Book Buying Addicts Anonymous discussion
Been Buying, Been Reading?
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Owned-Unread books (Sometimes I think I must stop the madness!)
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Shannon
(last edited Jul 14, 2011 02:06PM)
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Jul 14, 2011 02:06PM
I have at least 438 books (this number does not include ebooks or library books or audio books or library ebooks) at home on my to-read shelf. FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT!!!! And what do I want to do this evening when I get off work, go to the used books store! Yes there is not guarantee I will even find something to buy but the compulsion to go can not be ignored. Sometimes I think I've gone overboard other times I rationalize by thinking I'll never be bored. So I really want to put this in perspective, how many unread books do you own? How many is "too many"?
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My 'to be read' shelf here on GR currently stands at 900 and I haven't finished inputting my books yet.There's no such thing as 'too many'. I always want to have a good variety on hand so that I can always find something to read no matter my mood.
I own over 2000+ UNREAD books, but every week I go to the library and borrow their books!! What is wrong with me??
GRs says I have 5,414 books on my shelves. Of those, only 883 are read. That means... I own 4,531 unread books. Does that make you feel any better? lol
Thank you Brians girl it sure does!! LOL-at least I'm not the only one!!! :)
I don't put a book on my to-read list unless I own it and plan on reading it in the near future. I have a lot of books that I inherited or bought for some other reason (if I liked the cover, for instance) that I don't have listed. That said, I've got plenty of books on my to-read shelf, but I just came back from the library with an armful of books. That was just crazy. I should have gone to the bookstore and bought those books!
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That's exactly right, Joseph. I like to move directly from one book right into the next and I never know what I'll be in the mood to read when I finish one book. It's best to have a large selection of to-be-read books handy to satisfy any whim.I think I'd better head to the bookstore this weekend to stock up.
Wow. I have somewhere around 20-25 "to read" books on my shelves, and I feel overwhelmed. I can't imagine having hundreds or thousands!
Pete wrote: "That's exactly right, Joseph. I like to move directly from one book right into the next and I never know what I'll be in the mood to read when I finish one book. It's best to have a large selection..."My thoughts exactly, Pete and Joseph. I may be in the mood for a huge book on the Crimean War or a little mystery by Christopher Fowler or Rex Stout. My TBR (and re-read) shelves are a mix of genres, so I have a choice, although I usually read at least two books at the same time, one light, one heavy. I have never counted my TBR books but they must be in the high hundreds......I love to collect book....what good friends they are!!!
I have mny books at home that are waiting to be read and I, too, frequently shop at used book stores, resale shops and check the library's used books for sale shelves, but I have a different strategy for my to-read shelf. If I own the book, I don't list it on my shelf until it is read because I assume that eventually I will get around to reading it. I only list books on the to-read shelf if I have heard about them and don't want to forget the titles of the these books. It's kind of like a wish list for me.
I've got about everything I own on my GoodReads shelves (not really, but I'm trying) Then when I'm at B&N and find a book I can check to see if I have it already on my laptop and now Nook. I also check here for ratings, reviews when I'm on the fence about a book. Saves me money. ;)
I think I have 700-800 unread books on my shelves.Denmark is a very small country - 6 mil inhabitants - and as a result, most books become out of print fast and are hard to get secondhand, so you have to get them while they're still in the shops if you want to own them (and I do!).
Apart from that I love shopping for my bookcollection, getting series in the same editions etc :-)
It would be too depressing for words to count up my unread books. But it's such good company to see them there, waiting for me. Sometimes I feel depressed that I haven't read so many but mostly I'm happy to see them, like friends waiting to spend time with me.Louise, I so wish I could go to Denmark-it's very high on my "I want to see" list. You have the best excuse to keep getting books! It's almost your duty. :D
But even in NYC, when I want a book, it's often hard to find the books I like the read, other than popular best-sellers or mysteries so I tend to buy literary fiction, poetry, literary criticism, philosophy, etc.
And over the years, there have been many, many times I was so glad I had done so.
My son says he loves my bookshelves: he says it's like going to a library or a bookstore without having to leave the house or spend money!
Two of our neighbors call our place the local library (they're some of the few who are allowed to borrow my books :-)
I do find having a shelf full of books comforting. I've recently made a temporary move that forced me to pack up all my books and put them in storage. Now that I've refilled my book case (well one of them) I feel much more at home.
