Friday Coffee Chat (8)- Confessions of Book Hoarders

Bella from A Girl Reads a Book:

Hello my name is Bella and I am a book hoarder. One day you are cruising along, happy as Larry with a few books, and then before you know it you've got 2,000+ books and you're being called a book hoarder. Well that is how it happened to me. I swear I woke up one morning and I suddenly had over 2,700 books. Here is how it happened...

I'm Australian, and I lived in Australia for 27 years and then one day I decided to visit Canada. I met someone, fell in love with him and the country and have lived here every since. What does this have to do with my book hoarding? Well books in Australia are expensive. Anywhere from $14-$20 for a paperback. Living in Canada is like a dream come true. Books are incredibly cheap, and well that is where the hoarding started. I'd go into a bookstore and instead of buying one, I would buy five. Next time I go into a store, I'd buy six or seven, and it went on from there. I'd go to library sales and come home with boxes. Then one day I met Amazon, and the obsession for more books grew.

Then came the evil Kindle 2. Oh how I loved that. I could have eBooks and they take up next to no space, and with a click I could order more and more books. Now it has become a part of my life. I'm at work, and I check out Amazon - there are always great deals on there. I'm at home, I flip through the catalogue for my Kindle. I'm out and about, and my husband (yes he has been the big enabler!) suggests that I go in a bookstore. How can a girl say no to that?

More than my husband, there is an even bigger enabler... BOOK BLOGGERS! Oh how I delight in this wonderful community that recommends awesome books to me and then I go out and buy them (did I tell you all where I work there are three bookstores in a 2-block radius?)

Of course now Carin says it is out-of-control and I must go on a book buying ban, which I have promised to do during September. My unread books total 2,764. I haven't bought a book since August 11, 2010 and I have to say I have the worst twitches ever. I'm not sure if I can do it. Right now I'm dying to buy a book. It can be anything... I'd even accept a biography of Paris Hilton (and trust me that is something I wouldn't normally read!)

So that's my story. I'm Bella, I'm a book hoarder and I'M PROUD OF IT!

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Fiona from The Book Coop:

Carin asked me to write a little bit about my book buying habits for this week’s Coffee Chat. Little does she know how long I could probably go on about the joys of buying books. Well, possibly she does…

My TBR is currently standing at 436. I have been trying to ban myself for a year and the longest I have been without has been two months, but I broke that ban in the most magnificent way by acquiring 15 books in 3 days. Since then they’ve been trickling in and my bookcase is now at full capacity.

Basically, my problem started in university. Unlike many of my peers, I did not spend all my money on alcohol and going out to clubs or pubs. I spent half my time avoiding doing any work by hanging around Waterstones, a major chain shop here in the UK. It got worse around deadline time when I’d use buying books as a stress reliever. At the end of my final year I must have purchased about 30 books in two weeks. Whoopsie.

I love freshly bought virgin books. Books that have not had their pages bent, their covers mutilated or their spines creased. My eyes will be the first to read those fresh, crisp pages and the creases in the spine will be from me. Library books and second hand books are all very well, but they just aren’t the same as a virgin book.

Yes, I am a book pervert. I love the silky softness of the pages, I love the smell of wood and ink. When I’m in a bookshop I always sniff the books I pick up and when I choose a book to read – I press my nose up against the pages and breathe in that heavenly smell. Mmm.

Approximately half of my books are bought new – the other half from various charities, second hand bookshops and places like Bookmooch and Amazon Marketplace. I don’t use the library half as much as I should because – well I just love reading a book knowing it is mine to read when I want.

I love having these little cuboid objects sitting there in my shelves, quite unassuming until you pick them up to read. I love the mystery of not knowing what all these books contain yet. Will I love it, or hate it? I don’t know. All I know is that it contains hours of possible enjoyment.

I love the memories they contain. I can open up an old friend and be reunited with my favourite characters, or relive a special moment. Some books just refuse to be forgotten. You can reach the last page and close the book but it is still there inside you and any time you want, you can revisit it. You can’t do that with a library book. You have to take it back and then it’s gone.

This ban is going to be hard for me because I love having new books to add to my collection. It’s therapeutic to buy a new book – a great stress reliever. I love the rituals of buying a new book – adding it to my Goodreads account, updating my Excel spreadsheet, announcing it online via Twitter. There is such joy in receiving a new book to add to the collection.

I have reached my limit though – 436 books is all very well but where am I going to put them? Am I going to be able to read them all? I don’t want to get to the age of 80 and look at my shelves and still see 400 odd books on my shelves and regret that I could never have read them all. It’s this that drives me on. Firstly the space issue and secondly the fact that I own more books then I’ve read. So far, of all the books I can remember well enough to say I have read, there is 321. Maybe if I can get to the point where I’ve read more books then I own, can I feel more relaxed about my TBR.

So that’s it. This September there will be no more books and after that I will have to cut down to only getting books I feel that I really want. I have enough books to last me 8 years so it isn’t as if I’m going to run out of reading material.

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Carin from A Little Bookish:


For Bella's event, I've become the unofficial-official book police. Everyone thinks I wield a big stick and they joke about getting in trouble with me should they purchase a book that might be the one that actually causes the bookcase to come crashing down. I can deal with that reputation...*pats the big stick and giant foam wagging finger that sits next to me*. I can't throw stones at these ladies. My TBR is out of control. I currently have 210 unread books that I own. How did this happen? You know, I don't even know! I acquired a lot through people giving me books and downloading free classics, but I've bought my fair share over the years that remain unread.

I feel really bad about this because truly my cup runneth over. I'll be honest. I grew up fairly poor. I have a really hard time purchasing just about anything because I behave more like Silas Marner--I like watching money grow instead of feeling like I might not have a place to live anymore so looking at my shelves full of unread books is actually quite painful for me. I grew up not really feeling poor, but watching my family struggle to pay the bills on time every month. Getting notices threatening disconnection of electricity, gas, and phone were fairly common occurrences in my house. I feel EXTREMELY fortunate that I don't worry about those things anymore, but I almost feel as if I've taken advantage of my good fortune! I can't say "no" to someone who offers me a book, and I have a VERY hard time walking out of a bookstore without purchasing something. How did I become a spendthrift when it comes to books? I'm still trying to figure that one out! Luckily, I've made some very good blogging friends that through good natured banter, keep me from buying (or more likely they praise me for my ability to resist the impulse buys).

What's kept me from buying more and more since we've decided to try to reduce our TBR pile even if only by a little is that I am actually enjoying trying hard to not be the one who lost her sense of self-control so that all my book blogging friends can make fun her! Oh that peer pressure...sometimes it's a good thing! I get to spend some quality time with my poor, neglected "other man" (or "other woman")--yes authors, I am talking about you! Let's put on some Marvin Gaye and snuggle after spending so many years apart. I might even give you a good back (spine) rub in September. Just know this...my love is fickle and when I finish reading your luscious pages, I will likely toss you aside for the next best looking book on my shelf or even better, trade you in for a newer, younger version of you (a copy of your new book).