I can't stop buying books.
There are books on my shelves that I haven't yet read, and those shelves are pretty much full. But, still, I've a list of books noted down that I just have to get my hands on at some point. And every time I get an email from Waterstones or bookshop.org or one of the publishing houses, at least half the books mentioned in one of those emails end up being added to the list.
I am fairly certain I will die with books on my shelves that I never read. Of course I will; I buy books quicker than I can read them. It's the curse of the bibliophile!
Why do I do it? Why do any of us do it?
It's almost Sisyphean, right?
The TBR pile that never gets any smaller because, before you've even finished the book you're reading, you've found yourself in a bookshop handing over money to buy two more books that will be added to the pile!
There are books on my shelves that I bought excitedly months ago but still haven't got round to reading because of this habit.
But, the thing is, a book requires time and attention. A book requires consideration and thought and care. Reading a book is more than just taking in the words. Sometimes it requires some note-taking. Sometimes it requires going away to read something else, or visit a website, or contact someone . . . Reading a book can lead to a lot of things, and it takes time.
And in that time I am probably going to end up buying other books as well!
Buying a new book is all about the promise of what waits inside, between the covers. I am not particularly fussed about the beauty of the covers themselves, but the anticipation of discovering the beauty of the words inside . . . Oh!
Having a book on the shelves is having access to new ideas. And new ideas can spark so much. With a new idea, another way of looking at things, you may just end up discovering something wonderful. It could lead to a new project, a new friend, a new career . . . Anything really, depending on the kind of books you are reading. Who knows. There is a lot of promise in a new book on the shelves. And that, I think, is why I can't stop buying them quicker than I can read them. And why I feel wistful when I have finished a book that lived up to that promise; wishing I had savoured and appreciated the writing more as I'd made my way through the book, knowing that I'll never again be able to discover the book anew.
I'm afraid I don't have an answer to the question posed in the title of this post. I suppose I could buy a Kindle. But what sort of joyless existence would that be? I mean, jeez, go visit your local bookshop already. Bezos has made it! He and his buddies have enough money!
Thank you for reading. If you found anything entertaining therein, you can support my writing with a coffee on ko-fi.com because writing for free is fun, but at a certain point you're like, "Wait, I am making an effort here and writers worse than me are getting paid, so . . . " Stuff like that! Thank you - all support is much appreciated!
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