I don't trust people who don't have any books in their houses.

[WayHarshTai]

I think they are a bit evil.

My sister and her DH only have a couple of Jamie Oliver books and THAT'S IT. Freaks.

I get a bit twitchy if I visit someone and I can't see their bookshelf, I have been known to snoop on the pretext of finding the loo or something to put my mind at rest.

I think it shows trerrible character and possibly criminal leanings to not have hundreds some books around the house.

AIBU? I know i'm not really, it's just common sense.

I probably need CBT to make me stop buying books.

Anyway.

When I started my degree my supervisor took me to chat to this academic in the psychology department for part of what I was doing, and politely she admired his bookcase, which had a perfectly ordinary number of books double-stacked (and significantly fewer than you'd find on a lit academic's bookshelves).

He replied smugly: 'yes, I had the bookcase specially engineered to make sure it could take the weight'.

It stuck in my mind as a beautifully wanky response. Really, I think until you have a specialist carpenter in, you can't call yourself a proper biblophile.

I feel all inadequate now LRD, I've only got Billy bookcases. [sadface]

Me too. And some from Homebase.

I'm really deprived.

I have a few friends who do not read, or they do not have space for books.

I've always had a bookcase and books on Kindle. If kindle counts.

Also some people don't read much, prefer TV etc. why should I or anyone else judge them for that? Horses for courses.

My book cases really let the side down. The book bit is fine - the case bit is lacking as they are just stacked on the floor.

We had a quote from a specialist carpenter once but it was too much so we got Billys instead.

HRWT.

Books are dusty little fuckers and I'm so happy most of mine have now gone. They relentlessly take up such a huge amount of space, and I live in a small flat.

I believe books should be endlessly circulating, not gathering dust. I've set most of mine free. People who keep books selfishly on shelves are soulless creatures, who indulge themselves in an entirely false sense of superiority and give me the creeps.

(I own a kindle.)

NB: Just cause you've got a book on a shelf doesn't mean to say you've actually opened the book, read it and understood it.

High Five MrsDV
Now you are talking!

Oh crap I actually think I have lost my Kindle

BeCool I rarely use my kindle, it was a present to me. I prefer books and the space they take up

Yes to enjoying the competitive book loving. I have them, need shelves for them, I sometimes buy them, I like them. I confess.
But really: no one (ok, I skimmed the thread, so correct me if I missed it) has talked about reading the books. Just having them! All you competitive book lovers out there: do you read all yours? do you distrust people who have them but don't read them? or is it more trustworthy not to have many if you don't read them?
And by the way: I wish books had been so essential to social success when I was 16. I really do. The world would be a different place.

i am not competitive about owning/loving books. some books I get given as presents I read and then charity shop if I don't like them. and yes generally I HAVE read all the books I own. In fact I re-read several favourites.

No keema dds own what I would consider a normal range of children's books including Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton. I had to get rid of my books when I lost the house. As we're on a tight budget I use the library instead of spending money to replace them. I own a dictionary, bible, Merck Manual and an anatomy and physiology text book. The only misery lit I've read is "A Boy Called it". A colleague lent it to me years ago. I prefer to use reading as escapism so happy endings are better for me.

Becool-well said !

Have only skimmed the thread (sorry) but I'm one of those terrible people who love reading but don't feel any love for physical books.

Therefore, not owning books and not reading are two different things to me. However, both sisters and DPs brother, seem to have uncannilly empty living rooms because in all three they have a massive telly, two massive sofas and Nothing Else, so maybe its owning a bookcase, no matter what is in it which gives a room a soul and furnishes it .

I never re-read books mainly as I have about 200 unread books on my kindle and another 150 on my ereaderiq list that I will buy when cheap or when I get desperate for a particular book, but with all those to get through, I don't really see the point of re-reading anything. Therefore, I don't really see the point of keeping books that I'm never going to read again.

We have 2 large Billy bookcases with frosted glass doors in our living room, which contains cookbooks, booze, one shelf of books from before my kindle days and a whole load of other crap on the other shelves

Therefore, the kindle is the ultimate invention of the technological age, as far as I'm concerned as it allows me to own hundreds of books, without needing to provide the space for them.

Yes, I bloody love my kindle. I've still got a fair few books left, but I had a major clear out a couple of years ago. What does piss me off is that on the odd occasion I've been inside my ex's house, I can see books on his shelf that he must have half-inched when he left. Git.

oh dear I completely forgot about the 100's of children's books we have. Still at least they as slim, and get well read so don't get (too) dusty.

I give all novels away to charity shops, not just the ones I don't want to read.

After I've read a book I have one of 2 urges:

1. I must give it away to a friend/colleague/anyone to read as it's amazing and I need to pass it on PDQ;
2. I must find a place for book to live, that is NOT in my house. If I can't think of anyone to give it to (see 1.) I take it straight to charity shop.

Whilst at charity shop I might buy another novel.
Drat!

grumpy - we seem to be at cross purposes here, so let me explain...

I don't actually think people who don't own books are criminals.
I don't actually think that people who use libraries are lesser criminals.
I don't actually think that e-readers are superior to everything else.
I don't actually think that library users only buy misery porn.

I WAS JOKING

I also don't really give a hoot what books you have or why you think the world is just a wicked place, I just wanted to make a silly comment on a silly thread so please take the angst and pop it on the shelf, along with whatever books you may or may not own.

I'm a librarian, have about twenty books in the house (minus kids) as I just use my kindle and borrow from my work. A few select reference books is all that's needed at home.

I wish I could get rid of my books, but they represent a big part of my past. I don't buy or read books much these days, but the shelves full of well-thumbed Stendhal, Tolstoy, Angela Carter, and Saul Bellow remind me that I did once have a brain and a serious reading habit even if now the only books I manage to finish all seem to have the name Val McDermid on the front cover.

mini IMO all that matters is that you enjoyed reading the book. It doesn't matter how high brow it may be considered to be or who else may like as long as you liked it the book has fulfilled it's purpose.