I find it difficult to resist buying books. I don't know what it is, I'm not a shopaholic when buying other things, but I just love books. Sometimes I've had to put a ban on myself and revert to going to the library for a few months.

The next book I want to buy is 'Never Order Chicken on a Monday' by Matthew Evans.

How about you?

Yes. Book Depository is both my friend, and my enemy......

I don't even go to the library any more because they never have anything I want to read.

Oh well, it's better than expensive shoes or internet gambling!

I don't know what the next book I want to buy is, because I've recently bought One Day by David Nicholls and The Long Ride by Reginald Hill.

I books!!

I'm addicted to buying them for my son now....I can't walk past a book shop!!
At almost 12 months old he loves books too!!

Yes, completely. They are pretty much the only thing I buy for myself. DH buys cars and car parts so I reckon he is getting off lucky

I am seriously thinking about getting a Kindle, but I don't want to have to pay to download heaps of the books I already have.

Currently I am reading Slash's autobiography. (Guns n Roses)

I am addicted to books too. I get a parcel from BD at least once a week, usually more. My kids love books too. I am sure there are worse things, or so I keep telling my DH

I love book depository....and I hate it also...way too cheap and no postage...they're just playing with me!!

Yes. I have close to 7000 books. BUT I am a writer and book collector so I think it is ok. At least it isn't a collection of teddies or the like. lol

BIL refers the chap at my sister's prefered book shop as her "dealer".

"Your dealer rang - the new shipment made it past customs" kind of comments are quite common!!!

I appreciate and support her addiction - it means I don't have to finance my own, I reap the benefits of hers!!!!

I absolutely love books - I have 9 sitting on my bedside table at the moment, and at least 10 on order from the library.

I guess there are worse things to be addicted to!

I got over my book addiction. Now I have a library addiction, and I only buy books that are either by authors I particularly love or that I can't get at the library. It's much cheaper .

Definitely. My wardrobe on the other hand is suffering terribly, all of my jeans are at least 2 years old. Oh well.

i would be if i could afford it, the library is my friend these days

I only heard about book depository on EB, just my luck and curse! I agree that it's a good addiction to pass down to our kids.

Ophelia13 - 7000 books! Wow, I find it difficult to find something in my 200 book collection

I'm currently working on an order at book depository - I'm going through all the 'what are you reading' threads and adding to my list. Books are really the only things I buy for myself.
I used to live opposite a library but now our library is a 10 minute drive away and isn't anywhere near as good.

Looking forward to the next lifeline bookfairs!

I do have a love of reading but I wouldn't call it an addiction. I do always have a book ready to go after the one that I'm reading.

Since I was six, I'm fighting book addiction - It started with my daddy taking me to book-fairs and book-sales. My school added to it by holding Russian and many more booksales over the year. By the time I was 16 - I read half the british library of my hometown. Come rain, hail or high water. My mum was worried sick about my absent-mindedness while cooking and reading a book simultaneously - I've burnt couple of her pans (Sorry Mum! ). When I turned 25 it was to a more serious degree - I was reading while I was walking - normally people had been always soooo good not to bump into me. All the pocket money were just gone into buying books. I met my husband through Van Gogh Autobiography and he showed me his poetries (that's another story ). Two years ago I'd had too much exposure to computers/screens to read - so had to have laser correction for specs. It curbed my enthusiasm for a while - now, I'm not buying them all the time - there is a yearly budget for that (books+magazines) and the library - but you can not truly leave that addiction. There are so many more advantages too - I'm such a fast reader now - the family members have always had trouble keeping up with me. It also helped me prepare for my exams.
So don't worry just enjoy the enchanting world of Books.

OMG I had never heard about the book depository before. I have just gone and checked it out and wow this could be very dangerous, I can see a lot of money getting spent within the next hour.

Hi, my name is knittingkitten and I'm addicted to books.
It's been one day since I've been in a bookshop.
I've been know to ignore family and friends to read. I couldn't imagine living without reading. I'd even read the toilet paper packet if I'm stuck.

Seriously though there is NOTHING better than having dinner in Glebe(Sydney) then wandering though Gleebooks. And I get credit points for every book I buy! Heaven.

All right, fellow addicts, we have fessed up. So, let's get into harm reduction.

How do you store your books - and sort them?

I have them stacked everywhere - and hate them getting dusty (and damaged when I clean them). It is really hard to find closed bookcases for a reasonable price.

As for sorting - I do it by genre - crime fiction together, literary classics together and so on. I try to put each author's books in date order.

What do you do?

I have my old bookcase I bought back in my uni days and a couple of IKEA Expedits. The bottom holds kids toys and some of their books, the top holds mine.

As to how to sort them, ATM I have them grouped in genre and author. Date order I'm not fussed on unless it's a series. Then I put the books I've read together and the ones I haven't read together.
Classics and historical fiction (Phillipa Gregory mostly) have pride of place.

