“Some books are to be tasted; others swallowed; and some to be chewed and digested.” ~ Francis Bacon
I live on a rich diet of books, and I tend to overeat. According to recent estimates, I have close to 800 books in my personal library, all taking up stack space in my home, In every room of my home. None of these many books are electronic, most are hardcovers.
There have been opportunities for me to delve into the e-reader realm, but I simply don’t want to go there. A reader would certainly cut down of the amount of space needed to house my book, make it easier to carry multiple volumes with me, and be slightly less expensive.
Still, I love the feel of a book in my hands, the smell of the ink and paper, the tactile presence of a book. I don’t shun digital technology completely. I could not imagine being without my laptop or smartphone. I even have a personal hotspot set up on my phone in case I am without WiFi. I order most of my books online, and buy them using PayPal funds. I just can’t make myself abandon my precious books.
Ultimately, I am an analog bibliophile in a handheld digital world.
Thin spiral notebook 
Likewise. I love to curl up with a good book, and had several hundred when in the cottage. I kept some favourites and am plresently enjoyung reading them again even thoough the covers are well worn and the pages yellowed. Somehow a long soak in a bubble bath with a book and some gentle music isn’t quite the same with a kindle!
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And there’s no battery to worry about with a book.
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True!
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Hi Tara, your blog captures me every time. Your first sentences reach out with a crook any Scottish Shepherd would be proud to own, and pull me in! Your latest post regarding your many books and resistance to be rid of them and make space in your home certainly ensnared me.
I have a partner who loves books almost as much as I do. It was about ten years ago, when, after we had cleaned out her deceased Mother’s home of rubbish, just one garbage bag full, we came back to our home, looked around and decided. We had to de-clutter. We had to make space. We had to cull some books!
I couldn’t do it. Yes, I could de-clutter the kitchen and pantry of all excess platters, vases, casserole dishes, gadgets, etc., but I couldn’t get started on the books? My friends? No, no, no,no……yes! Actually, I had to do some of it myself as she wouldn’t understand my need of some of the books. Those dealing with the arts and crafts, with writing, with personality, with depression and anxiety, with, with….
We did it together. The Save the Children Fund here has a massive booksale in the Undercroft of the UWA each year.
They were so shocked and happily surprised when a 3 tonne flatbed truck pulled up at their Office door early one morning. Over 65 big boxes of books donated to them, ranging over many genres and all in such good condition!
They sent a card thanking us profusely.
We now have space, we still have about 400 books, but these we will never be able to part with. I have become digitally obsessed. I’ve lost count of how many books are on my Kindle, my Sony Reader, my iPhone, my iPods, my laptops. So little space used, so many ways of enjoying the books. Plus, it’s an easy way to get those books that you might never have really wanted to own up to that you wanted to read?
Some books are so much more easily enjoyed by listening. Especially those where the names of the characters trip
you up each time, and distract you from the narrative. Wild Swans was one of the first I listened to and thoroughly enjoyed, although I had tried 2 or 3 times previously to read it.
Right now I’m listening to Elizabeth Gilbert reading her memoir, Eat, Pray, Love and, really, I can’t imagine a better way to enjoy it. I didn’t see the film, and have heard very mixed reviews, and the whole phenonemon of the book’s success seemed to have passed me by. But, I saw Jennifer Byrnes Presents Elizabeth Gilbert just recently, and the interview Jennifer did was so entertaining, Elizabeth was so open, I had to indulge some more, and discovered (yes, well I did say I had lost count) that I already had Elizabeth’s reading of her book in my Audible Collection. I’ve been enjoying it over the last few nights, last thing before sleep, and it’s easy to see why it sold so well. It’s message would appeal to so very many men and women alike in this day and age.
So, Tara, don’t feel guilty about the number of books you have. I too, can understand the enjoyment of just looking at those spines, feeling the different textures of the bindings and covers, the feel of the paper, the joy in the different scents and smells of the books. Not to mention the photos, the differing fonts used, the opportunity to mark your own thoughts in the columns (if you’re so inclined) but I feel that’s almost disrespectul somehow? But, if you want to have more and more, without becoming a hermit in your home trapped by the stacks of books, then break out a little and explore the digital versions, you’ll be pleasantly surprised……
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I have gathered some books and donated them to our local library’s book sale, or traded them for new (to me) books at a nearby Used Book Store. It’s like they are all old friends that I can’t bring myself to abandon. I need to put a moratorium on buying any more, and take more advantage of our library. I’ve running out of bookshelves and rooms.
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