by Madison James
My sister-in-law dropped by this weekend and we started chatting about a popular book that just recently became a movie. Just so happens, I had the book. I told her I would run down in the basement and get it for her. About 15 minutes later I came back exhausted, I’d given up because I had so many books to go through that I couldn’t find it. I realized that I had many books I had accumulated over the years. Literally I have hundreds of books; ask me how many I’ve re-read… I would say a handful. Why do I hold on to these books?
I remember moving around a lot in my childhood and having boxes and boxes of books (mostly romance) to move with me. My brothers and my father pitched a fit that they had to move what they deemed as unnecessary baggage to the next house, and begging me to get rid of them; of course I didn’t. That habit has followed me into adulthood and now I question why I don’t get rid of them, especially as I’m collecting all of my all-time favorite books on my tablet.
I’m the quintessential book worm and one of my greatest passions was reading, and I think, (putting on my psychiatrist hat) that in a way keeping those books are like trophies of my favorite sport.
So here’s the question: What’s your rough estimate of how many books you personally own and keep at home? Do you have cartons of them in closets like me? What makes up the bulk of your collection? Let’s talk book collecting! Comment and enter to win an ARC of A SCANDALOUS SCOT by Karen Ranney.
I currently own over 300. I lost some in storage due to floods, that would have put me over 600. I’ve read way over 1000 in my lifetime. lol Books! I need more books! Love it!!
I own about 20 books (Harry Potter, signed D. Gaboldon Outlander series, some first edition children’s books/classics). I used to own tons more, but when we PCSed (military move) this time the hubby put his foot down, and I donated or sold hundreds of paperback romance novels. Before you light the torches to go after my mean hubby, he bought me a Nook for that Christmas and I have over 1000 books downloaded to my nook. I love having my whole library with me and searchable…Go Nook!
Last count 626 that doesn’t count the 154 on my Kindle or the ones on loan. I read a lot!! I also borrow from Amazon. These are only from the past 3 years. I lost the older ones when we moved and they got rained on.
I Love to Read!!
I own like a 100 now, and I need another bookshelf ASAP! 😀
I currently have over 500 books. I gave over 800 away when we moved here several years ago. I have an alphabetical index of all the books that I own. 🙂
I’d love to read “A Scandalous Scot”. Thank you for this opportunity.
bwahahahah I lost count over 2,000! For a while I got to keep them in alphabetical order which is how I want it but I don’t have a big house and they are piled on top, in front and under and in all kinds of places (sigh). I just got a kindle so what do I do – collect books on that too lol. I love being surrounded by them and my husband says one day he is going to come home and find me buried under a pile of books lol (what a way to go hahaha).
i have books hiding in every room of the house, including my purse. I thought once I got my Kindle it would slow down a bit but no lol It just allowed me to shop around for the best price on books. So even though my kindle is filling up nicely.. I can’t pass by good deals on actual books when I’m at the bookstore. Plus, there are some authors/books that I just like to have the hardcover of as opposed to eformat.
My hubby complained, when we moved, how heavy all my books are. But he’s just as bad with dvd.. and even old VHS tapes (who watches VHS tapes anymore, but he won’t let them go like I won’t let go of books that I’ve had forever)
I save a few books, but mostly I give them away so someone else can read them. But on my Nook I am sure I have well over 100 books. I don’t mind keeping them because they don’t take up any space. I know at some point I will read them again. Thanks for the giveaway!
I own roughly 787 books between my nook and actual books…..
Ok I don’t have a huge collection of books. There is a couple of good reasons for that. First we are military, and books add up weight quickly and second I have a kindle which has at least 250 books. I started really reading books again when I was pregnant with my son. I just crave reading cause it was the only thing that didn’t make me sick. Some of those books I have read at least two or three times.
If you count what is on my nook I have about 700 to 1000 books. Around 500 in my nook and about 200 in regular books. Unless it is a book a will read over again I try to get rid of them after I have read them. I don’t have alot of extra space in my house.
941 on my Nookcolor!! At least a couple of hundred on my shelves! (Probably more!!)
way too many to actually count!!
