Romance Lovers for the Challenge-Impaired discussion

I was reading through some threads in the Book Buyers Anonymous group, and one of the posters mentioned owning enough books to read over the 8.5 yrs if she averages 10 books per month. I just found that so interesting, and found a new appreciation for my ever growing book collection!

I think I have about 5yrs of reading material in my TBR. I have around 1,000 and read about 200 a year. Actually I read a lot more than that but audio-books wouldn't reduce the amount on my bookshelves.

Mary wrote: "I think I have about 5yrs of reading material in my TBR. I have around 1,000 and read about 200 a year. Actually I read a lot more than that but audio-books wouldn't reduce the amount on my booksh..."

I find it comforting to know that even if I don't buy another book, I have enough to read over the next few years. Do you?

Yeah. There was a discussion going, in the last few days, on paperbackswap about having large TBRS. Some people only keep a few books on hand and couldn't understand how other could have so many books. But I like having a lot of books. I like to play with them and rearrange them. (I thought I was the only one but apparently this a pretty common thing among bookies).

Mary wrote: "Yeah. There was a discussion going, in the last few days, on paperbackswap about having large TBRS. Some people only keep a few books on hand and couldn't understand how other could have so many bo..."

Lol me too. When I had all my books out on shelves instead of packed away in boxes like they unfortunately are now, I used to just sit and dust the shelves and rearrange the books at least once a week, or sometimes just take 'em out and look at the pretty covers... lol

You ladies are weird. I can't relate at all ! (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]

Lisa Kay wrote: "You ladies are weird. I can't relate at all!"

Lol! Love it...

Lisa Kay wrote: "You ladies are weird. I can't relate at all! "

LOL!

Kit★ wrote: "Mary wrote: "Yeah. There was a discussion going, in the last few days, on paperbackswap about having large TBRS. Some people only keep a few books on hand and couldn't understand how other could ha..."

I'm guilty of constantly rearranging my bookshelves, and just staring at my books. I'm so glad to know that I'm not the only one!

I could never fully switch to an ereader. That would take away half of the entertainment of books for me. A huge part of the fun of them is finding them at thrift stores, hunting out new places to acquire them. And them finding them a home on my shelves.

But I'm not a hoarder. I find them new homes after I read them. They get adopted off into other loving familes.

Mary wrote: "I could never fully switch to an ereader. That would take away half of the entertainment of books for me. A huge part of the fun of them is finding them at thrift stores, hunting out new places t..."

Well, I'm a book hoarder and proud of it! :)

I'm a hoarder too! That's one of the advantages of having an ebook reader, that I get to keep ALL the books I love, and never have to worry about space on my bookshelves (hello, external hardrives). I also get a kick out of reoganising my ebooks on a regular basis :-)
I also still get a kick out of hunting out titles at thrift stores and library sales, but I do love knowing that if I enjoyed the book, I can go online and cheaply purchase the authors' backlist..
To each their own, paper or digital, in the end it's really all about the story for me.

I would have to confess to being a book hoarder too. And I'm like Michelle, some days I just sit and look at my books! I keep books by my favorite authors, books that I enjoy, and of course my favorites. I too have so many books on my TBR "pile" that I would be set for several years. Sometimes I feel guilty when I re-read books because of how many I have yet to read, but then I realize that's why I kept it- to re-read and I shouldn't feel guilty!!.... well... I'm working on that! LOL!

I'm not much of a rereader. To me every time I reread a book then that's one less new to me book that I can read in my lifetime.

I also don't think having a lot of books and keeping ones you've read makes you a hoarder either. Not if you have them somewhat organized, actually do read and reread them and periodically purge some. Even if it's just a few here and there. And if you have a general idea of what you have. A book hoarder, to me, would be like my friend's husband. He has thousands of books. He never reads them. He probably has several copies of many of them. But he doesn't know that because he has no list or record anywhere of what he has. They just sit in dust old boxes all over the house collecting pet hair. He won't part with any becuase someday he "might" read them. I told my friend she should start going through them and make a list and purge duplicates that she finds. Maybe if he had a list of what he had he'd stop acquiring so many. He never reads so I don't really get why he even gets them.

Mary wrote: "I could never fully switch to an ereader. That would take away half of the entertainment of books for me. A huge part of the fun of them is finding them at thrift stores, hunting out new places to acquire them. And them finding them a home on my shelves. "

You said my feelings exactly!

But I have a hard time re-homing my books. I don't like to part with them. Not to say I haven't before, but I'd usually rather not. Unless it was a book I really didn't like much and know I'll never want to re-read, then I'd like to trade it for a good one.

Not much of a re-reader too, but I'm a total book whore and I'm always getting new books. Made even easier lately because of ebooks and their cheap price, when before I had to budget strictly for paperbacks.

I must have over 300 books in my TBR, and I keep adding to it everyday!

For those of you who are not part of the GoodReads Feedback group...this was posted. LOL!

boofshelfporn

I don't find ebooks to be all that cheap. Especially since you can't trade, sell or donate them when you are done. I never find anythign I want to read on the cheap of free ebook lists. I do get them from my library once in a while but only if they don't have the print version.

Whenever I'm pricing a book, the ebook is almost always the same price as the print version and sometimes more. Especially if there are used copies of the print available.

Lisa Kay wrote: "For those of you who are not part of the GoodReads Feedback group...this was posted. LOL!

boofshelfporn"

I love it!!!

Mary wrote: "I don't find ebooks to be all that cheap. Especially since you can't trade, sell or donate them when you are done. I never find anythign I want to read on the cheap of free ebook lists. I do get t..."

Most of the time, I think that ebooks cost as much as its traditional counterpart too. I get the majority of my books used from ebay, or used booksales. Sometimes, I'm lucky and get recently released books for fifty cents. There's nothing better than getting cheap books!

I guess that's one of the big differences for avid readers in Australia. just as an example, the latest Nora Roberts single title paperback retails here for for $25-$33 dollars. I live in a small town and the library waiting lists for a book can be months long, especially popular romance authors... Whereas I could buy it for my ebook reader online for $9.99 and get it straight away. It seems a pity that the prices here are so prohibitive... but until that changes, I have to admit, my ebook reader is a blessing for this little book addict :-)
I have a new policy to never pay more than $10 for a book, and with the prices of most ebooks, it means I get so much more book for my buck.

CaroB wrote: "I guess that's one of the big differences for avid readers in Australia. just as an example, the latest Nora Roberts single title paperback retails here for for $25-$33 dollars. I live in a small t..."

I like that policy!