Posted in Books

I recently had an email discussion with a good friend about book collecting.  She had noticed that in my blog profile I list collecting antique books as one of my interests.  I should have said that I love collecting books in general.  I never seem to have enough books, and homeschooling is a handy excuse to collect even more.  With my friend, I bemoaned the fact that I simply do not have enough space for all the books I have.  This is rather telling of the extent of my book-buying habit, considering the fact that I have several floor-to-ceiling bookshelves which are filled to overflowing with all those lovely books I've collected over the years.

Despite being quite choosy about the books I buy, I have a wish list longer than my arm of books I would like to own.  I also have a rather long list of school-related books I plan to get for next year.  Theoretically, that list should dwindle the longer I homeschool and the more books I have already purchased.  In reality, however, it continues to grow...

Money being tight, I love a good book bargain, and that's where used books come in.  Used books are often less expensive than new, and there is also something special about holding and enjoying something that has been appreciated by unknown others before me.  This is especially true of children's books and classics.  There is a special joy in knowing that a certain copy of a certain book has been the means of opening wonderful new worlds to someone who, though grown up now, may have as a child been shaped by the ideas held within its pages.  Antique or used books hold this charm, which newer books cannot begin to possess.

I have recently rediscovered the wonders of online directories of out-of-print books.  Websites like Main Lesson,  Project Gutenberg, Bibliomania, and my favorite place for links to wonderful online children's books, Ambleside Online have been a great help in providing access to rare treasures.  Printing books from the internet can save lots of money as well, and can be a blessing for the budget-minded homeschool family.  I will admit, though, that reading a book on the computer screen or from a stack of printer paper just doesn't feel the same as reading from an actual book.  For me, there is nothing that compares to the way a book feels in my hands, the way it smells, the way a stack of books looks, patiently waiting on my nightstand or lined up on a bookshelf.

Books are such an important part of my life.  In many ways, our family's days are centered around books: school books, reference books,  how-to books, leisure reading, and of course the Book of Books (the Bible).  What would I do without books?

....I'd have a lot of empty shelves.