I have gotten rid of a lot of books in the past year but I still do have a lot. There aren’t that many books that I end up rereading so I try to get rid of books I have already read or ones that have been on the TBR pile for years.
I have hundreds of books (not sure how many) in boxes and on my computer. I love to read, and since I keep buying them, they keep piling up. My husband teases me and says that I wouldn’t have to buy books for several years. Lol! I have been wanting to read Karen Ranney’s A Scandalous Scot. Would love to win this one. Thanks for all the fun giveaways!
I have gotten rid of a lot of books in the last few years, but probably have 500-600 books in boxes in my attic.
I have a little over 200 on my Kindle and probably that many at home in paperback or hardback. I am trying to pare down though. It’s just so much easier having them on Kindle. Plus I plan on moving soon and the thought of packing those books again really gives me a headache.
Oh My Gosh! My husband and I are huge readers and we do have lots of books. I’m going to say we have about 300-500 books. My children have at least 100.
I have boxes of books in the hall closet. I think I have about 300 books.
Yeah, I am not alone. I have a lot of books too-I mean A LOT of books. Of course, I tell myself I will read them all (laugh, laugh).’
One time my small grandchild said “How come you have so many books? Why don’t you throw them away?”
Horrors-throw away a book!
I love to read and can’t imagine me without a book in every room on every shelf.
My estimate is 400-500 books, and yes, some of them are in boxes. Hardbacks make up the majority. I have lots of reference and history books. Of the fiction books I own, many of them are signed, first editions–not old books, just favorites of mine. I love books. While I have stopped collecting so many, I can’t immagine getting rid of the ones I own.
I have a database of books I own. The current count is 1,245 books, 76 of which are Kindle versions. 😀
I have about 100 or so books on my self and most of them are my historical romance books!!
Let’s just say: You’ve read about them. You’ve even seen them in the movies. You know… the precious wall to wall shelves, filled with books. (The Library) Yelp, that would be me, though, no Brandy. LOL! I’m not old enough to have read them all, but I’ve added my share of books in my sitting room. Like my home, they were a gift, handed down from generation to generation. I believe I’m the 5th generation living in ancestors home. And yes, I can still smell the cedar and cherry wood. LOOOVVE IT! I’ve been reading daily for so many years, I can’t give a true estimate. So let’s just say…TONS! 🙂
TOO MANY TO COUNT!! To paint the picture: 4–6foot tall x 3feet wide shelves. All full. Double stacked on the shelf on top of each other and behind each other. I have 1 –two and ahalf foot by three feet shelf full also. Then when you go into my storage closet I have two full totes full of books. Then I have my Kobo with about 200+ books; my nook has about 100+ and my kindle fire (new) has about 30+ books on them. Yeah I have an addiction. One I will proudly claim. B-) So please keep feeding it. B-) Love your books.
I must have a thousand books. Mostly fiction, mostly romance, mostly historical but also many contemporary & suspense too. Some are in books shelves, many are in boxes (grocery store fruit & veggie flats) stacked up in the extra bedroom.
I have roughly 90+ books and that’s not counting the ones on my Kindle or the bookshelf of horror and sci-fi novels that belong to my hubby. I ♥ books!
I have no idea of the actual count, but I’d estimate I have at least a thousand books, if not two thousand, the bulk of them historical romance. I have 5 book shelves in my office, most of the shelves double or triple stacked, one in the living room, one in the guest bedroom and two smaller ones in my bedroom. 😀 Oh, and I have about 4 or 5 boxes in the guest bedroom as well, as well as a Kindle with several hundred books on it. Does it sound like I have an obsession?
I have about 600 (mostly romance) and over 1,500 on my Kindle Fire. I recently had to reduce my library from 800 down to the 600 in our spring cleaning. These are not including all the children’s books that I enjoy reading to my kids.
Can give you the exact total. Thanks to the database I have (beta testing it for a friend) 1650. On Kindle I don’t keep track of. Just the paperbacks
Probably over 100 books.
Sheesh, a number? I think over 200….and I still want more. =)
Don’t tell my hubby I have that many, he doesn’t know about my stash under the bed yet.