I love books. Problem is now that I own an e-reader. Way too easy to buy books instantly (press a couple of buttons and voila its on my device!!) saves my muscles though!

I love books. I don't read as often as I used to, but I love it when I can get the chance.

Borders is a total black hole for DP and I. If we go in, we don't appear for hours! We now have to plan our vists to days/times when we are alone and can afford to have 3 hours disappear in an instant. Until DS starts to read (and hopefully he will love it too) we can't really go as a whole family!

I just have cheap Ikea (Billy) bookshelves at the moment, but one day envision having entire walls of built in shelving devoted purely to books. Not necessarily a library as such, I don't believe in hiding them away in one room, but along the hallway, in the living room, in bedrooms, in the study etc.

DP and I mostly read fantasy, although he does read Sci-Fi as well, and I love chick lit and classics. I organise books by genre and have all the works by one author together. I have restrained my (Virgoan) self from organising alphabetically as well, but I do take note of binding colours and try not to have two series/stand alone books with the same colour spines together - I like the different books/series to be defined.

I don't have just books on my shelves, I like to mix it up and have a small framed picture, photo or print, or ornament or teddy bear (sorry Ophelia, I do collect old-style teddy bears, too ) here and there on the shelves. I am having to remove these extras every so often though as I really dislike stacked books, and as the bookshelves we have are pretty full and there is no room for more in this house, I have to remove the ornamental stuff simply to fit in more books!

I did have to relinquish one shelf to DSs books and some toys, which was hard at the time, but I'm hoping if he has his own shelf of his own books, he might leave mine alone! Fingers crossed!

namie - that sounds a lot like our house (and I'm a virgo/libra cusp)!
I just brought up a cupboard for the boys books to make way for mine!

Yes, yes, yes. I can't wait to buy an iPad so that I can purchase even more and not have to worry about where I'm going to store them.

Namie, I feel so much better after reading your post. I, too, sometimes arrange books so that the spines make an attractive or contrasting colour schemes. My great dream would be to have closed, glass-fronted bookcases dotted throughout the house.

Given the space, I suspect I would go alphabetical by author and then by date (within the genre).

I read books online a lot (see the reference to Gutenberg, above) but nothing substitutes for the real thing. A Kindle will never be as beautiful as a hardback, or as convenient and cheap as a paperback (if you lose it or drop it in the bath).

Since we are doing astrology, I am a Leo with massive Virgo overtones. As a child, all my books had handmade labels on the spine as per the library.

Another book lover here, I brought a heap for the books last for the kids and gave them all at christmas last year but they got lost for awhile with all the other toys. So this year thought it was one thing they could get when ever, been getting them through Angus and Robertson when they have the 20% off and free postage, but now I have found book depository (thanks EB) might be getting them more often. Oh and since I have been ordering some for the kids I have been ordering some for myself.

DH brought me a nice big wooden bookshelf a few years ago, the bottom shelf is full of the kids books (they have some in there rooms too) the other shelves except the top is full of mostly my books. And they are put together by author(one takes up the whole shelf) only problem is I am seriously running out of space!!

ETA: When buying a series of books the covers all have to be a similar design and all paperback. Not a problem when they have been out for awhile, but wanting the book "The girl who kicked the hornest nest" and will have to wait till they bring it out in the style I want.

That's the beauty of book depository - you can get a lot of different edition to match rather than normal bookstores who usually only carry the latest.

Unfortunatly they don't have what I want....too fussy LOL. Hopefully sooner rather then later.

yes, I justify them by being re-readable, loanable, and timeless. lol

Me too!! . Although I try hard to get books from the library first if I can. However if I get one from the library and it's really fantastic, then I usually have to buy a copy to keep .

Book Depository

Edited for grammar.

Yep Book Depository is my friend so is the local Brotherhood. I got 11 books there yesterday for $20. Novels are $2 or $3 and kids books are 50c so I go in once every few weeks and grab a heap.

A hint for Book Depository buyers - I have been using BD LOTS for kids presents. Do a search by the child's first name then narrow it down to Childrens Books, then Picture Books. I have found books for a Holly (Holly's Red Boots), Finn (Finn throws a fit!), Coco (Where is Coco going?) and Sadie (Sadie the Airmail Pilot) plus a few more. It makes a great and different gift and the kids LOVE them.

Another addict here, but for all you Book Depository addicts, if you know the title of the book you want, go to www.booko.com.au, as this website can tell you the cheapest website to purchase the book from, and it isn't always BD

That's how I justify it too! My mum can't understand it at all. She borrows books from the library and only reads them once. If she forgets and gets halfway through a book and then remembers that she's read it before, she stops reading!!!???

I think nearly every book on my shelves has been read at least twice, and some of my favourites have been read countless times.

