You may or may not remember, but I have imposed a book-buying ban on myself a few times…ok more than a few times. As with most book lovers, I have this strange impulse to:
- Go into bookshops.
- Buy at least one book (normally three) each time I go into a bookshop.
This is a curse on my purse and my bookshelves. I’m running out of space; my shelves are full of books I haven’t read. Personally I think this shows a high level of ambition…or just an inability to stop.
This spring I completely gave up the book-buying ban – I figured if I didn’t deprive myself I might not feel like buying books all the time. How wrong could I be; I bought ten books in the space of a few months… TEN!!!
And how many have I read since I bought them? None. I keep trying to catch up on other books before I think about starting this. It’s official… I think I have a problem.
My vast book haul is listed below:
The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro
I thought I’d start with the only book that wasn’t bought by myself. This was a present from my very sweet sister-in-law to cheer me up after a bad day. She obviously didn’t realise how many books I had bought recently!
Primitive Mythology, by Joseph Campbell
A non-fiction on mythology by the master himself, Joseph Campbell. After a lengthy debate about philosophy and mythology with my father he mentioned this author and book so I bought the first book of four, naturally.
Lyrical Ballads, by William Wordsworth
I figure you only learn by doing – so this is my attempt at learning more about poetry.
Far From the Madding Crowd, by Thomas Hardy
A classic I’ve been dying to read forever. Now that the movie is out, I have refused to watch the film until I have finished the book. So I’ll probably get round to watching it in about a year.
Our Man In Havana, by Graham Greene
I went on a bit of a classics spree in a second-hand bookshop in Chelsea – this was one of my purchases.
Twilight, by Elie Wiesel
I met a fellow bookworm for coffee and it just so happened that our coffee shop was right next to a Daunt’s bookshop. This book was one of my purchases. I don’t even remember what it’s about but it looks to be a good read.
Herland, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
After reading The Yellow Wallpaper I bought this book straight away, I just haven’t gotten round to reading it…yet.
Marina, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
I have no excuse for this one – I haven’t even read Shadows of the Wind, which I bought over a year ago. The cover was amazing and I love gothic stories so I got this too. Now I have the dilemma of deciding which to read first.
Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts
Another classic that I’ve been meaning to read and spotted in the second-hand shop. It’s a beast of a book so I need a good amount of time to read this. It’ll likely be a holiday read… I just need to book one first.
Zorba the Greek, by Nikos Kazantzakis
The final purchase in the second-hand shop; a classic the shop owner recommended and one I’ve heard a lot about. I’m not even going to pretend that I’ll get to this quickly.
A Literary Mind 
‘The Blind Giant’ looks like a terrific read! I’ve added it and a few others from this list (and others that goodreads recommended as a result of that) to my “to read” shelf so should get around to them over the next few years.
Too many books, so little time!