Why Does This Have to Be So Hard?

[the_other_sandy]

I made a New Year's resolution this year not to buy a new book until I've read a book I already own. It didn't seem like it was going to be that big a deal, but it's not even the end of February yet and it's the worst. Five books in series I read and/or by authors I like came out this month alone. Also, several books I've been wanting to read went on sale for super cheap this month, and I couldn't pass those up because I'm a happy miser.

I'm never going to be able to keep this up. I just want to read all the things. Is that too much to ask?

Comments

[bookwurm.livejournal.com]

I am with you completely on this. I haven't even started on the books I got for Christmas because I've been reading the books I have checked out from the library. Those are definitely going to be available for other people to read when I'm done with them, so I feel an obligation to finish them first. However, this means that I have a stack of books next to my desk and another stack of books on the kitchen table, and I want to read all of them, right now! Sigh.

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

At least you only have the two stacks. I've spent the last 30 years buying books faster than I could read them, so I have one bookcase of paperbacks, two crates of hardcovers, and half a bookcase of manga, plus another 30 e-books on my tablet. Goodreads says that's 233 books, but there are actually more because I never finished entering the manga bookcase (I should do that). Oh, and none of that includes the piles of fanzines or comic book issues.

So you can see why I made the resolution that I did. But the problem is that I read mostly series books, and those keep coming out with new volumes, plus I'm only part-way through some other series that I don't own all the books of, plus there are a couple of new series I want to start right now, but I can't because I'm marathonning manga so I can buy the five new books that are being published this month. And that's just this month. And when I read the new books I bought this month, they won't count toward buying more new books because I didn't already own them before New Year's.

I need to win the lottery so I can stay home and read full time.

[bookwurm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the books in those two stacks are what I'm hoping to read in the blearily foreseeable future. The ones on shelves, in boxes, and in other piles fall into the "hope to read before I die" category. Sigh. I actually snapped and started reading one of my books rather than a check-out this morning. It turns out that there is only so long I can resist books that I know will be really incredible vs. ones that will probably be good and might be very good.

The cats would be very happy if I stayed home and read full time. Unfortunately, they aren't able to keep me in the manor to which I would like to become accustomed, so I have to work elsewhere.

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

It turns out that there is only so long I can resist books that I know will be really incredible vs. ones that will probably be good and might be very good.

Yeah, that's a big problem I have, too. Some of my books have been on the giant unread pile for decades because I keep getting distracted by shiny new things. In fact, I cracked and pulled some things off the unread pile and gave them to Half Price Books without having read them because it was time to admit to myself that while I wanted to read these books, I didn't want to read them bad enough for them to ever make their way to the top of the pile. There was always going to be something I wanted to read more.

The cats would be very happy if I stayed home and read full time. Unfortunately, they aren't able to keep me in the manor to which I would like to become accustomed, so I have to work elsewhere.

Ingrates. After everything you've done for them. ;-)