i have book anxiety. there's a bookcase in my front room, and more often than not, that bookcase goes through a thorough inspection whenever someone new comes over to my apartment. i always feel a little anxious about it, because in all honesty, i don't have a very large collection of books that i own. the same goes for movies. most of the books that i own were given to me or were given as gifts or were purchased because they were my absolute favorites and i borrowed them so many times that it was stupid that i didn't have them.
a book is a Very Important thing to me. a book on a bookcase says something about the person who put it there. it says "this is me, this is what i do, this is what i like, this is something important to me." and, in some strange way, they're like pets to me. you bought it, you have to take it off the shelf and exercise it every once in a while.
and i have commitment issues.
i'm a borrower. i'm a very frequent patron of my local library and read quite a lot, but my home library is... sad. small. however, i received $60 of gift certificates to various booksellers for my birthday this year and am now faced with the task of overcoming my fear of commitments and expanding my library a little. i purchased four books yesterday-- two classics that i know i love, one book i know i'll love based on previous books i have from that author, and a cook book that i have been lusting after for a month. (links go to the books) only $25 left to agonize over.
I feel the same way about my books. I feel I'm being judged by what's on my shelf. However, unlike you, my friend, I am in the habit of buying books that I haven't actually read. I don't buy just ANY book, but I own many books I haven't gotten around to reading.
ReplyDeleteand i have this really bad habit of feeling like i need to buy every book i ever enjoyed. really, it's a bit excessive. maybe we need to talk and meet somewhere in the middle.
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