An Update.

I know I haven't posted here in two weeks, and I apologize for that. I really blogged myself out, as I've mentioned in my personal blog, and I needed to take some time off from posting so often. Anyway, here is an update of sorts, as well as my current thoughts about books.

Picture Books
I'm still planning on posting the rest of the picture books from my list. Unfortunately, I can't find that list, and my memory is such that I can't even remember a single book that I've been meaning to post about. I know the list is tucked into a notebook that's somewhere in my bedroom, so as soon as I find it, I'll do a couple of multi-book posts to catch up. After that, I think I'll try to post at least once a week about books. I'll start in on Intermediate Books next.

Weeding Out
Last weekend, I went through my three bookshelves and did some major clearing out. I managed to make a significant pile of books to get rid of. I'll try my luck selling some back to Powells, and the rest will go towards my office's book sale this week, which supports the Oregon Food Bank and the Oregon Humane Society. As well, I made an even larger second pile of the books I own that I haven't read yet. These are books I've been collecting for years, but between new books and library books and work and school and my sporadic social life, I haven't gotten around to reading them yet. My current resolution is that until I read these books, they do not get to go back on the bookshelves. I'll try and work my way through them, and then they'll only get to go back on the bookshelves if I like them so much that I'm positive that I'll want to reread them multiple times. Otherwise, they'll go in box for Powells and the next book sale. I feel really good about this resolution.

Part of the reason I was so determined to do this---weeding out books is HARD for me---is that I still have many, many, MANY boxes of books at my parents' house in Iowa. I'll get those books back sooner or later, and when I do, I'll need room on my bookshelves for them. So it's better to try and clear space for them now, rather than when I've got 15 boxes of books scattered throughout my living room.

Book Ban
For the forseeable future, I have instituted a personal book ban. By this I mean that with a few exceptions, I will not be buying books for the rest of the year. Some of you may be thinking, "Well, how hard is that?" Trust me, people quit smoking with more ease than it takes me to refrain from buying books. There are a few exceptions to this ban: there are some books coming out in paperback that I've been waiting for for some time, so I'll pick those up with coupons from my Borders Rewards membership; also, there are out of print books that I've been wanting for years that I have on a "notify me" list on Powells' website. If any of those come in, those are "allowed", but only if they're under ten dollars. Other than that, any book that I feel tempted to buy or read must first be checked out from my library. If it then passes the "Do I want to reread this multiple times?" standard, it'll go on my Christmas/Birthday list.

I suppose there's a third exception to my personal book ban. In September I'll be going to the Seattle Public Library book sale. I adore book sales, and the larger they are, the more fun I have. By the time of this sale, I'll have several months of the book ban under my belt, and hopefully it will lead to me being a little more choosy about what I end up buying. I make no promises, though.

In Conclusion
So those are the things I've been thinking, regarding books, lately. I've had a nice few weeks off from blogging here and I'd like to pick it up again. I can't promise a post a day, or even every other day, but I'll try to keep this blog from getting cobwebby again.