A book addiction...?

Take a deep breath when you walk into a library or bookstore. What do you smell? Ink and crisp white pages? Warmth and beauty? Ah, books. New books, old books, used books-they're all special because they all have a story to tell.

For me I love the combination of used and old books. There's nothing like opening up a book of poetry from the early 1900's to find someones notes scrawled across the margins. Its like getting an extra story within the story. Which is why I love going to used book-sales.

However, I'm a poor 'almost' college student so walking into a bookstore of any kind and indulging in my book-buying-habit doesn't happen often. When you're a book addict the titles really start to appear out of nowhere. I'll go book shopping and comeback with one or two mystery books. "How did this end up in my book bag again?" Its like sending a normal teenage girl out to buy a pair of shoes. She plans on getting one pair and comes back with three. Same goes for books. Which is why I love (literally I count down the days) until my library's book-sale. They have it three times a year and special members of the library have a special night where they get in early. Clearly I'm one of the first at the door. You run down (or well not run cause there are a lot of people, but in a perfect world I would run) the stairs until you reach a basement full of books. Books everywhere. Unlimited books. Old books, used books, new books. All you pay is $5 per bag, and considering I typically fit twenty or so books in a bag that's a great deal.

My library haul. 

My one and only problem is that I always come back with more books than planned. This time I said we would only get three bags of books. We walked out of the library with ten. Some were my parents of course, but that's still a lot more than three! In my defense most of my books are books I'll use for my English Lit classes (or at least that's what I tell myself...). Now my book shelves are over flowing...and that isn't a figure of speech.

A complete wall of books...

When I got home from the library book-sale I realized that all those books were not going to fit on my bookshelves. I opted out for the floor until my dad can build me my bookshelf/window-seat combo. A window seat made out of books is good enough, right? The first bookshelf starts with all my new and used Christian romance novels, which moves on to the second bookshelf.

My favorites above my desk. 

Then of course we have my used and old books. Which of course are my favorite. The classics are amazing. Someone told me recently that the classics are 'stupid' because you can't learn anything from them and basically that they were written by a bunch of old dead men. Well duh, they're old for a reason and they're called classics for a reason. If you can't learn anything from them you must be reading wrong.

The 1000 Years of Irish Poetry and Tennyson are my newest, used, old editions. I'm just going to say that Irish poets are way underrated. The Tennyson one is also my third oldest book to own. Its a Cambridge Edition printed in 1898. It has an honorary location on my shelf.

And the rest of the classics, including poetry, and the critics. Now I've managed to rearrange and fit all the other old books I bought onto this shelf....still not quite sure how I managed that. Somehow I'm going to fit another bookshelf in my room if its the last thing I do! There's another library book-sale coming up in December and its only $3 a bag. Maybe I can manage to keep it under ten bags this time. Maybe.

Are you a book addict? If so what's your favorite way to buy books? Which is your favorite, crisp and new or tattered and used? Well, now I'm off, those books need to be read.