Jaymi @TheOCBookGirl

Discussion Post: Too Many Books? | #letsdiscuss2019 #thoughtfulthursday

Are you a book “hoarder” or book “minimalist”?

What do you think about owning multiple copies/editions of a certain title?

What’s considered “too many” books? Have you ever counted your books?

If space and money weren’t an issue would you feel differently about having a personal library?

Let’s discuss!

I have too many books. Yes. My hubby Some people would say so. I admit it. I’m a bookaholic. I love them. I love owning them and reading them.

I hold onto lots of things for mostly sentimental reasons. Boxes of tickets stubs, photos, cards, old journals and school reports… I love looking through these physical, tactile reminders and memories.

It’s the same with physical books. I love the different colors and textures and sizes. I’m enamored by cover art and deckled pages. Check out the endpapers in The Library Book by Susan Orlean and the cover of Ship It by Britta Lundin without the dust jacket if you have the chance…

If you are more of a minimalist and prefer to pass your books on, I can appreciate the benefits of that choice too. (Less clutter and fewer book piles everywhere does have its appeal!)

Do you ever make an exception and hang onto a book? If so, what’s the criteria you use to justify keeping it?

Let’s discuss!

2019 Discussion Challenge 1 | Details

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19 comments

  1. I have entirely TOO many books. I buy them, get them from publishers to review and win some. I try to give them away, but some I can’t part with – particularly art tomes. I guess there are more negative “issues” I could have.😀

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  2. Jaymi, I’m exactly like you! I LOVE books and can’t bear to part with them, even if I know I’ll never read them again. I get a lot from the library, just to save money and space, but I still own SO MANY that I haven’t read yet. After joining several Facebook book groups last year, I’ve discovered there are a lot of people like me, so I don’t feel as bad as I used to. I’d buy even more if I had more bookshelves!

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  3. I definitely like to be surrounded by books so I do hang on to some. It makes me happy. That said I am better now at using the library, but then I miss out on looking at happy memories engendered by the book I’ve borrowed that I love.

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  4. I used to love “hoarding” books but then I ran out of space in my condo so I decided that I’d focus on reading soft copies rather than buying physical books. It’s so hard especially because I love bookstores!

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  5. I think I’m naturally a book hoarder, but I’m still at a point in life where we’re probably going to move a couple more times before settling in a house. Thinking about having to move all my books really helps to curb my buying impulses. I’ve also gotten better at getting rid of physical books that I know I won’t want to reread.

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  6. Hi! I used to own every book i read from the time I was out of high school. I was certainly a dedicated bookworm. But then I moved into a small place and I realized I should just keep books I would want to read again. This is a very, very small stack. So nowadays I really limit the books I buy. It’s not that I don’t still love books, but that I love all books. hahahah. 😉

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  7. I own my own home and have the space, so it’s OK that I own over a thousand books… Right? People talk about their TBR shelf and I’m like HAHAHAHAHHAHA. My physical TBR “pile” is somewhere over 400 books and is several bookcases. X_X I’m working on reorganizing my books and weeding out some (which is the subject of my own discussion post today!) but honestly I plan to still have several hundred books when I’m done – and that’s GREAT with me. My kids each have a bookcase in their room (ok, my 4 year old has 2 bookcases…) and they’re jammed full of books too. We’re a family of readers, and I like to have lots of options. I think it’s wonderful to surround yourself with books.

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