How many books have you bought this year?

[Crusader]

I tallied up the number of books I bought this year and was quite surprised by the number. So far I've bought 143 books.

I would be interested to know how many the rest of you guys have bought. Looks like I might have a slightly larger problem than I thought.

[Paul]

As addictions go, I think it's one of the best. I think I've bought around a hundred, although that's an estimation looking back at books added on GR and discounting those I've added recently that I read some time ago.

[Bill]

Looking through my various lists, I'm thinking around 60 this year.

[Laurel]

New and used books, somewhere in the range of 120 or more. I've been buying copies of old favorites, trying new authors, nursing an addiction... I'm trying to get caught up on my unreads, but there is just such a rich diversitybof good work out there!

It's hard to say no to a book :)

[Paul]

Laurel wrote: "It's hard to say no to a book :) "

I'm glad it's not just me that they talk to...

It wasn't until Crusader posed this question than I realised I've bought more books than I've read - and as a lot of the ones I've read have been library books or loans from friends, that may explain why I'm running out of space.

[Crusader]

Paul 'Pezter' wrote: "LI've bought more books than I've read ..."

I have that exact problem. Most of the books I've bought remain unread. I've read more library books and some of my increasing TBR pile than 'new' books.

[Paul]

Still, better than the reverse situation, not having enough books!

[Michelle]

how many books have I bought and paid for? only 20 or so this year, which is still probably more than the average Joe/Jane public. but how many in total have I acquired this year? definitely in that 100-120ish range. I'm with you, Paul, in running out of space on the shelves, so I had a stern talk with myself about the quality or re-readability of what was already there, and dumped some of it on paperback swap. I've gotten a dozen or so new books from them that way. additional support to my book habit comes from a blog/facebook feed called "pixel of ink" that notifies you about free or on-sale ebooks (e.g., when Consider Phlebas was 99cents right when we picked it for our group read here a couple of months ago). I'm probably adding 2 more books per week just from their tips.

[Katy]

Book buying is definitely an addiction for me. It would take quite a bit of time to tally all the books I've bought so far and others that I've acquired and ebooks too. Easily more than 200.

[Helen]

I bought a kindle late Feb, and have only bought kindle books since, so I know that I've bought 104.

[Jeff]

Just checked, 97 on the kindle (we have three kindles on one account, so that number is spread over three people.)

[Sharon]

41 so far. I actually thought it was more!

[Dawn]

I just looked, and I've done really good! I've only bought 21 books this year. I've been trying to cut back.

[Danya]

I didn't buy any until I got a Kindle. Used the library alot. Now I have bought 9 so far. This does not include the free ones. Maybe e-books will be good for the book economy...

[Helen]

Not my economy!

[Bill]

So far, not counting e-books, I've accumulated 303 books, mostly hard covers. Would that I live long enough to read them all. GR is breaking the bank!

[Crusader]

Kernos wrote: "So far, not counting e-books, I've accumulated 303 books, mostly hard covers. Would that I live long enough to read them all. GR is breaking the bank!"

Surely that can't be in just one year!

[Trike]

Crusader wrote: "I tallied up the number of books I bought this year and was quite surprised by the number. So far I've bought 143 books."

Hoarder! I hope you at least let them off the bookshelves every once in a while. They need to run around a little, get some fresh air.

[Trike]

Paul 'Pezter' wrote: "As addictions go, I think it's one of the best."

Definitely. I clearly recall a moment from my youth when I spent $50 I had been saving for about 2 years on books and having my mom flip out on me. Fifty bucks back in mid '70s was a helluva lot of money when you were poor. But when I look back now and compare it to the crap my friends bought -- stuffed animals, posters of musicians, fireworks -- I feel less guilty now than I did then.

Especially since I just re-read one of those books again recently and thoroughly enjoyed it all over again. (A World Out of Time by Larry Niven.)

Doing a quick count reveals I've purchased 61 books for myself this year. Probably another 10 or so for others.

The vast majority are SF or Fantasy.

[Kevin]

If one is talking about new books, I have only bought five books from a Borders Closing sale, then the Wise Man's Fear, and of course A Dance With Dragons, and the two new Drizzt books that came out in paperback.

[Bill]

I had a great weekend in Victoria, BC, spent part of it wandering around various book shops and purchased about 15 more... Nothing more for a couple of months I think.. at least until my birthday. ;0)

[Peggy]

I try very hard to use the library, but the sales at Borders have been too much to resist. I've been four times, and scoured the Fantasy/Sci-Fi section the last time. I'm kinda ascared to count the books at this point.

[Jensownzoo]

I've added about 383 books to GR since January, only a few of those are library books and I know that there is a stack that hasn't been added yet. The grand majority of them are used (thriftstores or bookfairs) or swaps so the financial outlay isn't as bad as it looks...

[Crusader]

Hey, I'm buying enough books to last until my retirement, kinda like a book retirement fund. I have every intention of reading them all.

I think about half the books I've bought are 2nd hand though, so that's not too bad. Luckily I'm nowhere near a physical bookstore otherwise the situation would've been much worse!

[Jensownzoo]

Crusader, that's what I tell everyone too...except I'm buying enough books to last through my retirement. And also to insulate my house in the meantime...

[Richard]

As a kid, back in the days way before the Internet, I collected Arthur C. Clarke books. Had all the publishers send me their catalogues and dragged my parents to book shops. Now it's too damn easy, switch on the computer find the one you're looking for, click Buy, voila. Instant poverty.

