Thursday, May 01, 2008

who's to blame?

Now I'm sure a good argument could be made supporting the idea that I've got no one to blame but myself for my horrendous book buying habits of late. Yes, yes, we all are ultimately responsible for our own behavior and all. But where's the fun in that?!!

And I am very quick to blame you all out there, as well. Because face it, there's a fair bit of truth in that claim. If you all would quit reading so damn many good books and then telling the world about them, my piles wouldn't grow nearly as quickly. You all know what I'm talking about!

But I've decided it's time I unmask the real villain in the tale of my depleting bank account...


My husband. My enabler.

See, I have never throughout our 17.5 years of marriage been much of a spender. I have pretty simple tastes. No, the role of spender has always been played by Rich.

So, when I got so drawn into this world of book blogging, and started feeling the compulsion to buy all these great new books I kept reading about, did my darling husband try to stop me? Did he make snide little comments about the money I was spending? Did he try to hide my bank card? Hell no! He encouraged me! No, that's not quite it...encouraged is not strong enough word.

Why this reaction? Well sure, he's an educator at heart. He loves learning and reading for reading's sake. But truthfully, the answer lies in his feelings of guilt. With me buying books, he gets to spread that feeling around. He's no longer alone in his attempts to fill every bit of livable space with the written word.

These are my husband's bookcases:


























































































































And his "collection" doesn't end there. Care to guess what lines the walls of his office at work? And then there are all the little piles here and there about the house. From here I can count 18 books atop his nightstand. The inside of the nightstand is full as well. There are piles on both sides of "his chair" in the living room. He appropriated a shelf from Annie's challenge book bookcase for his own challenge books...

Oh yes, he is a very bad example. One I've avoided emulating for many a year. But those days are gone...and what can I say but that I'm one lucky woman, huh?

25 comments:

DesLily said...

My mouth is hanging open!..
I have one thought in my head..

good lord Debi, I hope you never have to move!!!!! lol lol

J at www.jellyjules.com said...

Oh lord, and the dust must be HORRID! We live in a tiny condo, which has necessitated several purges of books. My husband also taught for several years, which as you know means BOOKS. And I LOVE to read, so again, BOOKS. But not like you have there. That might be what we would have had if we had never done the purging, though.

Stephanie said...

I think it's awesome that your husband is a reader!! Sheesh. If it's not a copy of Rolling Stone or Sports Illustrated, my husband won't touch it!!

Of course, you are going to have to find some bookshelves of your own!!

twiga92 said...

Wow! Ohmygoodness, wow! That is quite the collection!

Anonymous said...

ROTFL!!! See why I have raffles on my blog. This is exactly what my house looked like, only our closets were packed full with books too. :) My family was having a fit!

Rebecca said...

My hubby and I BOTH have this problem.And so do the kids! We're doomed.

But...I have a secret....

The library has a box inside the foyer where people can leave books they don't want anymore and people can take them for free. Every time I go to the library,I sneak books out of the house and leave them there.

One day though....hubby took the kids to the library and came home with books out of the free bin 6that I had just taken there.Doh!

Lis Garrett said...

Oh my!! I don't think I've ever seen so many books outside of an actual library!

Debi said...

Rebecca,
My kids definitely have this problem, too...most especially Annie! But I never used to. I've always been an avid reader, but I used to be quite content to just pick them up by the buttload at used book stores and then just give them to library for their book sales. I'm just now buying them at a MUCH faster rate than I can read them...and I seem to want to hold on to more than I ever used to.

Melissa,
Yeah, and those are only Rich's bookcases. Annie has 3 of her own, each of the boys has one, and of course I've got a few, too. Insanity, I tell you!

And every year we still do donate several bags to the library book sale.

Jean said...

Debi, it's a Stevens gene, just like the one for weird science fun. Don't ask about my house, and I won't tell.

Debi said...

Jean,
And if I do ask?

Nymeth said...

lol! Your whole family is awesome, Debi...awesome!

Those remind me a little of my father's bookshelves...especially the National Geographic magazines and the David Attenborough books. And oooh, look at all those Vonneguts! And I spot The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster! lol, my boyfriend and I had a wonderful time reading bits of that one at a bookstore once...we were laughing like maniacs :P

Anyway, I think there's no such thing as horrendous book buying habits. Books cost money, of course, but if you think about it they are a relatively affordable habit.

For example, video games are another thing I really enjoy, but I barely ever buy them because they are SO expensive...one game costs about the same as five books. And there are people who spend insane amounts of money in designer clothes (and I'm not judging them, whatever makes them happy) that they will be ready to throw away a year from now...

Compared to some other things, books have very long life spans. They can be read and re-read or passed on on BookMooch or donated to a library or sold to a used bookstore or given to a friend. So don't worry...there are much worse habits :P

Jennifer said...

Wow! You know, I think you should just open your own library. You could even charge fines for overdue books and make some money doing it! LOL!

Eva said...

Wow-those pictures just kept going! lol And I've seen quite a few professors' offices, so I can only imagine the stacks of books your husband must have at work. :) I have to admit-my first thought was the same as Deslily's...I can't imagine moving all of those. And book blogging has increased my book acquisition habit like no one's business as well!

Chris said...

Well.... ..... ..... lol...it looks like someone has finally found an opportunity to justify all of his book buying habits now that you've discovered the world of book blogging not too long ago :) And that's not a bad thing ;) That cracked me up! You have such a great house Debi!

Trish said...

Oh my goodness *I* have book envy!! Books are usually my only splurge. When I come home, yet again, with more books, I always convince hubby--I could be spending the money on shoes or clothes or other things that I really don't.

Org Junkie said...

Oh my gosh, in the 13 years since we've been married, I think my hubbie has only ever read one book! I guess they don't have that in common LOL

Melody said...

Oh my! That's really a huge pile of books!!! It's great to hear your husband is a reader too, you lucky lady! If mine reads as much, I don't know where we'll keep our books, LOL!!!

Kim L said...

Oh to have that much space for books... I have two large bookshelves full and brimming and they do not even encompass my entire collection.

Well it sounds like the two of you need an intervention :-)

Debi said...

Nymeth,
Thanks...you always say the sweetest things! Rich couldn't believe you noticed The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster...he LOVED that book! I've really got to get around to reading one of these days.

Lynne said...

WOW! I don't think I've ever seen so many bookcases filled with books! Isn't it great that you all love to read? I can't get Dom to pick up a book - he has no clue what's he's missing.

Somer said...

Holy cow! I have bookshelf envy...

And The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster? Must get that for my husband!

gail@more than a song said...

We have full bookcases of hubby's books, and notebooks and some magazines! He reads all nonfiction, I read fiction so just usually check mine out of the library.
That's a lot there you have!

Bookfool said...

Oh, oooh, how have I missed out on your blog? I love it. I totally enjoyed the photos of your husband's shelves but particularly zoned in on the second photo. That wooden animal on the top shelf -- an antelope, maybe? My dad had a little collection of those. You brought back a lovely memory. I have no idea what my mother did with them, after he died, but I always loved those little wooden critters.

Debi said...

Bookfool,
Thank you...what a sweet thing to say. And thank you for sharing the memory of your father's collection...it really touched my heart. That little antelope is really special, too, as it came from my best friend's dad's collection after he died. I can't wait to come visit your blog!

Joy said...

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em resounds!

 
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