Got to stop buying
I am on a 9 day road trip to celebrate a mile stone birthday. When I get to a new city I always type " used bookstores near me" into Google maps. I have hit three bookstores so far and have bought 10 books. All but one have been less than $4. Most $1 I did splurge and buy Daniel James Brown's new book about the Donner Party. .The clerk said it was excellent and his book The Boy in the Boat was one of the best books I have ever read. My to be read shelf is already 12 ft long. If heaven forbid there is another lockdown I am set Is the upside
I have a backlog too. At some point I realized that bibliophilia can be as much unreconstructed consumerism as any other habitual buying. At what point does the aggregate value of my book collection equal the price of a state of the art TV? A luxury watch? A few dollars here and there add up more quickly than I think.
What helped me through the lockdown was discovering that my library loans out e-books. Meaning that even when the physical library building was closed, I could still check out books -- download them to my computer, and they will be there until the due date, at which point they disappear.
I read constantly. if I sit down to eat a meal solo, I either read a magazine or something on line or do a crossword. I also kill time by reading articles online too. But I have tried and am totally unimpressed nor do I enjoy " reading" an electronic book. There is something about snuggling under a blanket curl up on my side ( naked of course) and reading myself to sleep with a real paper book. Studies have shown that we retain as much as 30% more when we read something on paper over e-reading. They think it might even have something to do with our sense of smell. So no ebooks for me, I will continue spending $ on paper, most of the time used and often only $1. We each prioritize how we want to spend our money and books rank way up there for me.
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