The downfall of a good library...

[Cailin]

first of all. who all has seen it? you can watch it on youtube if you haven't. once you've seen it. we can discuss it.

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

Does anyone else go through what I go through? I have a huge amount of books, a portion of which I have on shelves in my room (okay, my closest has actually been turned over to books... shows what's important, eh??). Those on the shelves are the books I either adore and can't bear to be separated from - ones I might want to reread with some regularity - or are the ones I most want to get to. It's great and it's horrible.

I love having them at my fingertips, to tantalize with each glance. The problem is, I keep seeing titles I want to read - but like right then! I mean, I want to devour them in that moment... not hash them out for days or weeks! With book groups and such, it's even harder to get to them at all, much less get through them faster.

Am I alone in my longing? Is my suffering singular?

[Dottie]

I have a tall very slender bookcase filled with TBR books -- there are TBR books on the shelves in my familyroom which is currently the living room of my house -- where we spend our time and the bench of the table bench is also lined with TBR books (those are the books from my one and only shelf of books which I had allowed myself to accumulate in the TX house I knew I had to move them out while we rented the house out so didn't want a lot of books to deal with during that period). I have TBR books scattered through the younger daughter's former room which serves as my "off-limits" space -- where only I am allowed to go.

And then I re-read books for book groups and discuss them and find out that I learn more about both the books and myself and other people and even about the world at large by having done so. Even so -- I get what you are saying -- it's a major dilemma. It is for me at least.

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

Thanks, Dottie! I used to be content to read at my own pace... but with goodreads, my hunger has multiplied by millions. That and all the great titles staring at me as I type on my computer, sleep in my bed, watch my television, simply sit in my room, or even while I'm reading something else!

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

Goodreads is the devil. I just went to DINNER and came home with a book - one I only know about thanks to y'all. Grrr! SATAN.

[Dottie]

Well -- don't keep us in suspense too long -- you know we like our instant gratification -- it is the new millenium and all that.

[Cailin]

laura. you shock me. edward is all wrong. james is supppose to talk rather civil not taunting bella but taunting edward in the video. edward is suppose arrives with a roar of fury accompanied by emette jasper carlilse and alice. edward sounded like he was having a hard time breathing and vampires don't even NEED to breath in the first place. bella is suppose to have blood soaking her shirt and james goes to start feeding when they finally arrive. BELLA THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD WHEN SHE HEARD EDWARD NOT SAW EDWARD.

though i do like the look edward had when he arrived......early and without company i might add.

[Hilary]

I think I like the scene...I like the Edwards see's Bella and just stares at her..It gets his protective side to come out and defend her...I like it. I love Robert as Edward.

[♥*Suzie*♥]

OMG OMG OMG.. it was freakin' awesome.....

[Deborah]

About two years ago, my house reached a tilting point, bookwise. No more space on the shelves, no more room in the house for shelves. (we live in a two story rowhouse in Pittsburgh PA, a good size for a couple, a dog and a fair-sized library.) When I was a child, we moved around (different cities and sometimes different states) a lot, and my book and record collection provided constancy. However, I've lived in this house for 22 years now. I think I've achieved stability! So I ruthlessly weeded out my books ("Will I really ever reread "The Counterfeiters" by Andre Gide? Did I even finish it the first time around?") Now I'm very careful about buying a book, because it means I may have to pitch a book! Fortunately for my out-of-control reading habit, this city has one of the best library systems (Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh) I've ever encountered. All the branches are connected online, as well as independent libraries in surrounding communities, so I can search for a title and request it. When it arrives at my local branch, I get an e-mail. Since I've started using CLP, I may have had to buy one book becasue they didn't have it. I generally have a pile of up to ten books on my nightstand, so I never feel deprived. And, they are renovating each branch, one after the other, so the buildings and library spaces are beautiful places to just hang out and browse and read. (If they had coffee, I might never leave!) I haven't had such a positive public library experience since I was 11 and my Mom bullied the librarian into giving me an adult card because, as she put it, "She's read the Children's Library. Twice!" Now, when I buy a book, it's because I've fallen so in love with it that I absolutely have to have it in my collection. As for so many books, so little time - there is an upside to being retired on disability: lots of reading time! Any other great public libraries out there?

[Arctic]

"She's read the Children's Library. Twice!" LOL...good mom.

I'm envious. my public library is abysmal. I was surprised they had F451. and no internet catalog searching capabilities at all.

