Peace In The Margins

As I begin to catch up to my mother’s age, I realize more and more how we, as humanity, accumulate stuff we think we can’t live without, yet in reality…we can and often times should. But then the challenge of letting it all go becomes stressful.

That 65 inch television you got for Father’s Day begins to take a place of importance in your world.

Or when the newest Apple Watch is released, you rush to the store, maybe even stand in line through the night, waiting to purchase the most expensive watch you’ve ever known – even if your current one still functions beautifully. (And because you were not the only one in line, that must mean you made the sensible decision, right?)

Maybe it isn’t a big purchase, but a bunch of small purchases that build up over time – like *GASP* books.

Yes indeed, I went there. The question then becomes: can one ever have too many books?

Up until recently, I would have argued, “Never! One can never have too many books.” You never know when you might need to return to a book for research, to find a familiar passage, or simply for that much needed comfort read.

Or – like me – to just sit and star at the beautiful collection peacefully sitting on the shelf (or in my case, piles on the floor, the night stand, the coffee table, the desk, the couch, etc.). Come on, who doesn’t love how books accent your home? Wait, don’t answer that.

And now I’m question whether I’ll ever get around to reading my large collection that calls my personal library home. It’s quite doubtful, especially since I’m constantly buying new books to add to my never ending TBR pile – and what a pile it is.

Now, I’ve had a personal shift – yes, there is such a thing as owning too many books…at least for me.

I own more books than I have shelves, and I’m not talking about 10-or-so more, I’m talking about probably around 100-ish more than I have shelves for. Also, with the advent of e-readers and so many of my reads being audiobooks, I am rarely reading more than 10 or so physical books a year.

And while I really do love to just look at them from time to time, the clutter they cause is a bit much. I like things clean and simple, streamlined you might say. So, I am strongly considering slimming down my collection. I’ve done this once before, only to build my inventory back up again.

With more books than I dare admit to having, I wonder if I can truly reduce my collection with some finality, but don’t fret, you can rest assured my Bible, C.S. Lewis books, Bradbury books, and Stephen King books will never make it to the cut list.

I’ll keep you all posted. Until next time…

Alicia