James Wallace Harris has a good idea: "Since I can't go book shopping, I've decided to browse my own bookshelves instead. I'm amazed by what interesting books I find there."
I've only got five six-shelf bookshelves to browse — but I'm overwhelmed by how many books I find that I want to read. Strangely, it's 100%. Well, maybe not so strange. Because of my limited shelf space, I tend to donate books back to the Friends of the Library of those I've read or decided I'm not going to read. My self-imposed rule is I can't own any more books than I have bookshelves. I've technically broken this rule because I'm currently allowing myself a legal loophole by shelving some books at the top of my clothes closet. Those three six-foot-wide shelves really do look like bookshelves. (But don't tell my wife!)
I want to read all of the books in Harris' bookshelf photo (above). But maybe I should tackle my own shelves first. Here's a photo of some of the books I have stored in a closet. I've read most, but not all of them, but I have hundreds and hundreds elsewhere around the house that I have not read. As Harris notes, "Over the years I've discovered that my reading habit is entirely separate from my book-buying habit. I love to read and I love to shop for books — I just don't always read the books I buy."
