Why do I buy so many books?

[WillyBrandt]

I must buy like four books for every one I read. The backlog is unbelievable.

I just finished adding another set of bookshelves. Don't get me wrong: I like having all these books, and they look beautiful on the wall, Kant next to Sartre, next to Krugman, next to some old textbooks.

But it's a little preposterous to buy all this ultimately unread ballast. I'm likely not to change apartments when the lease expires in large part because of all these books.

Anyone likewise?

[Catch22Dem]

1. Same here

I buy a shitload of books. No excuse for my behavior, but no apologies either. :)

[southerngirlwriter]

2. I used to do exactly that.

Then I got rid of my TV (in the summer of 1999; I'm coming up on five TV-free years), and I read my entire library in five or six months, and then I gave them to the secondhand store for store credit and filled my house up again and read more!!

Kill your television. You'll have them all read by August. You'll never regret it. :)

[WillyBrandt]

3. I just turned off Hardball. I'm getting off DU soon and will get to readi

Smart (southern)girl(writer)... :)

[Brucey]

4. It's displacement. Books equal love.

I like books too.

[POed_Ex_Repub]

5. Ever consider a library card? n/t

[EXE619K]

6. Don't get me wrong here.

But, I've always wondered what impact the endless publication of books has on the population of trees....

I collect old books and manuscripts as a hobby.

As much as I like collecting, I wonder some times.

[gmoney]

15. I'd say books are small potatoes...

...compared to the daily volume of newspapers, direct mail, brochures, product packaging, shipping cartons, statement stuffers, catalogs, and most magazines. The vast majority of that stuff goes into the trash within a few days of being distributed.

I'd bet that in terms of amount of paper used, the books printed in the US in a year is probably less than the PHONE books printed in a year -- and those are thrown out after a year. Think about it... most households get two, three, maybe four different phone books, with tons more delivered to businesses (one per phone extension, typically). And that's for almost every decent size population center in the country.

For most mass market books, a BIG first printing is like 100,000 copies -- for smaller titles, probably 25,000... and books will have an indefinite "shelf life" and can be loaned, donated, or just treasured.

And if you could ask the trees, I think they'd prefer to give themselves to become books instead of Wal*Mart flyers in the sunday paper. So, don't sweat the environmental impact of buying books.

"I believe the printed word is more than sacred
Beyond the gauge of good or bad
The human right to let your soul fly free and naked
Above the violence of the fearful and sad"
--Andy Partridge/XTC "Books are Burning"

[woofless]

7. Because you can.

Wish I could. Don't worry, you will get around to them eventually.

[JPace]

8. You are not alone......

my walls are bulging with bookcases full of books.
Just love the things, can't help it. There is so
much to know and so little time to absorb it all.
Now that I am getting older it is hard to get through
all that I buy, so I get behind. I find great comfort
in my books and expect I will till I die. No apologies,
just wish I had more room for them.

[david_vincent]

9. I don't buy much anymore

because I have hundreds and hundreds that I've bought over
the years - most of them still unread. I keep them packed in
boxes, which makes them difficult to access, but also ready
to lug the next time I move.
I've come to think of overzealous book acquisition as a
fundamental confusion of the artifact for the insight or
wisdom that we expect it to confer upon us.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

10. Me too, been doing it for years... get used to it, it's an addiction

but one that wont hurt you, unless the shelves give way.

[Interrobang]

11. I can't answer that.

I know why *I* buy so many books -- because I have read and re-read and re-re-read everything in my 2000-item or so collection at least once, and some things ten or twenty times (if you figure that I must re-read some of my favourite books more than once a year, and I've had some of these books for 15 years now). I simply cannot keep myself in fresh books. I can't imagine what I'd do if I had a backlog, except what I usually do when I have library books and time on my hands -- sit down and read everything off at a draft. (Yes, I have library cards -- three of them -- but I still prefer owning books, because then one doesn't have to give them *back*! Libraries and other lenders do provide quite a useful "try-before-you-buy" service, though. I must have bought hundreds of books simply because I'd read them at the library and wanted my own copies.)

