This is something which has been asked a number of times. I have seen posts all over the internet asking if there is a possibility of a person owning too many books? My honest opinion? No, there is no such a thing as too many books. How could they possibly be such a thing as too many? How are people actually able to state what counts as too many? If you live in a one room studio and you have to support your bed up by books then that is how many you can fit in your studio. If you own a 6 bedroom stately home with its own library then you're going to be able to fit in a fair few bookshelves to accommodate your collection.
Although it has always been a dream of mine to own a library like the one in Beauty and the Beast (so excited to see the library in the new film), I feel I have to come to the realisation that I do not think that will ever be a possibility for me, well not on that scale. However, I feel there may be a good chance that a spare room in my home could become my own library. I would absolutely love to have a space that I could go into at home, have the most comfortable chair and just sit in the sun and read. I would like that space to also be accommodating for my school work and any blog writing.
It is this sort of space where I feel I could achieve and be most productive. Surrounded by my books, comfort and the tools I need in order to succeed in my profession. As a primary school teacher, it is paramount that my children understand and enjoy the delight that a book can bring. I was fortunate enough to have teachers and parents who were always reading whilst I was growing up. I want to be that kind of person to the future generation. Before the summer I was fortunate enough to share my love of Harry Potter with my class. They were engaged, encouraging and positive about the story. As a leaving present, I was thrilled to receive a sketch of Fawkes. This is one of the most prized things sitting on my bookshelf at the moment, that and a photograph of my late Grandma and Great Aunt as children. The photograph can be seen in the picture below.
Going back to the original question of whether there is ever too many books, I currently own two (jam packed) bookshelves and have numerous boxes of books from my childhood in the loft. For a long time, I only owned one bookshelf and had to relegate a number of books to the loft in order to keep everything together. The thought to donate books to charity has never crossed my mind. I absolutely buy second-hand books, and I love searching charity shops for bargains, unusual, or limited edition books, but I just could not bring myself to donate them on again. I can lend them to people, by all means, but they must come back, and books can absolutely not be given out if I have not already read them. That is one of my major no nos. Since buying my second bookshelf I have now been able to spread out my books and be able to see more clearly what I own and how many books I have to read.
I was able to work out how many books I own and have yet to read. Thanks to Goodreads this was possible. I worked out that I currently have 174 books on my "To read" list, which means I probably own about 160 of them. I think I need to stop buying books and start reading them. My mum is constantly telling me to stop buying books. I may have to take a break from buying them and start reading through some of what I have. Although I absolutely think there are never enough books to own, there are sometimes enough books which you haven't read and I need to start making my way through them.
Overall, if anyone tries to tell you not to buy a book! Tough! Punch them (don't actually)! Kick them in the shin (I'm not the tallest)! That will make them see the errors of their ways.
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