Getting the Most Out of Your Books
I rarely buy new clothes. My style is classic, so I’m okay not to shop for the latest trends. Besides, I’d rather save my money for what’s really important. Books, books and more books.
But my attitude toward clothes got me thinking about my attitude toward books. I have a library overflowing with books, plus more full bookshelves around my house and a to-read pile beside my bed that makes me almost invisible from the doorway. I have a few books that are perennial favourites, ones I’ll read and re-read, but often the others sit on the shelves, always loved, but read only once. And, many, many of them are books whose contents I forget. I remember the emotion, but not the details, and I wondered…
…should I stop buying new books? Should I, instead, re-experience the plethora of books I already own? There’s tremendous benefit from re-reading a book in a different period of your life, and heavens knows my stash is enough to keep me reading for at least a decade. It would save money, too, something I’m never mindful about when I’m let loose in a bookstore.
Nope. Can’t do it. Yes, I might move some of my existing tomes onto my to-read pile, or I’ll make a new to-re-read pile. But with all the exciting, fascinating stories always getting published? I’ll always want more, more, more.
Which leaves plenty of room on my to-read pile for your book, too, so keep writing!