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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think you can NEVER have too many books.

171 replies

hippoherostandinghere · 31/12/2012 20:51

DH said today he would divorce me if I bought any more books. Joking I think but he was pretty serious he didn't want me to buy the DC's any more books. I'd say they have about 250, they are 3 and 1. I was looking at a few Julia Donaldson ones on amazon that we don't have but he doesn't understand how pleasant they are to read. I love adding to our collecting and see it as a good investment. He's being unreasonable isn't he?

OP posts:
Original poster
hippoherostandinghere · 31/12/2012 20:51

*collection

OP posts:
Sirzy · 31/12/2012 20:52

he is being very unreasonable. But there again I am a bookworm and 3 year old DS is already going the same way!

we still end up reading the same book over and over though

pictish · 31/12/2012 20:53

Depends. We live in a small house with three kids. There's not a lot of storage here. Books, unless they are very very very good, get passed on or given to charity.

Having said that, we do have scores of kids books.

RubyrooUK · 31/12/2012 20:54

Agree with you, although my DH feels the same.

Although when you take into account that we have massive bookcases in every room and still had to take TWELVE crates of books to the charity shop a few months ago, it's a relief for everyone that I have my Kindle now. I do love books a bit. Blush

thenightsky · 31/12/2012 20:54

YANBU. put shelves up the stairs and use them as a sort of wallpaper if you are short of space.

LynetteScavo · 31/12/2012 20:55

If you end up with piles around the place, and are starting to look like a mad cat lady, then you probably have to many.

If you have suffient shelving, then go ahead and buy more.

250 isn't that many.

I once read children in care should have 10 books which belong to them. 10 books! Sad Go and look on your DC's book shelves and see how many 10 books actually is.

Now my eldest is in KS2 I should really be getting rid of "The Hungry Cataplillar" and "Each Peach Pear Plum"...but it's so hard...

Festivedidi · 31/12/2012 20:56

We have hundreds of books. Dd2 still got more for Christmas and I would happily let dp leave if he tried to issue any ultimatums about books Xmas Grin

I'm about to give away a load of my books though as i have a kindle and have now got digital duplicates of quite a few and I haven't read any paper books since I got the kindle.

MuddlingMackem · 31/12/2012 20:56

YANBU. I always say the same thing, as now does DS. And DD is heading the same way. In spite of the fact that we live in a very small house.

My DH, however, is the same as yours and wants me to stop buying so many. I've compromised by getting a kindle, but that's only for books I don't need to own properly, if you see what I mean. Wink I don't think my piles of books are any worse than his piles of DVDs though. Grin

IAmLouisWalsh · 31/12/2012 20:56

I have a couple of thousand books, in a smallish three bedroom house. The only rooms without them are bathroom, kitchen and our bedroom - we have bookshelves in the loo. I need to get rid of some next year, but none of the kids' books are going.

MousyMouse · 31/12/2012 20:57

yanbu
only about 250? Wink

my dc love being read to and it is such an important bedtime ritual for us.
I think we have about the same amount of books even though we have some clearouts and give books to charities.

CSIJanner · 31/12/2012 20:57

YANBU

DH and I do not see as picking up a book as a present or gift for our little lot unlike stickers or magazines. We see books as part of the course. I'm always picking up books for my two - ones 4 and loves to be read to or to "read" to us from heart and the 10month old loves to join in. I personally don't think you can have too many books but then I have four big oak bookcases downstairs filled with books and the 4 year old has a bookcase that is 2/3rds filled as well. They love it and even love the extra treat sometimes of reading their books with the CBeebies bedtime story Smile

noisytoys · 31/12/2012 20:57

You can never read too many books. You can own too many books though. My DCs have a library card they borrow 4 books a week each then swap them for more books. They don't own many books at all but they are never short of something to read

manicbmc · 31/12/2012 20:58

I gave most of my kids' old books to the primary school where I work.

3monkeys3 · 31/12/2012 20:59

Yanbu. We too have loads.

Original poster
hippoherostandinghere · 31/12/2012 20:59

Only 250? I thought that was loads! We aren't short on space, he's just being a grinch. I love reading to my DC its such a great thing to do for them. I always buy books for birthday and Christmas presents. I may just sneak them in without mentioning them. I'm sure he'd never notice.

OP posts:
IThinkOfHappyWhenIThinkOfYou · 31/12/2012 21:00

You can run out of space. You can severely reduce the amount of space available for people in the household to do other things. I chucked out 3 bookcases of books when I got my kindle and was Shock by how much bigger the house seemed. 250 children's books doesn't seem excessive though.

ellee · 31/12/2012 21:00

I think yab a bit u!

You can never have READ too many books but you can totally OWN far too many.

No point holding onto books the kids have grown out of. Pass 'em on for someone else to enjoy.(Not that I'm a strict enforcer of my own musings mind!)

lurkedtoolong · 31/12/2012 21:00

Pah. I currently have about 250 unread books. DH is starting to get a little tetchy about me buying more until the unread pile goes down.

WitchOfEndor · 31/12/2012 21:02

I have hundreds of books, DS has about a hundred books that I have uncontrollably bought him. You can't have too many books, you can have not enough storage. I'm off to ikea this week for another cheapie bookcase! I've also switched to a Kindle so I can get free classics and lots of cheap books so I only invest in paper copies that I will read and read again. I think that if you don't 'get' books then you'll never understand why someone collects books I'm looking at you DH

SquinkiesRule · 31/12/2012 21:02

You can have too many, if they are taking over, collecting dust and not being read.
I've been really good about getting rid of book lately, but we are getting ready to move.
I finally went though my grown boys rooms and boxed up everything they had that Dd probably won't want and took it all to the charity shop.
I'm still left with a lot of kids/young adult collections of books, and yet still buy more for Dd Blush she's reading the Unicorn chronicles now, so I had to buy the next couple as she's enjoying them so much.
I now have Kindle app on my laptop, but can't bring myself to read on it. Paper feels better still.

TravelinColour · 31/12/2012 21:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MogTheForgetfulCat · 31/12/2012 21:04

YANBU - it's great for DC to have lots of books, mine have tons. I bought a stack from Red House for Christmas and will buy more for their birthdays. Also go to the library regularly. All of them love books. Your DH is being a grinch!

Geranium3 · 31/12/2012 21:05

I'm with you hippo, love having books around and there are so many beautifully illustrated books by talented authors for children often at very reasonable prices.
Though i am not a fan of the ghastly talking trashy books for children

manicbmc · 31/12/2012 21:06

The ex used to love to tell anyone within earshot how he had never read a book all the way through. He didn't realise it just made him sound like a moron to boast about it (not dyslexic or anything, although I am mildly). He would complain about my books. He would complain about me if I was reading as I wasn't paying attention to him.

You can have too many but you can't read too much.

ImperialSantaKnickers · 31/12/2012 21:06

I took four orangeboxes down to the charity shop back in the summer but still can't get them all onto a shelf, and I've got shelves in every room INCLUDING the bathroom and kitchen. And all the travel lives in the downstairs loo on a shelf over it. And between us we've got another 26 for Christmas. The overflow is currently filling the corners of the stairs in a very unsafe way.

I tried Kindle but I don't like it very much.