To think keep buying books when you haven’t read the ones you’ve got is odd

[Saymyname777]

Like having over 100 and keep buying how are you going to get through them

I'm the same 😂

I think it depends if you are actually a reader or not. I love books and have always read a lot. However the people who buy loads because they like the IDEA of reading and then leave them on a shelf gathering dust before taking them to the charity shop when they run out of space do make me eye roll.

I do read books, all the time. I just don’t read them as fast as I buy them.
PP is right about the slightly patronising air though… it always happens on threads about reading on here.

I have books on my bedroom bookcase I haven't read yet but still buy new books. Not weird at all. The books don't go out of date😂

I wonder if @Saymyname777 is still reading the thread? I don't quite have 100 TBR books but in that region. I see my books like a wine cellar or a wardrobe or a jewellery box. Lots of option waiting for the right time for me to read or reread them. Also, it's good for children to grow up in houses full of books, a home library increases children's academic success, vocabulary development, attention and job attainment. My children are teenagers and know that I will always buy books if asked and so they too have a library of unread books.

It's not a waste of money, a book cost about the same as a bottle of wine but gives way more hours pleasure and is good for your brain. No doctor ever told a patient to cut down on their reading.

They don’t go off ……

I've just counted 74 unread books on my kindle. Probably 30 unread books around the house. I usually pass on books once I've read them but I have a few I think I'll look at again one day.
I currently have in my possession a £50 gift voucher for Waterstones. I'm looking forward to going for a browse there next week, and buy a few more!
In my defence I rarely buy anything else - books are my weakness!
In theory I'm going to read all my books and then start using the library to save money.

I don't think books are a waste of money, but just like not everyone can afford a wine cellar, not everyone can afford shelves and shelves of books that they haven't even read.

I agree with the pp, I think it's the superior tone of some posters that has rankled me a bit. There are enough people on here posting about buying books but not really reading that many of them to show that actually owning loads of books doesn't make you well read.

By the same token, not buying loads of books doesn't make you illiterate.

So perhaps we could at least stop with the assumption that people who don't have hundreds of books waiting to be read are just sitting slack jawed in front of their wide screen TV.

@Momstermunch I regret to say I spend too many evenings sitting slack jawed in front of the TV 😳 and that is why I have my pile of unread books

I've got over 500 unread books on my shelves but still keep buying more. Totally acceptable behaviour especially as I don't drink, smoke or take drugs 😂

Not really - easier to buy a book when you see it, than to note down the details to buy it at some future point, especially if you find it cheap and secondhand in a shop, meaning that it probably won't be there in the future and you'd have to pay more for it online.

This!

My pile of unread books is generally between 5 & 10, and I get twitchy when it drops, too. And they have to be varied, and include a thriller or crime novel or two as well as more "literary" stuff.

I hate reading on a screen, it feels like "work", and I like to read pages at random before I decide a book is for me.

The opening hours for our library are now so reduced it's hard to get there at a time they're open unless you're not working. And they don't get that many copies of new books, so if you want to read, eg the latest Ian McEwan, it'd be out in paperback and probably on a 2 for £9 offer in the supermarket before you got to the top of the list.

Having said that, I've just discovered I like Arnold Bennett (picked up a copy of Riceyman Steps for £2 in a 2nd hand bookshop), so I may try and get those through the library.

MK is wrong in this case. Just this year I finally got around to reading a book I purchased in 1997!

OP - I agree with others that buying books when you haven't read what you have is reasonable behaviour. Books are so beautiful and enticing!

Lock Me Out app so I can only use WhatsApp, Google Maps, Phone calls and camera between 9am - 10pm. I then try and read when I was normally reaching for the phone.

Start with a book with short chapters. I find I'm more motivated to read in a short snippet of time if I can finish a whole chapter. "The Secret History" nearly killed me with its ridiculous chapter lengths.

My husband determines to read 20 pages of his book a day.

This 100%

Absolutely. I couldn't think of anything worse than having read all my books. I would have nothing to look forward to. I love having my own little library of books. Some have been there for years waiting for the time when I'm in the right mood to read them.

Books of course but also I have plenty of earrings and keep buying them. Also notebooks and pens.

I'm in agreement! I'm always buying books! I don't like reading on a screen, I like actual books.
I have quite a lot of unread ones, and ones I keep to re-read, especially if I've not read them for years.
My "read next" pile is usually about 5/6. Sometimes more if it's been birthday or Christmas or I've been round the charity shops. So I'm in agreement with most posters on here!

This is totally normal for anyone with an interest in books. Not a reader yourself op?

I feel like my daughter needs to read this thread so she understands I'm not a hoarder when it comes to books and that all avid readers do it!

No such thing as a hoarder when it comes to books!

Haha you’re on your own op. You need different books at different times.
yes the word is need!

I’m an awful for doing this. I’ve got about 10 to read. I even bought a duplicate by accident and ended up giving the second one to my MIL! I still haven’t read the original, which I bought about three years ago. It looks really good though 😂