Any other addicts out there?
I admit it…I’m an addict.
Now, don’t be thinking bad things about me just yet. I admit I’m an addict, but at least it’s an addiction that isn’t necessarily harmful to my health. What am I addicted to? Books. Yes my friends, my addiction is to books.
This addiction started at a young age, and I happily put some of the blame on my parents who encouraged my addiction. I was bought lots of print books and read like mad, easily finishing a book a night. Of course, at that age, the books had big print and not that many pages, but it still meant that a lot of paperbacks went in and out of my bedroom. As I got older, I started buying different kinds of books, but the frequency didn’t slow down. In fact, I’m ashamed to say, it increased and and quickly surpassed my ability to actually read the books I purchased. Did that slow down my purchasing? Heck, no. I have many books in my house that I bought with the best of intentions…and that I still haven’t gotten around to reading. Yet I keep them, hoping that someday I will find the spare time.
Of course with print books, there’s a limitation forced on an addict that’s not necessarily easy to change. Physical space. When the books start to pile up on the floor as the bookshelves fill up, at a certain point it’s just not physically possible to bring in more books without getting rid of some. I mean, who wants to share their bed with piles of books that no longer fit on the bookshelves or on the floor? Not I…
Then a few years ago something happened to greatly intensify my addiction. I discovered ebooks. What a brilliant concept!! I can buy books to my heart’s content and not have to worry about bookshelves that are going to crack under the combined weight of too many books. Perfect! Or is it?
My addiction now has a direct feed of instant gratification, and thanks to the click of just a few buttons I can download numerous ebooks to my computer. I don’t have to worry about bookshelf space (though hard drive space might become an issue at some point) and I don’t even have to leave the house to do my shopping!
What is the end result of this? I now have a TBR list that has exploded past the point of being at all logical. I have more ebooks than I could possibly read in a lifetime, and am constantly adding books to the pile. It’s too easy to buy ebooks and then never get around to reading them! I see interesting blurbs, I get intrigued by a sexy cover, I read a review that peaks my interest and I go buy. I never give a thought to the hundreds and hundreds (and I’m not exaggerating here) of ebooks languishing on my TBR list.
I can admit my addiction, but I haven’t yet found a way to curb it. Despite knowing that I have more than enough to read, I keep finding new ebooks that I just have to purchase, that I just have to read. It’s getting to the point where I forget what I actually own, because I have so many ebooks!
Am I the only one afflicted with this addiction? Do other readers find it hard to resist the lure of new ebooks? Has anyone successfully beaten their TBR list into submission and gotten their addiction under control? Do you have any words of wisdom to a fellow addict?
Posted in Ramblings
Ebooks, ah, ebooks. Now I have TBR piles and files… Not sure that I have as many as it sounds like you do, but I definitely have a lot of ebooks that I haven’t read. I have to be prepared in case of The Great Book Drought!
Thanks for sharing that comic!
I’m a fellow addict and not ashamed to admit it.
I’ve got a never ending TBR to which I keep adding more and more books. I’ve got this fantasy in my head of some day being able to do nothing but read all day. If that day ever comes (which I seriously doubt) I’ll still probably never be able to catch up with the amount of books. But it will be great trying.
I’m not alone! Yay! I was an early adopter of the Kindle (December 2008), and it changed my life, I swear to God. I read SO much more now than I did before it waltzed into my life, and I read a much greater variety. Yes, I’ve got a plethora of m/m romances languishing there, but some non-fiction, too, a biography, a few classics that were free because they’re out of copyright. It’s a wonderful thing to have ALL THAT at my fingertips and not take up any shelf space!
My husband bought me a Kindle when they first appeared in the universe. Allegedly, it was because he knows how much I love to read and was sure I’d like it. I know, however, that the truth is he was tired of looking at stacks of books in every room of the house. Good thing he doesn’t use my Kindle or my laptop!
I’m a low level addict. I used to buy a fair number of books, then I had a baby and when we moved to Europe I got rid of most and I was living in a country with only one very expensive English bookstore and we ordered a few through Amazon but at the time it was very expensive. When I moved back I didn’t have the money so I haunted my public library. Then about 2 years ago I started buying a few books but still relied mostly on the library. Then, oh god, I discovered e-books. Yeah. Ahem. Money taken straight from PayPal or credit card, books show up, take up no space, no one knows but me. Sigh.
I have spent more money on books in the last 2 years than the last 20 probably. But I’m not a hoarder. Unless it’s a FAVOURITE I get rid of them. I have a large bookshelf in my bedroom and would probably only have two shelves filled. I’m not a keeper. I’m also not big on TBR. I have about 20 books in my TBR file right now and that seems like a lot to me. I will feel compelled to read some of the ones that have been languishing. I could NEVER have 300+ books in there. I’d panic. How could you read those plus the new ones I want to read?
So I don’t go nuts, but I do read a lot and it’s pretty much the only thing I spend money on for myself. I don’t smoke, I drink rarely, I don’t do drugs, I don’t hire hot menz to entertain me, I don’t gamble except the occassional lottery ticket (with which winnings would buy more books), I don’t by myself clothes or jewellry or fancy gadgets. So I figure if the worst thing I do is buy books I’m doing okay.
Very interesting topic, Emily! Yes, I’m addicted to ebooks, too. With Amazon Kindle, you can practically buy them at the speed of thought. I don’t know if this is good or bad, ha, ha!
Tam: Do you actually get rid of them (delete entirely), or just not keep them on your active reading device?
No, no, I don’t get rid of e-books cause they take up no space (that I can see physically). I have only ever deleted 2 e-books. That was like a psychc cleansing. LOL But paper books go bye-bye very quickly which is why I don’t like buying them, it’s a waste. My e-books just sit quietly on my hard drive. I really need to find a back-up system because if this computer dies I’m screwed.
Does your netbook have an SD card slot, Tam? My laptop does, so I send a copy of newly purchased books and music to it. (A USB thumb drive would work, too – I like the SD card because it can just sit in there all the time.) Periodically I do a “real” backup, too.
[...] candidly discusses that topic we all avoid – book addiction (and there’s a great comic [...]