Bookish Things: Unread Books (#1)

Introduction

In an attempt to make this blog more than just reviews I am starting a new segment called "Bookish Things" where I talk about different bookish topics and my take on them. The topics I have planned so far are: My Reading Journey, eBooks vs. Hard Copies, Book Covers, and Annotations. I am hoping that this can become a regular addition to my other posts and that my viewers will suggest new topics for me to write about!

Bookish Things: Unread Books

I thought this would be an interesting topic because if you don't know I own over 700 books (rough count). Of those 700 I may have read about 300 books. Yes, I currently have more unread books than read books on my shelf (obviously this only accounts for books that I own, I have read more than 300 books in my 24 years).

Some people may be outraged by this, "Why would you keep buying books if you can't read them right away?" you say? Well that is easy. Buying books for me, and book shopping in general, is therapeutic for me. I enjoy it, and the books when I eventually read them. I can not deny myself the simple (but expensive) pleasure of buying books when I want to. It's fun and I love my collection of books. I have to give mad props to the people who can buy a stack of books and read them before buying another stack of books. That takes some serious will power and I just don't have it.

Another question that has probably crossed your mind is "Do you buy them all new?" No, I do receive some books as gifts but I buy most of my books from library sales, bargain outlets, or used book stores. When I do buy new books I try to purchase from independent book shops in my community rather than supporting big chains. Sometimes supporting Amazon, Book Depository, or Barnes and Noble is inevitable depending on the book I am looking for.

Finally I am sure some people are thinking "how do you plan to read all of these books?" I don't know. I just pick a book that I want to read at the moment and go with it! Sometimes it may be a reread but for the most part I focus on books that are unread. I hope I can read all of the books that I currently own as soon as I can but I can't really guarantee that. It all depends on my tastes and moods at the time. Will I get rid of books that I don't have interest in anymore? Most likely. I don't want to hold onto a book that someone else could be enjoying but as long as it still holds my interest then it will be read eventually.

I buy books to support the author. If there is an author I love I will purchase all the books I can by them even if I can't read them right away.

I do have some plans to curb my purchasing of books to only books I am extremely excited about and the subscription books I get from Owl Crate and The Book Drop. Obviously I am not going to stop buying books or ban myself from them for an extended amount of time (some girls have shoe shopping, my form of retail therapy is book shopping) because I seriously enjoy getting books. I am not ashamed of my TBR pile, it is a glorious mountain!

How do you feel about your unread books? Share in the comments below.