I was once accused of liking the idea of books more than I enjoyed actually reading books. and it's true in some ways. It often takes some time for me to settle into a book before I start to actually enjoy reading it. and being the impatient sort, this can be irksome.

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

Really interesting point, Heather. I understand, too. I LOVE my books. I look at the ones yet to be read and feel filled with excitement, and often impatience, to know their story, their truths. And I DO love reading. But there are times - like the beginning of this year - where I needed to know myself in other ways and simply didn't read. --- That, of course, really didn't stop me from continuing to acquire books!

[Robbie]

Oh, Deb! You pull at my guilt strings! Why is it I don't use the library? I was a great library-user as a kid--even with my crappy small-town library. Sigh. Is it mental illness with the book buying?

[Sera]

I was also a library hound when I was a kid, and then, I picked it up again when I lived in IN because the library was right down the street from my house. Now, I don't use it, and I really should. My neighbor is active in regard to one, very small local library and she is always saying to me "please support our local library". I really need to make more of an effort. Thanks Deborah and Robbie!

[alicia]

I love my library.Hopefully I'll be working there shortly.But i can't leave the place without at least 5 books.The i have to renew them online all the time.

[Deborah]

Robbie - it's not mental illness, it's a mutation of the shopping gene. All women have it, but in some of us it mutates away from clothes and shoes and focuses on books and music;-) Men claim not to have it, but try getting out of Home Depot with one without a purchase! There is something so gratifying about a new book, paperback or hardcover. And then there's the satisfacton of a "find" at a used bookstore or garage sale. And it's harder to be impulsive at the library. Book buying was a hard habit to break, and I couldn't have done it without indulging myself on occasion, and, of course, without a great library system.

It's terrific to hear from people who also have good library systems.

[Sera]

Thank you, Emily! That's good to know, and now you've given me even more motivation to get off my tush, and to head to the library.

[Cailin]

i guess i'm just a pessimist.

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

Oh golly! I seriously can't do the library thing... not because I don't love them - I do - but because I can never seem to remember to extend the check-out date, much less return them on time! I'm always having to pay anyway, so might as well buy, eh?! Plus, I love having the book on my shelf for a while... to look forward to with great anticipation (mostly because I'm always in the middle of something great!). Then, too, my mood changes and I delay that read for a bit in favor of THIS find.

I'm a used bookstore advocate! So great! One of my majors in college, as some of you know, was literature... I would always go to the local used bookstores to get the lists on the syllabi. There were only a few that I couldn't find there. I loved it! I was also the only girl in the lit department with the non-official copy, and a few more bucks in my pocket as a result!

But I really do love libraries - I have some fantastic memories of them from my childhood... and even from college. But, the major, MAJOR drawback in my book is the whole "no food or drink" thing. Come ON already!! ;D

[Deborah]

Michelle - I totally agree vis a vis used book stores. One of the great things about them is that they are always populated by book lovers, more so than the consumer chains. In the eighties, I worked on this little side street near CMU and Pitt, and was withing a block of the Bryn Mawr/Vassar used book store (proceeds went th scholarships) and a used record store. Needless to say, my paycheck took quite a hit! Have you ever seen the movie "84 Charing Cross Road," about a woman in New York, post War, who has a life-long correspondence with a book seller in London?

[Dottie]

84 Charing Cross Road -- one of my favorite books AND films of all time.

[Robbie]

Yeah, Deb, I guess it's a bit of the mutant shopping gene, and plus what Michele said. I never can remember to get books back on time. Plus, I just don't like all that *pressure* to read a certain book at a certain time. It could be worse, eh?

[Deborah]

Dottie - stupide moi! Didn't know 94 Charing Cross was a book. It's going on my to read list, pronto!

[Deborah]

Robbie - "It could be worse, eh?" Of course, think how dull shoes are to read! :D

[Courtney]

Yeah, Michele, I'm the same way. I was being soo good, but I think I now owe the St. Louis Public Library 500 million dollars for the audio Moll Flanders that I cannot manage to return. Along with a couple of silly (but fun) decorating books. It might have been cheaper to by them when this is done.

[Courtney]

"buy" I mean.

But I agree about used bookstores. We have a bunch of fabulous options here, including several that are two story houses completely converted (except the bathrooms) into bookstores. We always manage to find a million things and shopping in both is like magic. (especially this one in our cool antique district). Feels straight out of Diagon Alley. I keep expecting to see Hagrid.