Shannon wrote: "I have at least 438 books (this number does not include ebooks or library books or audio books or library ebooks) at home on my to-read shelf. FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT!!!! And what do I want t..."I can identify with your situation and dilemma. My library consists of no less than ten thousand books ranging from higher mathematics and global communications to romance novels and self-improvement books. I estimate that approximately a tenth of the books are yet unread. That means I have more than 1000 books to crack and improve the statistics. Fortunately I have an obsession and add to the unread numbers slightly faster than I read new books. This doesn’t really bother me as I love each one like a child and know they are always there when I need them.
I haven't put all the books I on my shelves on my 'to-read' shelf, partially because I was worried that would look weird. But now that I know, I'll be updating it regularly! And don't worry, I'm sure I have hundreds.
I use my to read shelf only as a reminder of books I'm interested in but have not yet actually aquired.
I have about a 1,000 books less than my son's middle school library. lol They have about 7k books and I have 6k. lol And my books, are all different genres, fiction and non-fiction, etc.
LOL that is too funny!! PS: My library is having their annual book sale the last weekend in August!! I am very afraid!! 3 bucks for a bag of books!! I am soooo there!!!
Susan wrote: "LOL that is too funny!! PS: My library is having their annual book sale the last weekend in August!! I am very afraid!! 3 bucks for a bag of books!! I am soooo there!!!"
Oh, Susan, you are in trouble....like me, you will not be able to walk away without piles of books. Just take a wagon or a shopping cart with you and buy everything you see!!!! We just can't help ourselves!!!!
I was SO upset, I came to our library on July 2. only to see that they had their sale the week before!
Can anyone tell me what constitutes "too many"? Susan is afraid to reach that point. I can’t contemplate what number that would be. Can anyone help me to clear up my dilemma?
I've bought so many books lately. But I also have the problem where I tend to get a lot of library books even though I have more than enough unread books at home.
My motto: Too many books, too little time. Never too many books on the to be read pile.
Susan wrote: "LOL that is too funny!! PS: My library is having their annual book sale the last weekend in August!! I am very afraid!! 3 bucks for a bag of books!! I am soooo there!!!"
I spent $80 at my library's annual sale with 50 cent books two weeks ago, and went back on sunday for the $2/bag sale as well. (Picked up 52 classic VHS movies in that for $4).
(My library's sale sold 76,000+ books. Paperbacks and children's books were 50 cents each, most hardbacks $1 each, and magazines at 50 cents/pound. Friday was $5 to enter, saturday and sunday free. Sunday was the $2/bag sale. Our library is nice enough too, well Friends of the Library foundation actually, and they sort the books onto different tables by genre, making them easy to find. I save up all year to go to the sale.)
ஐ Briansgirl "Book Sale Queen"ஐ wrote: "Susan wrote: "LOL that is too funny!! PS: My library is having their annual book sale the last weekend in August!! I am very afraid!! 3 bucks for a bag of books!! I am soooo there!!!"
I spen..."
WOW!! What a great deal!! I am soooo jealous!! :)
If you think your TBR is overwhelming look at this.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8cPwUsm5...
35,000 wow
Yeah... I have to stop this madness too... but really it's make me calm to see my shelves full with very own books... "No furniture charming as books" ~ Sydney Smith. DAMN... it's true!!!
It kind of makes my head hurt to think of all the books I have yet to read...so I know how all of you feel! My GR "to-read" list isn't even close to being completely updated with all of the books I want to read--and I know that it will keep growing exponentially unless I dedicate my entire lifetime to only reading (which doesn't sound too shabby, actually).
My GR "to read" shelf" only holds those books that I have seen here through recommendations from GR members. I would have to update my computer memory to hold all the others that are sitting on my shelves!!!! Reading is the one habit where excess is acceptable.
I made a seperate shelf that's exclusive, called Unread. So a book can be read, TBR, currently reading or unread. That way, all my 4k+ unread books aren't all listed as TBR. I reserve the TBR shelf for stuff I'd like to read sometime this year.
Louise wrote: "I think I have 700-800 unread books on my shelves.Denmark is a very small country - 6 mil inhabitants - and as a result, most books become out of print fast and are hard to get secondhand, so you ..."
i second that. Being danish myself i can only relate to that. i think that my book buying addiction was spawned by this, for i'm "always" affraid that i'm going to miss out on what i really want to read. But at least i'm not more addicted than if i do get a title i don't like that i have no probems with bringing it to the local second hand book shop!
