Books, books, books

Our book collection is good sized in comparison to our peers, though perhaps a little small considering our degrees. We have a mix of fiction (mostly mine) and non-fiction (mostly B's), a healthy collection of travel guidebooks, and now even a dictionary, which B liberated from his childhood bedroom a few weeks ago.

But you can never have too many books, at least not if you're planning to stay in one spot for a few years, and as long as all of your books are worthy of a reread. I don't see any point in owning a book so it takes up space on your shelf--if I won't reread it, I pass it along.

We stayed at my parents' house this weekend and I discovered an entire shelf of my college books. Oh, Fuentes, you are a great reminder of how badly my Spanish skills have deteriorated. And Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid--will you make any more sense ten years after my freshman writing class? Moby Dick--I had to give a report to the class on pages 100-200 or so, which meant that I never finished reading you. (Will I ever try again? Unlikely, but you never know.)

How have I been out of college for 6 years, and none of these books are in my possession? I don't even remember how they ended up in my parents' house. I moved directly from my senior-year apartment to my studio in the city, so in theory, they should have moved with me.

But they didn't--until now, that is. I kidnapped them and brought them home, so now all of my tech writing books can be together (what a happy little reunion that will be), and my literature can share space with my chick lit, and I can finally reread that fabulous Ocean City teenage-trash series that I so enjoyed back in junior high.

Unfortunately, this influx of pages and covers has put shelf space at a wicked premium, and the giant armload of books that we picked up at a book sale this weekend is only adding to the problem. I guess it's time to start cutting. I'm sorry, Mr. Melville, it's not personal, but I'm not sure if there's room on my shelves for your whale.