I have a bad habit of buying or otherwise accumulating books and then, for whatever reason, never getting around to reading them. I’ve known this about myself for a while, and have in the past halfheartedly said things like “I can’t buy any more books until I read all the ones I already own!” only to be back at the bookstore the next week. I just can’t say no to an intriguing cover or a good sale. It’s a blessing and a curse. It also means that I have a lot of books in my house that I haven’t read. The other night I went through and actually wrote them all down in an effort to be more organized about my book buying in the future. Here’s what I found:
-The majority of these books are fiction. It appears as though I have mostly read all the nonfiction I own. I’m newer to nonfiction and still approach it warily. I’m more inclined to borrow a nonfiction book from the library rather than buy it because I’m not sure that I’ll like it enough to own. With fiction I imagine I think i’ll get something out of it, even if I don’t love the book as a whole.
-Of the 60 or so books on the list, 13 are what I define as “classics” and are something I feel I should read at some point in the future.
-I say “60 or so” because some books I’ve started and not finished, and some I can’t quite remember if I read or not. Also included in this count are a few books that technically belong to D, but that he has requested I read or that I want to read/bought for him but sneakily also wanted to own for myself.
-Probably at least five of these books are about linguistics, and those are all from my father. He’s a linguist to his core. I’m not quite as interested in the subject but want to read these books just in case I’ve missed my calling. I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
-I don’t even know where some of these books came from. I have no recollection of ever buying or otherwise obtaining them. Oops.
-These 60 or so books are still just a small portion of the overall number of books we own, and that’s with me paring down books every time I move, which has been 10 times in as many years.
-We have so. many. physics and engineering textbooks, and even more literature anthologies and books on literary theory. We are huge nerds.
-In an attempt to keep myself from buying more books, I’m going to try to get through 5-10 of these books I haven’t read every year. If I start in on something and just can’t get interested, into the Goodwill pile it goes.
Do you guys keep around piles and piles of books you haven’t read yet? Let’s not even talk about my Google Docs Excel sheet with over 200 “books to read” in it.
-The majority of these books are fiction. It appears as though I have mostly read all the nonfiction I own. I’m newer to nonfiction and still approach it warily. I’m more inclined to borrow a nonfiction book from the library rather than buy it because I’m not sure that I’ll like it enough to own. With fiction I imagine I think i’ll get something out of it, even if I don’t love the book as a whole.
-Of the 60 or so books on the list, 13 are what I define as “classics” and are something I feel I should read at some point in the future.
-I say “60 or so” because some books I’ve started and not finished, and some I can’t quite remember if I read or not. Also included in this count are a few books that technically belong to D, but that he has requested I read or that I want to read/bought for him but sneakily also wanted to own for myself.
-Probably at least five of these books are about linguistics, and those are all from my father. He’s a linguist to his core. I’m not quite as interested in the subject but want to read these books just in case I’ve missed my calling. I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
-I don’t even know where some of these books came from. I have no recollection of ever buying or otherwise obtaining them. Oops.
-These 60 or so books are still just a small portion of the overall number of books we own, and that’s with me paring down books every time I move, which has been 10 times in as many years.
-We have so. many. physics and engineering textbooks, and even more literature anthologies and books on literary theory. We are huge nerds.
-In an attempt to keep myself from buying more books, I’m going to try to get through 5-10 of these books I haven’t read every year. If I start in on something and just can’t get interested, into the Goodwill pile it goes.
Do you guys keep around piles and piles of books you haven’t read yet? Let’s not even talk about my Google Docs Excel sheet with over 200 “books to read” in it.
But wait, do you have any suggestions for good books I should read?
6 comments:
I haven't counted but I own shelves of unread books. Which is part of the reason why I decided to go on a book buying fast for 2012. I have yet to buy a single book, but haven't read much of what I own either, as I have been getting lots of books from the library. I have a lot of books, too. I just added a book shelf when I moved in July but I still have stacks of books without a home... It's a healthy addiction though, right? :)
Oh my gosh; I did the same thing. I went through all my books, got rid of 4 boxes (gasp), made a list of the ones I hadn't read and am now reading one book a month from my "already own" collection. Then I placed a buying ban on myself (but I can use a gift card if someone gives it to me!)
It's going well and I haven't bought any books yet! I am trying to get the newer ones that I want to read from the library and if I love them, I can buy them later! So far, I am 4 books down and all of them have gone straight to Goodwill afterward.
I loved every word in this post, especially the last line, which still has me laughing! I'm not a keeper of things. So, even though I used to be a great reader, I gave away most of the books to friends who also wanted to read the book ... and never asked for it back. I think you should check out The Imperfectionists ... I'm about halfway through and it's been a really fun/interesting read so far.
I have a shelf of unread books. And when it starts to become manageable again, I add more to it. I love my books =) I use Goodreads to keep track of the books I want to read, only because it's easier for me but I still write in my planner what books I've read and when... cause you know someone probably cares about that, other than mysleF!
i'm reading this awesome/ridiculous book right now called "Smoking Ears & Screaming Teeth: A Celebration of Scientific Eccentricity and Self-Experimentation." i got it as a $3 kindle book, and it's SO INTERESTING (slash gross/horrifying/hilarious). totally recommend it! :)
I have an epic to-read list on Goodreads! Most are really literary so I have to break them up with lighter fare in between.
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