In Praise of Buying More Books Than You Can Read

When it comes to books, it's not hoarding: it's a library.

by Rachel S. Donahue

When we lived overseas, friends made fun of us for shipping nine boxes of books halfway around the world. Honestly, I’m surprised we were able to narrow it down to nine. In Spain, our little local library’s selection of books was, of course, primarily in Spanish, so we began collecting English books like treasures—every trip across the pond, every expat “swap” gathering, every Christmas or birthday.

Since our return to living in the States nearly nine years ago, I’ve been slowly amassing a home library. Living in one place for an extended period of time, having access to thrift stores and yard sales, and knowing people who write/publish/sell books are luxuries I don’t take for granted. We now have more than a dozen bookcases of varying sizes in our home, and despite culling our collection a couple times, the shelves are so full we’re having to stack books horizontally. (If we could survive a year without surgery or a broken arm, we might have a chance to save up for those floor-to-ceiling shelves with a ladder I’ve been dreaming about!)

I’m happy to wear the same threadbare cardigan or weathered shoes if it means I have money to spend on books. I still gift and request books for every occasion. And I hoard my spending money so I can back a good Kickstarter or pre-order a new release when it’s time.

The result of such habits is that the books are piling up faster than I can read them. If we stopped buying books altogether I could probably go years without exhausting my selection of new things to read.

My poetry shelves. No, I haven’t read them all (yet).

But here’s the thing—it’s only because of such book-buying habits that I’ve had *just* the book on hand that I needed on a particular occasion.

Like the time I got COVID and was sick enough I couldn’t speak or walk around the house but well enough that I couldn’t bear to lie in bed sleeping: I pulled Jane Eyre off the shelf and read it for the first time, cover to cover, in two days.

Or the time I wanted to read a new poet for Black History Month and, to my delight, found Natasha Trethewey’s Native Guard on my shelf (having completely forgotten that I’d purchased it in a book stack!)

Or the time I got bogged down in a number of heady non-fiction books this winter and found a refreshing escape in Leif Enger’s So Brave, Young, and Handsome, simply it was sitting on the shelf awaiting such a moment.

When my children are bored, I can usually scan the shelves and find something suitable that they haven’t read yet. When friends need book recommendations, I can browse the cases to find an appropriate title or two. When I’m in need of inspiration or education, I have resources at hand that stimulate my mind down healthy rabbit trails (much healthier than scrolling on a screen).

The treasures of a home library require thoughtfulness and cultivation—and the willingness to spend money on books that may gather a bit of dust before they’re used. But when the day comes that that book is *just* the thing you need in your hand at that moment, it will be worth its weight in gold.

May 14: Mari in the Margins release day!
July 17–20: Sponsor Table at the CiRCE National Conference in Charleston, SC
Late July: Open submissions! More info to come.
August: Red Rex release (preorders open in June)
November: Above, Not Up release (preorders open in September)

In honor of World Book Day last week, we made a reel looking back at all the books we’ve released since 2021. Thanks for helping us make Bandersnatch Books a success.

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“Necessity is the mother only of clichés. It takes playfulness to make poetry.”

Robert Farrar Capon, The Supper of the Lamb