My friends call me the book hoarder...I do at times feel a little guilty, but collecting is as much part of the reading experience for me as the reading itself. Books are my excitment, my comfort, I go to bookstores for all sorts of reasons. My girlfriend does half-seriously complain at times, but then she says, "At least it's not drugs or alcohol"
I have a friend that says one day all my books will fall on top of me and I'll die from millions of paper cuts. I think she's only half joking...
My problem might be that my friends are enablers and ofter out shopping for books with me. I am not up to 488 which is 50 books in a month but my excuse is that I've made a temporary move and all of my books have been packed up leaving my bookshelves empty which has been unbearable so rather than unpacking what I had (only to pack them back up in another month) I just went out and bought new ones. My main shelf is close to full now and school is about to start again so maybe I can taper off a bit in September.
According to my shelves, I only have 208 books on my shelves that I own and haven't read however that doesn't include my ebooks that I haven't sorted through to shelve yet. Most of the time I only wind up logging the e-books if I'm reading it or intend to do so in the near future. My kindle says I have 427 books on it right now and I'm fairly certain that those are mostly unread since I usually delete them from the reader when I get done with them.
OH GOODNESS I can't even imagine what my number would be if I included ebooks. I get them from Kindle, Nook, iBooks and other various websites. I only add them when I am actually reading them though.
I have no idea how many unread books I own. I only keep books that I know I'll reread. I only have about 20 books I've read. I own about 500 books so thats not good... As soon as I read them I donate them to a charity shop.
I really don’t understand your dilemma concerning English books. I live in Holland (more populated but comparable in size) and the number and accessibility of English books is great. Granted that Dutch books outnumber English books but all that means is that I have to search a bit harder.
Well, I'd say that there is no such thing as too many books.
I only actually own 15 books that I haven't read...but, still, I will never catch up :)
After reading some of the posts on here, I don't feel quite as bad anymore. I have probably less than 100 now as I just went through all my books and donated ones I've hung on to and don't have an interest in anymore. Thankfully I don't have a car at the moment so I'm not tempted to go to the used bookstore or B&N. I even have a tote bad that says "Please Don't Let Me Buy Any More Books!" which I ALWAYS bring with me to stores. Im in the middle of James Pattersons Murder Club and I own all of Jodi Picoult books.... but there's new ones coming out... hard to catch up. Oh and I also own a Kindle now so getting books in 60 seconds is REALLY dangerous!!!!!
Thom wrote: "I really don’t understand your dilemma concerning English books. I live in Holland (more populated but comparable in size) and the number and accessibility of English books is great. Granted that D..."Well there are 10 million more Dutch people than Danish people, so obviously that changes the market considerably. But trust me, there are still plenty of books that are not easy to get hold of. I have many titles on my wish-list that are out-of-print or near-impossible to find, and that's frustrating, for it makes me want to get them even more, not sure if that makes any sense to others though.
Rita wrote: "I have many titles on my wish-list that are out-of-print or near-impossible to find, and that's frustrating, for it makes me want to get them even more, not sure if that makes any sense to others though. "That makes perfect sense to me.
I have 53 books that I have not read and I just purchased 4 more today. The madness must stop.
I probably have about 400 TBR books. I haven't listed all of them on Goodreads. One reason I bought a Kindle is because I no longer have room on my bookshelves even though I periodically weed out books that I have read.
I no longer actually have room for anymore books, but that hasn't stopped me from buying. I am currently storing books in stacks on the floor. So far my partner is only mildly concerned ;)
Most of the books I own (over 2,000) - I've not read. Once I've read something, I tend to get rid of it - I'll swap, sell, donate, or give it to a friend. I have kept some of my old text books and books I inherited from my mother, also most of which I've not read. I have a few favorite authors that I've read and collect their works; Virginia Woolf, Julia Cameron, Natalie Goldberg, and Joyce Carol Oates. Some of my books are reference books, so they aren't the kind you read all the way through - or get rid of. One of my daughters was recently giving me a hard time about a cookbook I bought. She said, "You already have like, I dunno, a million cookbooks, Mom." I responded that one day, I will retire or have otherwise freed my time, and will have plenty of books to read and cookbooks to cook from. I'll be set. I may need more than one lifetime...
