What can I say about my obsession with books? Well if you saw my house you would understand. Bookshops are my addiction and every time I venture passed one I am compelled to enter, as if an invisible magnetic pull grabs hold of my arm and drags me inside! Besides the imaginary elements to book shopping, I would have to say that one of the cues for buying new reading material, is the smell of the ink-filled pages of a newly purchased item.
So, what makes a new book so exciting? It cannot be my craving for the scent of bound pages or the beautiful cover design; it has to be the experience of the central protagonist and the life they lead in the narrative! There is nothing better than curling up next to a roaring fire with a warm blanket and a hot cuppa and of course a great character (if only I had a roaring fire!)
The only thing stopping me from becoming a book hoarder is money! They say it is the root of all evil and I know this for sure because if I had more money I would probably fill my home with every known classic ever written; not to mention every new novel on the market today!
Recently I spent $24 AU on eight books and I reckon I got a bargain! As luck would have it, whilst returning two DVD rentals to the appropriate store I noticed that the local secondhand shop was open, so I walked over to have a quick look and found that they had acquired a large stock of novels that were new, so I perused and finally came out with eight more to add to the already stacked books I have on my shelves! When you are stacking some on top of others just so they are not on the floor, it officially becomes an obsession!
I am trying so hard not to turn my books into furniture! Sometimes you see people stacking them up and adding a piece of wood so that they become an honorary table, only to become somewhere to place more books! Well at the moment this is not happening and I have vowed to read all I have bought in the last year before purchasing anymore!
We will see!
"Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house" - Henry Beecher.
LOVE books... old, new, pristine and well loved. There IS something magical about a good book. Whether it be the printed words on the page, the indelible ink and paper smell, the crisp finish to the spine, or the well thumbed pages of a childhood favourite. My shelves groan like yours, I have read most of them, or know well those that I may not have christened personally. I can't help myself, bookstores are a passion, money will be spent. Fate or fortune, Books rule my life with an unbridled love. Nice to know I'm not alone.
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