Today’s blog is a bit of a rant about my library—my personal library. Now, I am the first to admit I own a lot of books. Just over 7,000 at last count. But that does not make me weird or a hoarder. I simply refuse to believe that books can be hoarded. A library is a treasure of stories, worlds and knowledge, not a pile of rotting papers moldering in the corner. There’s a difference.
My books all rest on shelves and in stacks on nearby tables. Yes, they are strewn about my house, filling every room to some degree or another, but that doesn’t mean I have too many books. It’s a complaint I have heard from some friends and family members through the years and it is not true. It cannot be true because there is no such thing as too many books. There is only too little space.
I did have to cave to demands to cull my collection this past year and ended up donating books that did not earn at least three out of five stars in my review of them. I also let go of some older books that were just average. Naturally, I followed this purge up with a bit of a buying spree and have filled nearly every empty spot I had managed to make.
But that does not make me a book addict.
Or maybe it does. If so, I really don’t care.
I buy books that call to me. My mother, another avid reader, passes them to me in bulging bags whenever I visit. Sometimes they jump in my cart at Target and other odd places. They are persistent critters, like strays that need a good home. Who am I to deny them?
The point is that an abundance of books is a hallmark of libraries, not a problem or fault. There’s nothing that drives me nuts more than watching a home show where they talk about the “library” and then show a room with a sorry shelf of books. That is not a library. It’s a den.
A library demands volumes and volumes. It should be packed with books that have been read and those that are patiently waiting to be read. Part of the thrill of owning a personal library is the anticipation of the stories not yet read. Seeing them waiting no the shelf. Knowing there are characters to fall for, worlds to explore and adventures to be had. Is there anything better than that? Nothing that can be bought for under $10, I can assure you.
So this is my defense. I do not have too many books. I have a library and it is a wondrous thing. Maybe next time I will discuss another topic of debate: paper versus ebooks. As you can imagine, I have a definite opinion of that one too.
Until then, happy reading! Buy books. Support our industry. Support bookstores.