Books: To buy or not to buy?

Earlier this week, Simon from "Stuck in a Book" posed a sort of quiz about books and reading that Elaine at "Random Jottings" also wrote about. Looking at the quiz I was stopped short by the first question, what was the last book you bought? It's not that I can't remember, it was "Southern Storm: Sherman's March to the Sea" by Noah Trudeau. It is more that the question for me is incomplete - my answer is about the book that I most recently decided I wanted to own, not the most recent book I wanted to read. To me the question would have been more complete if it said something like, "what is the most recent book you bought or took out of the library?"

For as long as I can remember reading has been my favorite activity. However during my active working career, I was lucky if I could read somewhere between one to two dozen books a year. That was not, however, how many books I bought, I bought books pretty much without restraint. Among other things that led to unfortunate experiences like seeing books that I bought in hard cover coming out in paperback before I had read them. Or, and this is even worse, finding that I was no longer interested in the topic of a book I just had to have at the time of purchase.

This is something that I have struggled with for years - it has been a major stewardship issue for me - the place where I confront my own personal issues with material things. After all the issue isn't necessarily about owning, it is about reading. The thing that I have come to realize is that I can read just as many books (far more since retirement) for far less money and using far less space. It is due primarily to those wonderful institutions called libraries. Today I make extensive use of the Rutgers Library (free to Alumni) and countless other libraries in Verona and surrounding communities.

None of this is to suggest that I will never buy another book, but my approach is a lot different. The first and primary question is do I just want to read this book or do I want to own it as well. In the past year I have read a number of books of criticism of Shakespeare's history plays, some of them have been so helpful to my understanding that I know I will want to use them again and so I buy them. With other books there may be a reason why I want to own the book, but I am finding that that is more the exception than the norm. Besides costing less money, it also means not using as much space and ultimately having to dispose of those books in one way or another.

I think this is an example of a fundamental stewardship issue - good stewardship is about figuring out the most effective way to do what we want to or have to do. I want to read a lot of books, using libraries is a cost effective and efficient way of doing just that. Renting or even borrowing DVD's instead of going to the movies is another example of the same thing.

I am grateful to Simon and Elaine for raising these questions, in fact, the most recent books I borrowed from the library were "One Fine Day" and "Deerbrook," both of which were recommended by Elaine on her blog. I will probably buy "One Fine Day" because I think it will take multiple readings to really appreciate it. I have just started "Deerbrook" so it is too early to say. Other books that Elaine has recommended are not available at any library within 50 miles of here so this is case again where I may end up buying.

The final thing that I want to say is a word of praise for libraries. Untold amounts of knowledge and enjoyment is available to all of us in libraries - available at little or no cost. If nothing else the latter fact means that libraries offer tremendous opportunities to all regardless of how much money we have.