Hey, Hypothetical Reader! Wanna talk about the Purge?
Are you referring to the horror franchise?
No.
No.
No. Purging books from your bookshelves.
Hmm, you know that there aren't really a lot of positive connotations for the word "purge," right?
I guess there aren't, but I've been calling it the purse for a few years now. Okay, so I used to believe that it wasn't possible to have too many books.
Ah yes, you believed the correct thing.
No, you see, I'm leading up to the fact that you can, in fact, have too many books.
False! If you've run out of space for books you can stack them two layers deep on your bookshelves.
I did that.
And then you pile more books up on top of those books.
I also did that.
And then you buy more bookcases.
Yes.
And then you stack up extra books on the floor until you can figure out where to put them.
So, yeah, you can hoard books until they take up every cubic inch of your home. But then what? I mean why do we keep books after we've read them or given up on them or whatever?
Well, there are a lot of reasons.
Oh, are we making a list? Can I title this blog post "The Five Best Reasons for Hoarding Books" for clickbaiting purposes?
Do you want to hear my answer?
Sure.
Well, let's see: You want to read them again/will definitely for realsies get around to reading/actually finishing them; they had a profound emotional or intellectual effect on you; books themselves can be objets d'art; and, most importantly, they serve as signifiers to let people who visit your home/room that you are a person of distinction and taste.
I suspect that the last entry on that list is more than a little sarcastic.
Ya think?
Anyway, I'll go ahead and say that none of those is an invalid reason for owning books. I'll even co-sign that last one by saying that having your books prominently displayed might spark a conversation with someone who's read the same books as you.
I sense a "but" is on the horizon.
Indeed. While I don't think there's anything wrong with having a lot of books, homes have a finite amount of space, and sometimes you have to be brutally honest with yourself about whether or not certain volumes are worth the volume they take up.
Ouch.
Because of the volume pun?
Yeah.
I won't apologize. In any case. A few years ago I realized that my double-stacked book shelves were crammed full of Star Wars tie-in novels that I would never read again, along with a lot of books that I'd never finished and was unlikely to finish, and books I'd read for classes and never thought about again. Not to mention that I somehow had two copies of The Crying of Lot 49.
Dope book.
Meh. In any case, a used bookstore had recently opened up at the mall and I decided that I would sell them a bunch of my old books and dvds and honestly, the experience was liberating. Sure, I worried that I might miss some of the books I gave away, but you know what?
I mean, it's obvious that you don't have any regrets.
Exactly, in addition to having more physical space in my room, I found that I had more headspace open to new reading experiences.
You're overselling it.
Okay, yeah I am. But there's nothing wrong with getting rid of books you don't want, and it also helps clarify what you value.
I will accept this line of argumentation. Fine, if you have books you no longer wish to own, you do have too many books. But have you considered getting an e-reader?
Uh . . .
Or using your library card more. You don't have to buy a book just because you're interested in reading it.
Uh . . .
Or telling your dad that you don't need another Barnes & Noble gift card for Christmas or your birthday?
Let's not say things we can't take back.
So how much did you make?
What?
Well, I figure you probably only wrote this blog post because you'd performed one of these purges recently and wanted to slyly brag about how much scratch you'd made selling your unwanted possessions.
About $300.
Hot damn!
It had more to do with the fact that I also got rid of a bunch of anime dvds, too.
Still: NOICE!
Thanks.
And you didn't take any before-and-after photos to post to your blog for illustrative purposes?
Nope.
You're the worst, Lucas.
Oh, are we making a list? Can I title this blog post "The Five Best Reasons for Hoarding Books" for clickbaiting purposes?
Do you want to hear my answer?
Sure.
Well, let's see: You want to read them again/will definitely for realsies get around to reading/actually finishing them; they had a profound emotional or intellectual effect on you; books themselves can be objets d'art; and, most importantly, they serve as signifiers to let people who visit your home/room that you are a person of distinction and taste.
I suspect that the last entry on that list is more than a little sarcastic.
Ya think?
Anyway, I'll go ahead and say that none of those is an invalid reason for owning books. I'll even co-sign that last one by saying that having your books prominently displayed might spark a conversation with someone who's read the same books as you.
I sense a "but" is on the horizon.
Indeed. While I don't think there's anything wrong with having a lot of books, homes have a finite amount of space, and sometimes you have to be brutally honest with yourself about whether or not certain volumes are worth the volume they take up.
Ouch.
Because of the volume pun?
Yeah.
I won't apologize. In any case. A few years ago I realized that my double-stacked book shelves were crammed full of Star Wars tie-in novels that I would never read again, along with a lot of books that I'd never finished and was unlikely to finish, and books I'd read for classes and never thought about again. Not to mention that I somehow had two copies of The Crying of Lot 49.
Dope book.
Meh. In any case, a used bookstore had recently opened up at the mall and I decided that I would sell them a bunch of my old books and dvds and honestly, the experience was liberating. Sure, I worried that I might miss some of the books I gave away, but you know what?
I mean, it's obvious that you don't have any regrets.
Exactly, in addition to having more physical space in my room, I found that I had more headspace open to new reading experiences.
You're overselling it.
Okay, yeah I am. But there's nothing wrong with getting rid of books you don't want, and it also helps clarify what you value.
I will accept this line of argumentation. Fine, if you have books you no longer wish to own, you do have too many books. But have you considered getting an e-reader?
Uh . . .
Or using your library card more. You don't have to buy a book just because you're interested in reading it.
Uh . . .
Or telling your dad that you don't need another Barnes & Noble gift card for Christmas or your birthday?
Let's not say things we can't take back.
So how much did you make?
What?
Well, I figure you probably only wrote this blog post because you'd performed one of these purges recently and wanted to slyly brag about how much scratch you'd made selling your unwanted possessions.
About $300.
Hot damn!
It had more to do with the fact that I also got rid of a bunch of anime dvds, too.
Still: NOICE!
Thanks.
And you didn't take any before-and-after photos to post to your blog for illustrative purposes?
Nope.
You're the worst, Lucas.
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