I often have insane good luck at Goodwill, too. But then the B&N craving kicks in and I have to go. Usually when I want a couple of very specific things and a little browsing time -- I love their cards, used books, mini-books, etc. Thus far, I have been good at limiting these cravings, but it is oh, so hard now that it is ACROSS THE STREET as the crow flies and a three minute drive in the car.

And then there is Amazon, which I was oh, so above for so long (because I love the bookstore experience and felt superior to buying books online). But now its like crack, especially when I am looking for a topic but not necessarily a specific book, because I can really see everything out there and read reviews and make an educated choice. I also love being to immediately find a book I want for some ridiculously inexpensive price used and buy it then. Like crack. Its even worse if I am shopping for my P. Because then I have her wish list and can use it to extrapolate. Crack.

Book cravings are my worst. Even as a shoe fiend, I can go a LONG LONG time without buying any. Clothes, I have a business selling used clothes, so shopping for my business satisfies any clothes shopping craving I might have and anyway, I still can resist. But books. Books are different. And it doesn't matter that we have thousands and thousands. I always want more. And I will break and buy them. Its just a matter of time.

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

I found a favorite book at goodwill once! It was Smilla's Sense of Snow... really great book and I got the hardcover for like a buck! Woo-hoo! I should look there more often - thanks for the reminder, Courtney.

[Courtney]

Dude, at least a quarter of the classics on our shelves have come from goodwill - not to mention all of the classic movies on VHS. I don't know why, but goodwill totally hits this searching for lost treasure bone in me. Plenty of times, nothing great, but then, all of a sudden, I will find a copy of "It's a Wonderful Life" in B&W on the exact day that I was going to buy it.

[Anna]

Me and my sister buy more and more books and start to run out of space where we can out them. I've got separate shelf with books borrowed from libraries, but most of books I've marked "to read" is standing on different shelves with other books.

[Rebecca]

I'm all about the library. Last night I searched online in conjunction with my Goodreads to read list, found 6 titles that were in at my local branch, made my list, requested several others that are permanently checked out, and headed out. Ten minutes at the library and I've got 8 new books to get through.

On the way, I popped by Half Price to look for Monte Cristo (still can't find unabridged, but then I'm unwilling to traipse through B&N with a double stroller in tow, so what do you expect.) I also found a supremely cool leather-bound-with-gold-tooling copy of Gone With the Wind, which I've long needed to replace. But these (ha, 4) books are the first I've bought since Christmas, I think. I just can't justify paying for the books when I can get almost anything I want from the library, even if takes a while, as in the case of Eat, Pray, Love (#36 in the request line and counting.)

Plus, my dh just doees NOT get the book love, and there's no place in our house for them. But also, I'd rather read on a timeline than give up my maid :)

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

Rebecca, that last line was FABULOUS. Totally laughed outright!

[Beth]

I have a library problem myself. We just moved into a new house which is slightly smaller and has no built-in shelf space, so I have had to be ruthless with my books. I am keeping a pile of about ten on my nightstand that is "to-read in the near future". Then, I have my beautiful Folio Society books that function as decoration/art in my living room. I have started using Bookmooch, so a lot of my old paperbacks have been thrown into a box for that, and I've already racked up a lot of points on that site. I have been pleasantly surprised at the quality books I've gotten there.

I have gotten a handle on my book purchasing problem, also. In the past, my idea of entertainment was going to Barnes and Noble on Saturday night, staying for a few hours, and then lugging home a big pile of awesome books. Now, I try to read what I have got and not purchase so many. It's hard to resist, because a brand-new huge B&N just opened up near my house, and I pass it on my way to an from work every day. I keep promising myself that I am going to start using the public library. But, the libraries here aren't that great, and they tend not to have the type of literary fiction that I favor. Luckily, one of our good friends lives within walking distance from our new house, and he happens to be an English professor and a great reader, so I plan to mooch from him when the need strikes.

It is so frustrating trying to be good! What greater pleasure is there than to spend an afternoon alone in a great bookstore with good coffee and chocolate?

[Anna]

There are just few things I love better than looking for books and reading them later. I won't mention some of them here. I love spending afternoon completely alone - I switch off the mobile cause my family is very, very nosy - with large cup of warm tea or coffee in bed. Beth>, more frustrating than trying to be good is when you're trying to be good, but everyone close to you say that you're doing everything wrong (no matter how hard you try). Right now (til Polish Army Day - 15th August) I'm staying at my parents' house, so I can put away some money for books. I will go wild when I reach Cracow and Cheap Book Center and Cheap Book Warehouse.

