Diary of a Book Addict: The Books that Go Unread

November 21, 2012

I have a very nice oak bookcase at home. It is filled with books of varying sizes, genres, and reading levels. The shelves are organized alphabetically by author in sections of juvenile and adult fiction and by basic Dewey decimal order for my volumes of juvenile and adult nonfiction. A few of the books were gifts, but most of the books were purchased by me.

Since I often write about the library books, eBooks, and audiobooks that are piling up at home waiting to be read or listened to, it would seem logical that I must have read all the items in my personal collection. That would make sense, wouldn’t it? Then again, who else organizes their personal collection the same way a library does? I’ve discovered that when it comes to books, I don’t do anything that is logical. I read multiple books at the same time, I read multiple authors and genres, and I don’t read or listen to books in the order I receive them. If I did, I would not own a 10-year old unread copy of The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck or the unread paperback version of Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein.

I do plan to get to these books one day, but with so many great items available at MCPL, it’s easy to put off reading things I already have in my possession. I am currently making my way through J. K. Rowling’s Casual Vacancy, Dean Koontz’s Odd Apocalypse, and Artemis Fowl the Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer. I just finished reading Underworld by Meg Cabot and City of Orphans by Avi.

Most years, I participate in a library-wide reading challenge during the winter months. We are encouraged to read juvenile and young adult materials during that time, and because of that, I managed to get through many of my previously unread juvenile and young adult books. I’ve since added to that collection of books after meeting some authors and getting copies autographed. This has once again led me to a place of having too many books and too little time.

I think that as long as there are unread books in the world, there will always be a reason for me to visit the Library to find something new, which means those books on my shelves are going to have to wait a little bit longer.

Debbie A.
Blue Ridge Branch