Monday, January 24, 2005
Heavy Bookshelves
I just came across the following comment on another blog:
I'm kind of torn on the issue of buying more books. I get a giddy feeling whenever I walk into a bookstore. I keep thinking, "Oh, there's just so much interesting stuff to read!" That feeling tends to go away when I actually sit down with one particular book, but I sure do like holding a brand new book and writing my name (and the month and year in which I purchased it) in the inside cover. I love new books.
On the other hand, I rarely if ever re-read a book. When I buy a book, it ends up forever more sitting on my shelf as an eternal testament to the fact that I have read it (or, sometimes, simply to the fact that I want to read it). Not only does that tend to fill up shelf space pretty quickly, but it also makes moving more difficult (books are heavy!). So I'm an avid library user. I love to check books out, read them, and give them back so I don't have to deal with the physical object anymore, but I can keep the information and the memories.
In the end, buying books and putting them on my shelf comes down to this. I ask myself, when considering whether to purchase a book or just check it out from the library: Do I want people who come into my house to know that I am the kind of person who likes this kind of book? Because really, let's face it. Books on a shelf are as much decoration as anything else. Their purpose is to let people come in and see what kind of books you read.
And I agree--if they ask you if you've actually read all of them, they don't know what it is to be a book lover.
The surest way to spot a nonreader: someone who comes into your house, looks at your books and asks, "Have you read all these?If course I haven't read all the books on my shelf. And it's not just because half of the books were brought into the marriage by Shelly (though that's part of the reason); I haven't read all the books I bought on my own. For some reason, though, I keep telling myself that I have a "goal" of reading them all. I guess it would be a good idea. It would put Shelly in a better mood to allow me to buy more books.
I'm kind of torn on the issue of buying more books. I get a giddy feeling whenever I walk into a bookstore. I keep thinking, "Oh, there's just so much interesting stuff to read!" That feeling tends to go away when I actually sit down with one particular book, but I sure do like holding a brand new book and writing my name (and the month and year in which I purchased it) in the inside cover. I love new books.
On the other hand, I rarely if ever re-read a book. When I buy a book, it ends up forever more sitting on my shelf as an eternal testament to the fact that I have read it (or, sometimes, simply to the fact that I want to read it). Not only does that tend to fill up shelf space pretty quickly, but it also makes moving more difficult (books are heavy!). So I'm an avid library user. I love to check books out, read them, and give them back so I don't have to deal with the physical object anymore, but I can keep the information and the memories.
In the end, buying books and putting them on my shelf comes down to this. I ask myself, when considering whether to purchase a book or just check it out from the library: Do I want people who come into my house to know that I am the kind of person who likes this kind of book? Because really, let's face it. Books on a shelf are as much decoration as anything else. Their purpose is to let people come in and see what kind of books you read.
And I agree--if they ask you if you've actually read all of them, they don't know what it is to be a book lover.
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