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| Photo credit: lifeisfoo on Flickr |
Bit of shocking news for all of you today: I love books. I know, unbelievable, right? I wouldn’t have guessed, either.
Ehem.
I’ve sort of mentioned this before, but I’m a little weird about my book-buying habits. Why? Because about 97% of the time when I decide I want to read a book, it means I’ve also decided I want to buy it. This applies even to authors whose books I’ve never read before.
The thing is, I don’t just love books, I love collecting books. My pretty bookshelves are basically my favorite thing and I never tire of adding a book to my shelf after I’ve read it (fun quirk: I won’t place a book in it’s alphabetical spot until after I’ve read it).
I’m also kind of anal about the format, though.
If I buy the first book in a series in hardcover, then I’ll buy the rest of the books in hardcover as well. Same goes for paperback. Or e-book. This sometimes means that I have to wait extra long to buy a book because the paperback doesn’t come out until well after the hardback (*cough* City of Heavenly Fire *cough), but even if it’s many many months away…I wait. Because there’s something about having all the books in a series in the same format that, I don’t know? It’s a quirk. It looks pretty. Sorry not sorry.
Talking about book quirks is fun, so I want to hear from you guys: do you collect books? And/or do you have any book-related quirks?
Twitter-sized bite:
Writer @Ava_Jae shares some of her book buying quirks. Do you have any book-related quirks? Join the discussion: (Click to tweet)
23 comments:
I get your quirks and I can totally relate. I love collecting books too. I love visiting bookstores. I never miss an opportunity to visit all of them when I'm downtown. Unfortunately, there aren't nearly as many bookstores as I would love where I live and, considering that I live in Ukraine and prefer to read books in English, I'm lucky to get any at all! However, when I start collecting a series, I definitely prefer to have a set :)
I love visiting bookstores! The new book smell is my favorite. Also the books. Especially the books.
That's too bad about the difficulty you have finding bookstores/books in your preferred language. I imagine bookstore experiences probably vary greatly depending on where you live.
I don't collect books and I like that. My physical TBR is managable. I don't have to worry about shelf space. Only my very favorite books sit on those shelves.
But at times I do want to collect books. It's my dream to have a library in my house.
Space is a very understandable issue when it comes to collecting books.
I actually don't put my books up on the shelf until I've read them, too! Most of my books are alphabetized by author, except for nonfiction books, which have their own shelf and are grouped by subject. I have a big stack of books by my door (smaller now) that has all the books I haven't read/reread since I got them—even if I get my own copy of something I still have to reread it before I stick it up.
Also, I have a special shelf for my favorite books which are way more sacred than all the other ones. XD
I totally collect books XD People are always asking me why I don't just check them out from the library, but if I deem a book worth reading, then it has to be able to go on my shelf forever. Even if I'm out of shelf space, I stack them. I don't give them away after, or sell them (even if I'm for-sure only ever going to read them once), which means I have very little space (especially in my apartment right now).
But I'm totally with you: collecting books is one of the best things.
I keep saying I will not buy any more books. Then I see a book (usually at Costco) that I have to read and so I buy it. yes, I do get books from the library but I buy books - from the store, from Goodwill (I'm helping them, right?), from yard sales (cheaper!). But my shelves are overflowing! and - I have so many TBR books. This month - no more buying books.
Yes, indeed, I collect books! I'm like you. Most of the time, I buy the books I want to read, though I do go through spells where I rely more on the library. My house is overflowing with books. I also don't like to put a new book on the shelf until I've read it.
I am mad about books! I once had a pretty overflowing collection, but a move 3000 miles across country with two weeks to prepare did cause me to lean it all up quite a bit. Now it is starting to get impressive again. I really want a reading room some day. My father has one with wall to wall shelves. THAT is my goal. I will buy my books in the donate section to benefit the library, at Goodwill, yard sales, or any ordinary book store. However, when I buy a book that is used, it is not always going to be a keeper unless I simply cannot bear to part with it (like an ARC I found 15 years ago of "Heartburn" by Nora Ephron). In the long run, It depends on the condition. I am not a weirdo but I take good care of my books. I will not dog-ear a page to save my spot. I like my fiction to stay as nice as possible. My non fiction however will be highlighted, will have notes in the margins and will rarely leave my home to spend reading time with someone else. They become a personal part of me.
