I never thought it was possible to have too many books. If I’m being honest, I still think that. However, you can suffer from having not enough space to keep your books. This is an ailment I suffer with greatly, and have done for a good long while…
That’s why, for the past few years, I’ve been trying my hardest to downsize my book collection, because apparently it’s not safe to have them in piles going up the stairs – a solution I resorted to a few years ago, and almost regretted. I say almost because it did look amazing! Anyway, it’s a battle I’m not winning. In truth, I have more books than I can possibly read (ever), and there are many I won’t even consider giving away until I’ve read (or re-read) and reviewed them…
And so, I find myself returning to a question I’ve asked myself on numerous occasions. Why can’t I replace at least some of them with an ebook version? In my current predicament, it would make sense. But…there’s always a but…
The problem is, I love physical books. I like to hold them, I like the smell of them. There is just something special about a real book. And when I spend so much time looking at my computer screen or my phone, do I really want to be looking at a screen when it comes to reading books too?
And then there is the financial aspect. I have already paid for a copy of these books. Do I really want to pay again just so I can give away what I already possess? It does sound a little daft.
Then I had a little idea. Ebook versions of classics are available at relatively low prices, and some copies you can pick up for free. Perhaps I could test this swap out on this genre and see how I feel about it…hmm…even as I’m typing, there is still this niggling voice at the back of my mind whispering, “Surely you don’t want to do this? The classics always look so nice, with their old lived in covers, or faux leather-bound volumes?”
I can’t argue. It’s true. So instead I’ve made a promise with myself. I don’t have to give away the classics I already own, but any new ones I want have to be in ebook form. It won’t help with my book storage problem, but at least it shouldn’t get any worse…