Can you have too many books?

[hellison]

This is a long standing Bone of Contention (one of many :p) between my mother and I. She is constantly insisting that I 'thin out' my books so I'd have room on the shelves 'to put some nice things'.

They're BOOKshelves ffs, thats whats meant to be on them. And I don't want to fill them with twee wooden/ceramic cats, horses or other assorted tat. I have real cats, I don't need fake ones. Ditto horses.

Anyway rant aside (because it could go on A Long Time), can you have too many books?

I certainly don't think so. I am very much an avid re-reader of books; very rarely do I only read a book once, favourites get read and re-read til they fall apart.
There are probably a few I could get rid of, eg the crappy free ones that come with magazines, but the vast majority I have no intention of ever parting with.
I don't even like loaning them out in case they don't come back (HI littlebluefish).

Hmm might be time for another trawl through Amazon...

ps Almost forgot amid the ranting, mivvvv has the FLU and is very ILL so send him happy messages to cheer him up!

Comments

[hellison.livejournal.com]

Space is always a problem ;) Tho i have Plans (tm) for that.
But I suspect that by 'thin out' my mum actually means 'throw them all out except the pretty ones', which is very different to getting shot of a box of crap.

[reuss.livejournal.com]

Some people just don't understand the Book Thing.

Books are like a religion for me. Or a form of OCD.

[hellison.livejournal.com]

*grins* amen to that :p
The house doesn't feel right to me unless there are books to hand on every available surface. Houses with no books about feel very Wrong. Or worse, books that are For Show, not for Reading *shudders*

[tiquetoque.livejournal.com]

sob.

Can't go into town (any town) without seeing what their bookshops are like.

Can't go into a bookshop without buying books. Usually several.