Too Many Books?

My husband told me today I have too many books. I’m really confused, because I’m pretty sure there’s no such thing as too many books.

I am currently reading or listening to three different books right now, four if you count cookbooks as reading material. On Scribd (awesome app, I really recommend it), I’m listening to Atomic Habits by James Clear. In my car, I just finished an interesting history book called Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James Loewen, and started on a humorous essay collection called It Looked Different On the Model by Laurie Notaro. And I’m currently working with a book called Book Proposals Anybody Can Write by Elizabeth Lyon.

Then there is the HUGE stack of library books sitting next to my desk, my Group Instructor Fitness Manual, and the stack of magazines I collected for their recipes.

I did really good, or so I thought, when I visited South Carolina. I only bought one cookbook, one audio book, and about 6-7 magazines featuring Paleo, Gluten Free, Keto, and Vegan recipes. It’s interesting about the audio book, I found it at Cracker Barrel on clearance. It’s The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. My parents both loved it and I was going to borrow their copy of the book, but when I saw it on audio, I realized if I took the book home with me, it would be FOREVER before I got around to reading it. So, Mom, in her true Mom fashion, bought the audio book for me. Which I appreciate, because now I can listen to it in the car.

I’m a true sucker for recommended books. It may take a while to get to them, but I almost ALWAYS get books which were recommended. I don’t ask for recommendations anymore. I already have a whole box of books I heard once or twice was a good read. It’s not just friends and family who recommend books to me. Complete and total strangers can get me excited about a book I never dreamed I’d read also.

Brian Johnson of Optimize.me has a section of his subscription called Philosopher Notes. There, Brian breaks down thousands of books into their basic and brilliant ideas. It’s because of Brian I started listening to Atomic Habits, and why I have half the books in my to-read pile from the library.

The library is my second home. I’m always there, and I’m always growing my pile of books because of the library. Saturday was a prime example why my husband cringes every time I say I’m going to the library. After the DIY house cleaner class, I stopped by the Book Sale going on. As luck would have it, just as I started looking around, the volunteers announced they were starting the Fill-a-Bag for $5.

Um, what?

Oh, yeah, fill an ENTIRE BAG of books and pay only $5! My eyes lit up. I was in the cookbook section, and my inhibitions went right out the window. If it looked REMOTELY like something I might want to cook, it went in my bag. Then I rummaged through self-help, non-fiction, and health and fitness. I came home with a dozen new books.

Which is probably why my husband is exhausted with me. For the record, I know admitting you have a problem is the first step, but I don’t have a problem. They’re books! Not drugs, or even an unhealthy vice like candy or chocolate. And they are HEALTH books. I mean, I could be addicted to romance novels (not that there is remotely ANYTHING wrong with romance- I’m just saying health, fitness, and cookbooks are my genre I write, and these are healthy books for me).

I know books are literally falling off the shelves in my home. And we have three large RubberMaid containers packed FULL of my books which I haven’t diminished in the slightest since moving to Whidbey. In fact, the pile has grown. And I’m pretty sure that if I never got another book for as long as I live, I’d still have plenty to read until the day I die.

But there is NEVER too many books.