My all time favourite is Pride and Prejudice, of which I own 4 copies! When I was travelling and living overseas I had all my stuff in storage here in Aus and I'd send stuff home whenever I moved - somehow over those 4 years I accumulated (?) a copy from every city I lived in, lol!


Oh, this would be amazing!

I'd love to have an enormous library with one of those ladders that slide along the shelves. But getting back to reality now...

lovealpacas - booko.com.au - thanks for that...it's evil, EVIL!!

I'm an addict on a self imposed ban I'd never heard of book depository, so without the internet I would EASILY spend $100 a week on books./ I'm a speed reader too, so a big fat novel lasts me only half a day if I get a chance to just sit and read. So I don't buy books unless they're by authors I already know and enjoy.

I'm a book addict. Always buying books from Book Depository and now that I have a Kobo I'm buying e-books from there as well. Very dangerous! LOL

I totally glom them.

Oh yes! EB got me onto book depository, and I've actually been to the letterbox 3 times today to check if 1 particular book I've ordered is here yet... At least it's good exercise!

Ohh me too. We live in a tiny 2br unit at the moment, and most of my books are in storage. But I dream about one day having a whole wall of books.

Bill Bryson's At Home is my next read.

I absolutley my books & have actually had to put about 30 or so away in boxes to de clutter my bookcase. Still haven't yet decided what I'm going to do with the ones not on 'display' but I'm thinking I might either give them to charity or keep them & buy a new book case lol.

I have so many I haven't read at home but I can never resist buying new books of my favourite authors. My DD also loves reading & I'm always buying books for her too.

What a great idea! We have some very uncommon names in our extended family so it's hard to find personalized things. Will have to try this.
Hmm doing a search now, nothing for Isaac but a few for Ziggy - would have thought it would be the other way round!

Another book buying addict here! I love BD too! I read mostly historical fiction and take part in online discussions and the like and often know when books are about to be published. BD does pre-orders and often you get things at 50% or 25% off their price. As cheap as a good second hand store!

I think I love you.



Now I know I do!

I don't buy many books anymore. I have hundreds on my bookcase upstairs. I tend to borrow from the library more than anything. I did at one stage own a bookstore though so that may have cured me slightly (I still have boxes upon boxes of shop stock here) which I really should list on ebay.

Generally with all of my possessions I am trying not to hold onto stuff unless it is special. So the keepers for me are my Christian and theology books, a lot of childhood titles (Anne Of Green Gables/ Little Women etc), a few favourite novels I may re read and a few classics I have either read or plan on reading.

Plus the many kids picture books we have.

I also buy anything Bronte or Austen related. They are my very special ones.

I love books-reading them, not buying them. I never read the same book twice so the library is my friend.

I always try to get second hand in preference or 2nd hand through Amazon. There is also a great Friends of the Library bookshop here that sells on deleted library book and you can fill up a bag for $5.

I wouldn't have a clue how many books I have, but the house has 7 book cases full.

I do cull, I don't keep every book I've ever read, or I'd have stuff like Matthew Reilly's Ice Station in there still ( a great read BTW).
I keep all the classic and poetry and art books and contemporary fiction that I would and have read again.

Being an English teacher I also have 1 book case dedicated to text and reference books. I love reading books on etymology and language use too, so lots of those.

I love books so much. I have a book depository basket full at all times and buy whenever DH is in a good mood! Having DS has further legitimised my unhealthy obsession - a child can never have too many books! He has been turning pages and looking through books on his own now and most days reads through books more than playing with his toys. I love when he brings books to us to read.

I have about 10 books waiting to be read at the moment but the freaky thing about me is I actually like touching and holding books - especially new or really old ones . I know - i'm a freak.

I am a lawyer and our office library has some magnificent old texts. Whenever i'm there I like to just look through the 100 year old books. I think the librarian is slightly concerned....

My reading addiction severely annoys my DH, and now he's made it worse by buying me an ereader. His reasoning was that it would save us money (which it certainly has).

I'm so happy that I've got 30 books just sitting in it waiting for me to read, plus they were free! If I run out of books to read I feel really antsy, just like a real addiction .

My ideal job would be owning a book/coffee shop and being a proofreader for manuscripts. DH says I should open an ereader shop as this would cut down on coffee meets paperbook disasters. Must go and buy another lotto ticket. ATM I'm only on EB when the ereader batteries are low LOL.

kc

I wouldn't call it an addiction, since it's like buying groceries, innit? Necessary sustenance.

(It'd be excellent if you could get mild and bread and stuff gratis from the library, actually, but I doubt you'd want it after I - or anyone else! - had finished with it.)

Unread books = insurance.

I seem to be living at the bookcrossing website!!! it is becoming rather an addiction.

YES! I went to Target the other day and while buying a book each for my parents b'days, I picked up 2 penguin classics.

later that day the local IGA had books on special - 3 for $16.95 so I bought 3...

I am constantly buying books for my DD whose bookcase is nearly overflowing. But best part is she too loves reading her books each night