*Shout-out to my long forgotten relative for giving me an idea for this topic.*
I have a serious problem. I might have to seek out help sometime soon for this issue. Seriously. No, just kidding, it's not that bad. And it's nothing life-threatening. I promise.
What I am trying to talk about is my addiction to books. I cannot physically go anywhere where they sell books. Especially when it's a used book store. I am incapable of leaving the store without purchasing something. And most of the time it's not even a book I might read one day. I just collect old books. I am running out of self space. Well, actually I ran out of self space a long time ago. My parents bought my old childhood room two new shelves, so I could put my books on them. And I still need more space!
When I step into a bookstore, I usually never go with a certain book in mind. I just browse the isles and eventually, or should I say inevitably, end up picking up at least, on minimum, one book. It's a good day if I can stop at just one. There is (was?) a cool old book's store in the beach area of Pärnu, where the prices are ridiculously low and the selection is impeccable. I once went there and bought five or six books. I even got a small discount in the end.
The owner/sale's person was sitting outside, talking with someone, and I just went through all the shelves, looking for nothing in particular. I ended up finding E. A Poe's collective short story compilation in Estonian. There's only one, it's the grey one. I love his work ("Black Cat" for LIFE!!). It was only 4 euros, which is stupid. In the bookstore, where the books are brand new, it's insanely expensive. Books in English cost, on average, 10 euros. Books that have been translated (mostly badly) into Estonian cost double the money. And they translate books I'm never going to be interested in. Probably.
Anyway, I picked out all my books. There was at least one Dostoyevsky in the pile. The owner comes back in and I'm ready to pay, when he turns the shelves on the wall and there's like hundreds more! I told him not to show me this, I would never leave otherwise. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want me camping in his store. Anyhow, I pay for the books and get out as fast as I can. Money is something you should try to preserve. Not spend like a maniac on old books you're not going to read. But, alas, I am who I am.
Another place I should avoid, is this antique shop in Lihula. They have the most amazing selection of old books. Some real rarities. Like for instance H. C. Andersen's "Little Mermaid", which is a collection of his fairy tales, translated of course. That book is hard to come by and I found a copy there, that was in perfect condition. Didn't even smell old. I was a bit pricey, but man was it worth it.
Online book shopping is the worst. Money remains virtual, so I sometimes go totally mental and buy more than I need. On Amazon, you can find used books for the low price of 0,01£. Just add some shipping and the book only costs about 5 euros. That's half the price I would have to pay in the store. And it's not only old books, it's new ones, too. They've just been read once or twice and then you can purchase it. Some of my "used" books have never been opened. Or so it at least seems to be. No creases, no tears, no nothing. Some are old library books, that no one took out so why even keep them, right? One of my books belonged to a library in Liverpool. It had a check out card with it. One person had checked it out. That's all. Amazing.
I tried to make a list of all the books I own, but that would take me a long ass time. The list keeps growing monthly. Maybe I should let someone ban me from Amazon. The second I have some free money, I spend it on books. I have so many books I need to read, otherwise, why even buy them? "Game of Thrones", the latest "Harry Potter", "Martian", etc. The list is endless.
Maybe I buy all these books to pass them on one day. It's like my legacy. What else could I give to the next generation? My LoL account? This blog? Nope, I think books are an awesome thing to own. And having so many of them really challenges my organising abilities. I have them all arranged by genre, author and the title. OCD, but so satisfying. I take bride in my eclectic collection. I have a custom stamp, that each of my books gets the minute I get them home. I like to lend out books and that way there's no mistaking who it belongs to. I should actually write down the book, when I lend it out. I keep forgetting to re-posses them. Oddly forgetful of me.
In the end, I would like to thank my relative, R.S. for inspiring this topic. I know, if you are reading this, it's been weeks since we talked about it. I'm just trying to keep a schedule and I write these post way ahead of time. This is actually my second post today. Last week's post about happy endings was written at 7 o'clock this morning. It's noon now. Hihi! My insanity is in full swing.
Alright. Stop here!
I will hopefully have something for you next week, again.
I am spoiling you with this regularity. My apologies.
Regina.
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