The discussion amused me tremendously, and I loved hearing how my fellow power readers bond with and treasure their books. But I also felt a bit left out. See, I am the rare book geek who avoids keeping books. Sometimes, when my bookish friends get talking about their glorious stacks and overflowing TBR piles, I feel like a lonely unicorn among my fellow book lovers. For the record, I do have two bookshelves for my family of five readers. We all have our own shelves, and three of them are mine. One is for theatre books and plays because I can’t ever find them at the library, and I use them for reference. The second is for books I want to keep and possibly reread, including several childhood favorites. My third shelf is my TBR, and as soon as those books get read, away they go. I put them in my Little Free Library, give them away to friends, or exchange them at the used book store for other books I want to read. That’s my whole stash. I do love books, and of course I do buy them. I love them just as much as my friends who have entire rooms of bookcases. I just do not feel compelled to keep them after I read them. Some of that is just my personality. I don’t like having lots of piles around, and I’m not a big shopper. I generally only buy books when they are not available at the library. I will also intentionally buy books by LGBTQ authors and writers of color, because I know they are underrepresented in publishing, and I want to support marginalized voices. You can read here and here for more on that. But I digress.
Probably the biggest reason I don’t keep books is that I find so much joy in spreading them around. It makes me ridiculously happy to give books away. I literally foist books upon everyone I come into contact with: friends, family, the HVAC repair guy… Oh, sorry. I had to interrupt writing this post to put a copy of Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse in the hands of a 6-year-old that was standing in front of my Little Free Library just now. I’ve seen her in the neighborhood, and I just knew she’d love it. Oh well, you see my point. My husband says that my reading superpower is recommending just the right books for friends, and I admit I do have an especially fantastic track record there. In fact, when I finish a book that I particularly like, my first instinct is usually to think of the right person to give it to. I love nothing more than to pass a novel on to a friend and then hear back from them a few weeks later, “You’re right. I loved it!” Not only is it a fun challenge to match a person with a great book, but I am also creating the opportunity to discuss beloved stories with friends when they’ve read it too. The more I love a book, the faster I want to send it on to enchant the next reader.
For me, reading is at once a solitary pleasure and one that is multiplied when shared with others. I get especially excited about libraries and used books, as they are a reminder that someone has taken the road ahead of me. A turned down page or a note in the margin lets me know that I am part of a shared experience of reading. So if you ever give me a book as a gift and then you don’t see it when you come over to my house, don’t get your feelings hurt. If it is gone, it is because I enjoyed it so much I couldn’t wait to pass it on. It’s just the way I am.
