I love books.
Books are portals to worlds that others have created. Books are expert knowledge distilled into the everyday. Books can make you cry having been written thousands of years ago. They are true magic.
It was natural therefore that, like with Pokemon, I wanted to "catch 'em all'".
So I purchase lots of used books, picked them up from charity shops, local sellers and more. But eventually I got so many, the small space I had on my window sill for storage didn't cut it. They overflowed onto my desk, in the living room, on my bedside table, even the bathroom. I'd clearly made an error.
Some may have purchased a book shelf at this point. And whilst I contemplated this for likely far more time than anyone else I know, I eventually decided against it.
The driving force was that I didn't want to continue purchasing items that encouraged larger consumptions.
Ultimately I can only physically read one book at a time. And at most I can carry around 5-8 books worth of information in my working memory.
Also, wanting to reduce my personal footprint has motivated me to want to pare down my possessions as a whole. Books are a small part of that effort.
So I've decided I will only allow myself 5 books at a time. They can be swapped or changed, purchased and sold. But there can only be 5.
Why 5? As I tend to read multiple books at once, each will have a purpose.
- A relaxing fictional read.
- A non-fiction information book.
- Poetry or something arty.
- A biography.
- A big book. 700 pages+ that I can't finish quickly.
I can't be bothered to count my currently collection but it stands at around 50-60. Not that many but enough that I have had to shove them in a random container.
I'm going to read through these and then trade, sell or donate them. Then I'll be down to 5!