Oh yay! Someone else who reserves shelf space for books that've been read. *high-fives* And weirdly, I do the same thing with non-fiction! They're alphabetized by author too, but they're in their own section (though I don't have enough for them to take up a whole shelf).
That's pretty funny about the favorite shelf. I have a favorites shelf on Goodreads, but not a physical one.
100% agreeeeeee! On all points. :D
I've already decided saying I won't buy more books is a futile lie. (But I sometimes avoid going to bookstores when my wallet would be displeased with me).
That makes three of us who don't put new books on the shelf until they've been read! Ha ha. Yay book collecting quirks!
Aw, yeah moves can definitely make things difficult on the book-collecting front. A reading room with wall to wall shelves sounds glorious. I also actually agree about the condition of books—I usually buy new ones because it really bugs me when a book is damaged (I not only don't dog-ear pages, but I've given each of my family members stern lectures about why dog-earing pages is evil). So. Yes.
Although I've also highlighted some non-fiction books. For some reason I don't mind marking up non-fiction, but my fiction books must be kept pristine. *shrug*
Where's the picture of your bookshelves? ;) I don't have money to collect books yet, but as soon as I have a book budget, I'm going to be collecting a ton! :D
Right now I don't collect books, but I think I will in the future. Mostly I read books from the library because in the past I've bought (many) books that I ended up disliking/hating and wishing that I had that money back. Also I just have a super small bookshelf, so I currently don't have space. My plan is to get a big bookshelf when I live on my own and only buy the books that I think I will read again.
Sadly, my bookshelves are currently half put-together and most of my books are in boxes. :( So no bookshelf picture this time.
But yay future book budget! Book collecting is the best. (And before you have a budget, gift cards to bookstores are a beautiful thing).
I get not wanting to feel like you wasted your money on a book you bought. I've honestly really only had that happened once, mostly because I tend to be SUPER picky about my book buying. But I mean, it's bound to happen, and when it does I figure someone else might like it or at the worst, it just looks nice on my shelf. :)
*gasp* That's horrible! Get them put together soon!
I'm asking for gift cards for Christmas and my birthday this year. Unfortunately, my birthday is two weeks before Christmas (December 13th) so I still have a while to wait! LOL
I've always loved collecting books -- I even saved college text books (for waaaaayyyyy too long!). Now that my hubby and I live and travel full-time in a recreational vehicle (RV) of less than 400 square feet, I just can't save books the way I used to. The ones I do keep are travel-related (mostly about hiking trails and identifying birds).... Even so, I can't seem to get myself to buy an e-reader so I can "save" books that way.
Our limited space hasn't stopped me from buying print books, though. I just give them away when I'm done or if we happen to be in a town with a bookstore that takes trades, I'll see what I can swap them for....
I have gotten more obsessive about finishing a book before starting another one... has anyone else got that quirk?
Yeah, space is a totally fair issue when it comes to book collecting. Not having the space definitely limits how much collecting you can actually do.
I've always preferred reading one book at a time, so usually I finish a book before starting another (unless it's work/school reading, in which case I'll probably read several books at once. But if it's just pleasure reading, I always, at least so far, finish the book I'm reading before starting another).
There's nothing that I love more then collecting books. Like you said just adding a new book to my shelf gives me so much joy. I love my book collection more then anything else I own. My boyfriend is constantly saying "how many books do you need?" or "you haven't even read half the books you have now and your buying more" I have a kindle fire and I read books on there but theres nothing that is better then actually owning the real book. I have an obsession with self-help books and murder mystery novels. If I ever have an extra bedroom in my house I am going to dedicate it just to my book colection.
Yes!! I so agree. Completely. Also, I think there's something kind of fabulous about having a bunch of books that you can read at any time that you haven't read yet. It's kind of addicting, to be honest. In a good way.
Also I like the idea of a library-bedroom.
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