[Angie]

I love the library. I just started using it this past year. I hadn't used one since college and back then I only used it for studying material. There is a great library system here in the Springs. I am always requesting materials they don't have and then they order it! I didn't expect them to actually order it.... so I am just loving the library more and more.

[Anna]

I came by to Cracow for couple of days and I saw in Cheap Books Warehouse Peter Berling's Black cup , which regular price about 100 PLN (Polish zloty), for 28 PLN - about 30% of the regular price. I think I will buy it on Sunday.

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

After discussions in this thread, I have searched for nearly a year for the book 84, Charing Cross Road. I finally just this evening found a copy. It was a pleasing feeling, but shocking both to find it quite short and that it actually had been an entire year!

I still have the same problem with my library... which is that I've all the "to-read" books on the shelves in front of me to tantalize me... causing me to want to pick one or the other up and finish it instantly, rather than slowly work my way through both the book and the collection. *Sigh.*

[Kristel]

I really know the problem of not having enough space to put all of my books. But, I'm an addict as well...really, I can't stop buying books. And it gets even worse. In the local museum where I work we have a pile with books from the library that are obsolete. The museum did use them in a temporary exhibition and now the pile of books is just resting there, until the library finally decides what to do with them (the books are facing possible destruction). The pile is just waiting for me and I swear it's calling me when I go to the cafeteria for lunch.

[Zala]

Though we have a great library in my town, I still end up buying a lot of books. That's because the language I speak is only spoken by 2 milions of people, which means not many books are translated and the library keeps only a small amount of books in English, so I normally end up buying the books I want to read from amazon or one of te big book shops in the capital. Paperback are normally not expensive, but I often find myself unable to resist buying a book, even though I have numerous TBR books at home and many in the library as well. I recently started using bookmooch to swap the English paperback I wasn't going to reread, but I find it very hard to seperate from my books. I think I'm just a little addicted to books. :)
The internet is really the devil, though. All these new titles ... I sometimes spend more time searching through all the world's books and reading reviews than actually reading books. That's freakish.

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

No, Zala, not at all freakish... at least not around here!

I've big news... I'm actually getting rid of a couple boxes of books! This is so far out of my character to this point that I'm still completely stunned by it. My family & friends don't seem to believe it. But I've just realized that in as much as having a fantastic and exhaustive collection in my library has always been a fixed goal, far more important to me is to be able to consistently live abroad and travel the world. In as much as I've always felt I could have both, it's beginning to seem silly. With that in mind, two boxes to my THOUSANDS of titles isn't a big dent... but it's a huge step in the direction I want my life to head. Are you proud of me yet??

P.S. I can't help it... I've still six books on their way from either half.com or bookmooch! But I HAVE started using the public library recently for books (wha?? I KNOW!!) - though not the classics. Still must have personal copies of those to mark up!

[Tara]

The amount of books in my room has literally stunned people when they've walked in-no joke!

My mom had some shelves built in for me a few years back(which are great big sturdy things)and there are about three other sets of bookcases along side that,yet still I've had to store a few things in bags and my bedside table is like one of those forts that kids make,only with books:)

Fortunately,there is a good thrift store a couple of blocks away that I donate to when things get to truly overflowing portions. Also,I've discovered Booksfree,an online lending library that is like Netflix for books(paperbacks,but you can also sign up for audiobooks as well). They have a great selection and you can even buy a book from them(if it's a title that they have in good supply)for a decent discount. In fact,you can even send them some of your old books to get some extra savings.

I went to public libraries when I was a kid,but one of the best ones was torn down over ten years ago(nothing but landscaping took it's place)and the others are too inconvenient to get to.

Oh,and I love 84 Charing Cross Road(book and movie)-Helene Hanff wrote a few other great books as well such as "Duchess of Bloomsbury Street"(a diary of her first trip to England) and "Q's Legacy"(which chronicles her self-education).I highly recommend them:)

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

Tara, I've been DYING to get those two Hanff books since reading 84CCR, but good golly I've just got so many already! I'm desperately trying to downsize, and for the first time in my life this is including some of my books... but I'd still like those & know they are books I'd love to own, not just read once and return it. I'll add them to my "iwantitnowdaddy" (yes, the title is in honor of Varuca Salt in Willy Wonka) shelf so I can keep my hopes up (and myself reminded)!

OH! And my room is starting to look ever-so hip! I got new bedding (finally) and a WW2 poster I've been wanting for ages just arrived today... they compliment the overflowing closet of unread books very well indeed! I even got flowers earlier this week... just because!