One of the reasons I like the Internet so much is that it's like a giant library full of things I haven't read yet, and personal copies are trivial to obtain, if difficult to read. :) (You can't grep dead trees, but contrariwise, you can't read stdout in the bath.)

[Sequoia]

12. Good.

I used to buy so many books then I moved and couldn't give them away. I just had too much stuff. The place I moved to hasn't many books for the whole population and the books I left behind are selling at a king's ransom. Sigh, I miss my books. Just keep them.

[VOX]

13. Hunting and gathering instincts gone horribly wrong!

I speak as someone who does the same thing -- I shop for books with hungry eyes. I have numerous unread books purchased as far as 15 years back, or more.

I enjoy books as much as aesthetic objects as I do for their content.

Although I'm not likely to give the Collyer Brothers a run for their money in the hoarding department, it has gotten a bit out of hand over the years. My wife does the same with her books, if that's any consolation.

We finally moved into a house last November, and it nearly killed us. Most of the books are still boxed, awaiting the construction of built-in shelving that will support their formidable weight.

She and I have agreed, though, that is *is* time to "thin the herd" a bit.

[freeminder]

14. you ask for too much book tips at DU <eom>

kidding :P
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=768337

[Padraig18]

16. People like me thank God for people like you!

:hug:

"Support your local independent book store!" :)

[reprehensor]

17. Because...

You believe that you will eventually read them all. Don't you? I buy some First Editions and rare books just as very minor investments, but I usually sell them at some point.

I like having my own little library. Some authors, like Charles Austin Beard, are just not available at the wee Library in my lil' city.

[SWPAdem]

18. I'm just a few cats shy

of being one of those old ladies that you read about in the newspaper...a house full of books, magazines and pets. At least, all the books seem to be holding up the walls rather well.

[smirkymonkey]

19. It's my worst addiction...

I just can't stop. Most of it is non-fiction. I think it has something to do with the fact that I am ADD, which makes me like a kid in a candy store when it comes to books.

I just want to know about everything!!

[PragMantisT]

20. I hear ya

Eventually took up woodworking to build shelves.
It's a curse, but sometimes you need to have a book right there and not across town.
It is tough to move and schlep them around; they weigh a ton but pack better than dishes.
How's the CD/DVD collection?
They're lighter, and pack as easily.

[Lindsey]

21. I have the book buying disease too!

I buy 'em because I have an insatiable desire to obtain as much knowledge/wisdom as possible. I also have four that I'm reading now. I try SOOOOO hard to read fiction but it's almost always non-fiction. I'm currently in the middle of "Dude, Where's my Country," "The Bush Dynasty," "The Price of Loyalty," and "Good to Great." I'm trying very hard not to continue on the political reading binge I've been on since the stolen election. I went to a book store (actually two book stores) on Sunday with a friend. I was so proud that I didn't buy one book! (she bought four).

[bif]

22. I had about 300 books in a holding pattern next to my bed

That were on my "read next" list. My wife finally bought a bookshelf to put in the hallway to handle them. Mind you, we have a library with a couple of thousand books lining the shelves already. As I like to say, "You don't buy books to read, you buy them to put up on your shelves to impress your friends." Actually, I've read a lot of them Maybe 2/3rds or so.

[terrya]

23. I do the same thing. You can NEVER have too many books.

I have at least 20 books I haven't read...and I still keep buying more.

Terry

[adriennel]

24. Yes. Bibliophilia.

My partner and I both suffer from this malady. It does not help that he works for a book retailer, with great discounts & freebies. We have been known to buy books we already have, we just don't remember we have them. Or, we can't find them--our bookshelves are full and our basement is packed with boxes of books. We live among the stacks. The last time we moved, Two Men and a Truck showed up, stared, and said "wow...you guys have a lot of books". I told them to bring the big truck!
I'm sorry to say that there is no remedy for this affliction. But there are lots worse obsessions to have : )