what book to choose. I have personal project, that is to read all paperback I have and I target to read 50-75 books for this year. Never mean to brag (or humblebrag either), but if you set some reading goal, it will reduce your stress for having too many books.And like so many people said here, there's no thing like "too many books to have".
Not exactly stressed out but, my Books-To-Read list is getting longer and there're so many more books i want to read and no time to spare atm :(
Even though I don't feel quite stressed out by having so many unread books (although not as much as Ren, really? 701 books? *whistle*), it does make me feel kind of guilty to buy new titles. It's like I'm betraying the ones sitting in the top of my drawers already covered in thin dust over their plastic wraps. But well, I think it's always better to have unread books and no time than plenty of time but none of the books. Like when I was still a poor college students, lol.
And looking at the pile of books I own makes me feel happy somehow. Maybe it's my bibliophile ego.
I lost count of books at home that I haven't read. I have books everywhere in the house, that sometimes I don't even realised I have a certain book. But it always feels so great when I heard of a book, thinking I would like to read it, and found that I actually have the book sitting on the shelf already. It's like having a full-stocked fridge.
@ekarifin: I certainly feel better now. I'll just take it slowly yet be persistent. If I can just read 50 pages a day, that'll be like 4 books finished in a month. @ren: yes, I plan to read 50 books or more too this year. let's do this!
and to make everyone feel better:
“A library of mostly unread books is far more inspiring than a library of books already read. There’s nothing more exciting than finishing a book, and walking over to your shelves to figure out what you’re going to read next."
[The Wonderful and Terrible Habit of Buying Too Many Books, PWxyz (news blog of Publishers Weekly), February 16th, 2012]”
― Gabe Habash
NEVER!! plus I have a little of unread books 2 or 3..
I have 7 unread books on my bookshelf and felt guilty (it felt like I'm betraying them) cuz I'm planning to buy books, but thanks to Ren, I don't feel guilty anymore. XDSame as Mikochin, seeing pile of book I own makes me happy somehow. ♡
Aditya wrote: "Have you ever felt that you own too many unread books and you become overwhelmed and you have trouble picking what book to read next and you end up not reading anything but yet you keep buying more..."Same here. T_T
I'm feeling this right now. I mean, I'm in the middle of my final exams right now, yet I can't keep my self from not buying books all the time. And since I don't have any time to read it, they just stucked in my desks.
I just think about where I put the books not about not stop buying :). I hoards books too.
I buy books impulsively (along with other things like puzzles and crafts and bookmarks and stationeries: too bad that bookstores and book events also sell them together with books). In the past, I felt guilty about it, but nowadays, I just accept it as one of my (many) flaws. I intend to have a personal library. It's still a dream, though, I need to build a house first, haha. Right now, all my books are still piled dangerously in one of the rooms in my grandparents' house. My granny and my mom have stopped commenting on my book hoarding habit. (Thank God that they are avid readers themselves).
My original home is in Banjarmasin, so I have the "luxury" of not having even one English bookstore (and good stationery/game/craft stores) anywhere in the province. The only way I get the opportunity to buy them is when I have a business/holiday travel to (mostly) Java, and since I prefer to travel light, I never ended up buying more than I can bring in my travel bag.
Now I live in a country where English paperbacks are only available mostly in English bookstores (here, they translate everything into their own language). Luckily, I do not live in the same city where the best independent English bookstore (the name is ABC, by the way) is located. I also have limited budget, being a student :D So, that also dampen my bookshopping spree a bit.
I do shop books through online bookstore, sometimes, but I always prefer to go to bookstores to touch and feel the books first before buying them.
ekarifin wrote: "Hmm... I don't think so, ereader is not going to match since I'm going to live on remote area with no electricity source except genset... "I know how you feel. 8 years ago, I stayed in the depth of Central Borneo, and the area only had electricity between 18.00 until 24.00. Also no cellphone signal whatsoever. I do not know whether things have been improved now.
there are a lot of unread books in my house but i don't mind and i keep buying. i don't give any away because i'm kinda a collector type and it's part of an ongoing dream of mine and my mom's to turn our house into a library. what does stress me it out is the many half read books i have on my list like sophie's world, emma and sooo many others. and i'm ashamed to say i have less and less time to read books.
Cininta: I didn't read at all 2 years before, but I kept buying book. And boom... at the end of 2014 I want to read lots and lots book, and I have no idea what came to me. I also have a dream for having library on my own.
mina wrote: "I know how you feel. 8 years ago, I stayed in the depth of Central Borneo, and the area only had electricity between 18.00 until 24.00. Also no cellphone signal whatsoever. I do not know whether things have been improved now. "Haha... nice to know someone was in the club. But I'm in West Borneo actually, and the place where my husband and I is going to move, has no electricity at all and I guess also no cellphone signal. Will find out this July ^^
I always dream to have my own library, but then ebooks took it's places! I do am still buying books, but my ebooks start to staking too..At this moment i have 5 heavy books to go, and 2 other ebooks.
I doubt i'd finish them before buying anything else.
Edit: I'm not sure if this is the proper section. Apologies if so, I couldn't find General when I was trying to post.