I used to not keep books. But then, I started a book blogging habit and a massive book amassing began:
OK, not like MOST of you all, but still! This is a LOT of books for me!
These books were stacked in the guest room and breeding. We recently got rid of a futon and (I would love to buy a book shelf or three but husband would rather we “limit accumulations”*) so I gathered them up and moved them to this new empty space in my craft room.
How to arrange? By color, alphabet, size or priority? Well, for me… I stack by size. But also by a few challenge groupings.
So fun! I got excited all over again for the books I want to read. I rediscovered a few I forgot that I even owned. I also got a bit stressed because I want to read them NOW. Very few of these are books I have already read, for your information. I still don’t keep many done-read books – - 90% of these are for my future first-time reading experience pleasure.
The leftmost stack is all tbr hardbacks. The tallest stack is tradebacks; the shortest stack is odd shaped odd books and the remaining tower is almost half book-to-movie and half paperback. I’ve actually thought about collecting all of Tracy Kidder’s books and guess what: I have FOUR and have yet to read any! Of the four books** I have read by this author, I apparently do not own a copy. Huh.
I just realized I forgot to count them! ~ 105 (not counting the five or six on the craft table out of sight that I am reading, just read and need to review and a few others that are scattered somewhere else…)
Excuse me; I need to get back to READING.
* Fun talk around this house is to SELL IT! and buy a condo and a bigger boat. I would not have space for 100+ tbr pile on a boat… Must limit and reduce. Hey – it’s like dieting!
** I have read but do not own Tracy Kidder’s The Soul of a New Machine, House, Mountains Beyond Mountains and Home Town. I own but have yet to read Detachment, Among Schoolchildren, Strength in What Remains and Old Friends. This rather amuses and amazes me. Time to go check bookmooch again.
HIdeinWhitetoSkipLine
LOL! At some point, I got a small bookshelf just for my unread books and that’s about how many were on there. I’ve halved it now (both by reading and by purging the stack).
I’ve been searching for a small bookcase to sneak into the house…
My fear is that I have so many books that I should stop reading reviews, stop adding books to my wishlist, stop craving the newest and coolest reads! I have plenty. but that means, I would have to stop reading book blogs! LOL.
I love looking at other bookbloggers’ book piles!
I know; it’s fun, isn’t it?
I have often thought of using my TBR pile to make furniture or decorations in empty rooms. Of course, it is probably more practical to make piles or put them on shelves.
If you have a moment, could you swing by and comment on the review I did for a TLC book tour? Here is the link if you have time:
http://beastmomma.squarespace.com/from-shelf-to-hand/2010/5/19/everything-is-broken.html
On my way.
I am so glad to see I am not the only one with crazy book piles! I mainly only keep tbr books too
Actually, I miss the old piles I had – they were more organized by challenge and type but I had many little piles in every corner and around furniture and it did look a bit nuts – especially when we have company coming for a few days and will be using the guest room…
Looking at all the books I still have to read I always feel that kind of stress compelled with a form of happiness that I find hard to describe?It also makes me want to drop everything (read: coursework) and just read.
Happy book-collecting stress!?
cooooooool, I have about the same number of books in my TBR. Yours makes me feel better. Sometimes I wonder what if I die suddenly, then I would have so many books that I would never get to read.
My husband thinks I’m weird
Oh, my husband thinks I’m weird, too! He just shakes his head when I bring MORE books home. I call it ‘rescuing’ books.
I want to come over right now and look through those books! Thanks for sharing with us.
You are welcome anytime. If I’m not home, just tell the Hub you are here to see the books. He’ll let you in.
That’s about the stack size I have too. I’m scared to buy more books, since I don’t have any more space here, and even if I did, I’d rather finish up those books sitting in my shelf first, before adding new ones. LOL
Guess what! My bookclub just selected a book that I actually OWN! wow. I’m stunned, really.
Oh I love looking at pictures of book stacks
I won’t tell you how many unread books I have waiting for me. It’s really out of control!
It gets crazy, doesn’t it. I’m not surprised that you have a lot of tbrs since you go on dates to bookstores.
It’s the curse of the book blogger: the more blogs you read, the more books you want!
I’ll take your pile and you can have mine. I have about 300 unread books and it’s starting to drive me crazy (again).
OOoooo! I wonder how many we BOTH own?!
Books without shelves! (quiet sobbing)
I hope to sneak a shelf or two into the house soon… I would hate to see these poor books take a tumble.
I really should take pics of my collection.
And if you decide to sell, I might decide to buy. Better yet, I have a smaller condo and you have a larger house. Want to trade???
OMG. Brilliant!
Jealous! We are still not buying books. But that doesn’t mean we don’t HAVE many. Oh yes, we do. Plenty.
“Plenty” sounds so much nicer than “too many”.
105? You’re only getting started
I don’t keep my read and unread books apart, as I worry it’d get too depressing….
Must pare down! Good news for me is that bookclub has chosen a book I already own. whew.
NICE. I love my stacks of books.
And I think yours are pretty spiffy, too!
I keep looking fondly at the stacks and thinking… “perhaps re-arranging by color would be fun.” silly me.
like amanda, i bought a new bookcase for my office which houses all my ‘blogging’ books. i have a shelf for TBR, a few shelves of books i loved and reviewed, and one empty shelf. your stacks are making me a bit wistful for more stuff to read!
Can you believe that my husband actually suggested I get an iPad so that I can stop buying BOOKS that take up SPACE? I do think I will take him up on that offer but not for the same reasons.
I had no idea either that to be a (respectable) blogger, you have to have a huge TBR. It has taken me over a year to gather 70-80 unread books. And my problem is that I do keep them so I have 6-700 crime novels upstairs! Well, I have the space, and I love looking at my motley collection.
WOW! that’s a LOT of books! I would love to stop by and have you recommend a few, tho. FUN.
I love sorting through books. I always do like you, find books I’d forgotten about or at least let slip to the very back of my consciousness. On the down side, those books are usually rather dusty and give me allergies, but hey, these things happen.
Sell your house? After all of that new landscaping?
I think you should get a small bookshelf…arranging by color always looks neat, but I don’t think I have the patience for it. I generally group by subject…like all war-related books in one place and all vampire novels in another…but what to do with all that literary fiction on a variety of topics. hmm.