I have probably about 100 books. Some of the books are series that I love and want to collect all of them (Lora Leigh’s Breeds and Julie Garwood’s FBI and her historical series). Some are my all time favorite that I will never part with (Judith McNaught’s Paradise, Perfect, Every Breath You Take, Someone to Watch Over Me and Remember When). Books that I can’t part with that I’ve read and I love the authors (Nora Roberts, Sandra Brown, Maya Banks, Jennifer Crusie, Stephanie Meyers) and the list could go on and on. Most are on my TBR list. So many books and not enough hours in the day. If only I didn’t have to work, but then how would I buy more books?
lorimeehan1@aol.com
I have alot of books I’ve kept through the years and a massive TBR pile but I don’t have a clue how many books, I’ve never counted them!
Over 1300 – not counting digital copies.
Thousands. Nearly 3000 ebooks. I don’t know how many paperbacks and hardcovers. I was trying hard to keep Borders in business.
I have no idea how many books I have and would be afraid to count them all. They are in collections and fill the house. I have over 600 cookbooks (some are just the little pamphlet ones). I have 40+ book cases double full and probably enough books to fill them all again waiting in piles and boxes. Many are books I’ll read and get rid of, but those seem to come in faster than they go out. I have one room, 3 bookcases and boxes, of books about the West both fiction and nonfiction. One room has 4 bookcases of children’s books with many boxes and piles more. Most of the bookcases are 6 to 8 feet tall. The only room that doesn’t have a bookcase is the master bedroom. The hallways and sunroom are full. I collect old books, so that collection isn’t going anywhere. It is the librarian in me. My poor husband thought my working at a library would keep me from getting more books. It worked just the opposite. I now have a Kindle I am learning to and already have about 300 books to download if I can figure it out.
I have keep books I really like and do occasionally reread them, but I barely have time to read all the good new ones I have. I love them and love to share them, so I’ll happily stay surrounded by my thousands of books. Now, if I can just get my husband to build one more bookcase…..
Finally had to get a kindle as I ran out of room in the house for anymore books.
I have way too many books!!! I haven’t really counted them all but I think I have more than 2,000 books all over in the my house and in storage bins in the garage.
I own over 500 books and have a basement library full. All of the books are historical romance
I have over 450 ebooks and probably around a hundred printed books.
I have about 500 books and over 2100 on my Kindle. In the past year, I have given away over 100 books to good homes. They were books I know I wouldn’t read again. I’ve tried to stop buying, but there is always something new that gets released that I just have to have.
Actual books I have just about 250. My kindle I have around 100. My nook I have around 500. I love to read and have read about 3/4 of them. In my life I have read over 1,000 + books.
I have no idea. I do have bags hidden under my bed and several bags waiting for me in my reading room. I can never have too many books. There are always new authors to try along with my old favorites.
I own over 600 books. I’ve read way more than that, but these are my keeper books 😉 Amazingly, I have enough space for them in my room, and I have room for more. I have them all organized and alphabetized. I just love owning books!
I have over 900 books on my shelves. These are all TBR books. I don’t keep books after I read them. I just don’t have the space. That said, I have about 200 or so books on a separate bookcase that for sale or trade.
About 300 at least and the sad thing is I donate all my books right away after I read them:)
I actually don’t know the exact number. More than 300 for sure but some are in storage.
Since I have so many and kept ending up buying the same ones over again at used book stores and yard sales, I put all of my books on a database — I have about 15,000 now — most are romances and science fiction/fantasy with some mysteries, westerns and lots of non-fiction. This does not count the 300+ on my Kindle.
We recently moved to a smaller house and most of my books are still boxed up in the garage — I have been told that I need to start weeding them but I am having a hard time doing this.
Why do I have so many — lots of them I have not read yet but they sounded good, or they are by authors I normally read, or they are part of series that I have started, or they are ones that I want to re-read.
A great question. I have about 100 cookbooks and about 400-500 other books. I love print books.
Love my Scottish Historical Romance books most of all. Love those Highlanders. 🙂
Carol L.
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com
Like many others, I have multiple tall book shelves double stacked. And then books just laying around, some in boxes and that doesn’t include the hundreds of books in some sort of ebook format. I’d say I’m well over 500 print and probably close to 1000 ebook. One day I’ll actually read them all…