Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Book Addiction


I really have a problem, a serious one. I love to read and I read all the time, but even more than reading the books, I have to collect them. There is nothing worse than a winter day or even a summer day, when you look in your house and realize you don't have anything to read. And the books I haven't read, I am not in the mood for. Moby Dick? Nah, I really am going to read that someday, but I don't feel in the mood for that deep of a classic today. Little Women? Nope, read it twice. Scarlet Pimpernel? I think I have read that so many times it is burned into my brain. So I stare at my book collect until I pick one that I have or haven't read. If I am lucky I perhaps just went to the library and I have a few new ones to thumb through and figure out if they were worth it. I love to collect classics, they are always the most fun to read. And the most educational. I want my kids to have a wealth of books at their fingertips, just like I did. I must have in my personal library, the books I grew up loving and reading. But I may have too many books, what do you think?

You know you are addicted to books and have too many books when...

... you want a bigger house to have more room for your book explosions
... you feel like you should jump on a home purchase when you see built in book cases next to a fireplace
... the first place you go in any store is to the book section
... people come to YOUR house instead of the library for books and you feel you should keep a check out list to keep track of what has been borrowed
... you have separate bookshelves for children's books and chapter books
... you hear the word 'Book Sale' and even though there is no more room on any of your bookshelves, in any closets, under any of the beds and you still want to go
... you were at a book sale and ended up buying a book you already have
... you frequent thrift stores, not really for the clothes, but for the books and come out with arm loads of books
... your spouse hates it when you end up at thrift stores because he knows you will come home with more books
... you, your spouse and all those coming to help, dread it when you move because of the many boxes labeled 'books' on the outside
... you want to spend part of your tax refund on another nice, solid bookshelf
... you take a bubble bath and take 3 books in the bathroom to read because you can't decide which one to read and it is getting late (I haven't dropped a book yet!)
... people come over you have to apologize for the kids books on the floor and your own books on the couch
... the areas of clutter in the house are wherever you set the books to get them out of the way
... you clean the kids room and two seconds later it is a mess again because the baby pulled all the books out for the 12th time that day

I am sure I can think of more, but all of these have happened to me. What do you think? Do I have too many books? At least for now, the large stash is limited mostly to the bedrooms, though there are trouble spots next to the microwave and by the tv. And when the kids drag them out of the bedrooms. I am not done buying them and trust me, I am just beginning! I really want a bigger place for many reasons, but I think a lot about how awesome it will be to have more room for MORE BOOKS!

5 comments:

Mama Teaching 3 said...

BOOKS, MORE BOOKS!

Maren said...

I completely sympathize!! (sometimes I jokingly tell Sheldon that I would rather have a library than a kitchen someday- if we didn't have to eat I would definitly do without the kithen).

jugglingpaynes said...

Hehehe!
I just finished The Elusive Pimpernel. Oh, how I love Percy! So fun!

You did know it's a series, didn't you? :o)

Peace and Laughter,
Cristina

The Kooky Queen--Rachel said...

You do have a billion books! I buy shelves first then buy the books to fill it, we do it opposite but I definitely am not addicted to reading, I reserve the summer for the 2-3 books I might finish.

Jill, Wes, and Andy said...

I wish there was just more time in the day to read. It is so addicting...once you start you just can not stop.