All grown up now with Kids of my own and everything, running out of space, time and money. So told myself this year no more new books until my TBR shelf is beaten into submission.

40 new books and counting, considering I'm lucky to manage to read 2 a month, that TBR shelf is giving me a kicking and then some.

[Katy]

Jensownzoo wrote: "Crusader, that's what I tell everyone too...except I'm buying enough books to last through my retirement. And also to insulate my house in the meantime..."

Yeah, I have enough books to use as fuel if necessary.

[Jensownzoo]

Now that's just book abuse.

[Pickle]

32 new books and 6 used.

[Dan]

I've bought too many and yet not enough. Actually, this has probably been one of my driest years as far as book buying is concerned. I've focused on reading my backlog. I'd say I've still bought 50-60.

[Helen]

Don't even mention on-click to me! Went to price a book someone recommended and thought "Oh that's cheap", seconds later its mine!

[Helen]

Lol, it's so easy to buy books with kindle. No more making time to go to the shop, contemplating the queue, wondering if your book is in stock...

[Helen]

Tell me about it! The really old ones start to smell too!

[A book away from an episode of hoarders]

My best guess (from looking at my shelf) is that I've bought around 200 books so far this year.

[Peggy]

Probably about 35 that I bought, but then again most of my friends & relative know what I like and I frequently get books as gifts. I have a shelf in my study dedicated to books I'm going to read, and I keep a list of what I've read. I do a lot of fiction writing, so I read a lot - just wish I could read more!

[Susan]

I'm not sure how many I bought but it has to be a lot this year between the Borders closing sale and lucking out this year with the book sale and flea markets from my local churches. I definitely have a book buying habit with a lot of books on my TBR pile.

[Lara Amber]

71 Kindle titles so far this year, though that might start to drop off now that Kindle kicked off library books today.

[Joon]

Many, many, many, many. Certainly more than I've read. I haven't even updated my collection here in several months so I have no idea how many.

[Mach]

I have bought 23 books this year, all new.

[Leigh]

Kevin wrote: "If one is talking about new books, I have only bought five books from a Borders Closing sale, then the Wise Man's Fear, and of course A Dance With Dragons, and the two new Drizzt books that came ou..."

The Borders closing jumped up my numbers too. I bought books I normally would not, just because they were so cheap.

[Valerie]

I entered a "TBR Decimation Challenge" in another group... and then the Borders closing sales happened. I'd be on track for a little while, and then - bam! would somehow come home with eight books, all dirt-cheap. I think my pile actually doubled at one point. Heh.

The good news is, I haven't bought any new books in over a month. :D Also, I'm trying to actively finish/become up-to-date with series instead of starting new ones, or stick with stand-alones for now.

[Esther]

Well I have only bought 3 which sounds all good and virtuous but I use bookmooch and get given a lot of books so I have actually added 45 books to my shelf.

[Adam]

I'm probably in the 100 to 200 books range. I tend to scour used book stores a LOT and I go to them frequently. I also go to these little church fairs (even though I am nonreligious) with my mom and they sell books their for wicked low prices. 25 cents for a paperback and one dollar for a hard cover. If I'm interested in more popular authors I usually go there and catch up in terms of fiction. I've sadly only read about 47 books so far this year.

[Trike]

Bought a few more recently. SF is Reality 36 and Virals as well as the first Technology Review (MIT) magazine short story collection called "TR:SF".

Also purchased:
The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth

Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too!

Steve Jobs

[Kevin]

Trike wrote: "Bought a few more recently. SF is Reality 36 and Virals as well as the first Technology Review (MIT) magazine short story collection called "TR:SF".

Also purchased:
The Geeks Shall Inherit the Ear..."

I heard that the Steve Jobs book came out at the right time to make it the top seller of the year.

[Peggy]

My library recently had a major book sale - including a day when you could fill a grocery bag for $5.00. I walked out with FOUR bags, which led to a one-woman "come to Jesus" meeting about the number of unread books at my house. I put all the hard bound and trade paperbacks on one set of shelves, and am just going to start at one end and work my way through.

[Kevin]

Peggy wrote: "My library recently had a major book sale - including a day when you could fill a grocery bag for $5.00. I walked out with FOUR bags, which led to a one-woman "come to Jesus" meeting about the num..."

My local library has a similar sale, but at the Sunday of everymonth, which was today, a bag of any size for just $3.

[Kerry]

You got me curious. And since I've actually been keeping track month by month this year, all I had to do was add it up.

216

(That did include 50-something Georgette Heyer books in Sourcebooks' August sale.)

Why do we do this to ourselves? I read around 100 books in a year - up to at most 120 if it's a good year. That means I'm buying twice as many books as I'm reading. That's both ridiculous and expensive and yet I can't stop.

At least, reading this thread, I know I'm not alone.

[Evilynn]

I used to have a growing to-read pile on my shelves, but once I hit ~65 unread books I decided to get it down to 0, come hell or high water. I still buy books, but I've had <10 unread works of fiction sitting on my shelves for a couple of years now. I'm still aiming at reaching 0 though. I'd like to say I think I've bought no more than 10-15 books this year, but it's probably double that figure (at least half of them have been eBooks!). ;P

[Riona]

I've probably only bought 2 or 3 books this year. Right after I graduated college and moved home as a broke, unemployed recent grad, I decided to switch to using the library almost exclusively. I'm not really much of a re-reader, so it doesn't make sense for me to own every novel I read. I pretty much only buy things like reference books, cookbooks, and art books now, or if I see something great at a yard sale or whatever (for cheap!)