Houston We Have a Problem

And it's getting out of control...

We have books all over the house. At any given time there are five or ten piled up on the table next to my chair in the living room, we have a HUGE plastic crate filled with kids books in the living room, I have a pile of books in the kitchen to be returned to the library, we have two bookshelves in the rec room PLUS a stand that I keep filled with books (and the crate of Montessori books I keep at hand) Then...upstairs. The kids both have a full bookshelf, Gabe has a table next to his bed that is covered in books, today I cleaned under Bitsy's bed and found TEN books that had slid off after she fell asleep reading AND in our room we have a full bookshelf and my night stand has books on top of it that I am reading, not to mention that under the night stand I have a pile of books as well. (did I mention the books we still have in storage OR the books in my "craft" room that are all for crafting?)

Thankfully I have an especially tolerant husband who doesn't seem to mind all these books all over the place (oh...and the cookbooks in the kitchen, how could I forget those? and the pile of books on the back of the toilet...) but seriously, we are being over run with books.

It's completely and utterly my mother's fault. That's right Mom-it's ALL your fault. You instilled a love of reading and books and shopping at yard sales and resale shops (and the library book sales...and church sales and friends' houses...) for books. I rarely pay full price for a book so it's almost as if it doesn't count as a "book" PLUS I'm the Friends of the Library president and I get first dibs on the books when they come in as donations...I am fairly certain that I am providing the FOL with at least 50% of it's profit on books every month ha ha.

Did I mention this is my mom's fault? Because maybe it's not ALL her fault...maybe Gabe is to blame too. I mean, how else do you explain that the other day when I went to the bookstore I couldn't bring myself to pick just ONE book for myself, so instead I got him two new books? (and Bits two new books as well, because really, we have to be fair here...) Maybe if he wasn't such a voracious little reader, I wouldn't have to buy books all the time. Yeah, that's it, it's ALL Gabe's fault.

Well maybe not, maybe it's Geo's fault for putting up with so many books...unlike the yarn balls that he insists I either use or pass on to other people (I just gave away 15 yarn balls...) he never discourages me from bringing books home. So it's Geo's fault, just as much as it is my mom and Gabe's fault.

Before you say "Well why buy books when you can borrow them from the library?" I need to say this, I have a problem. A huge problem, bigger than the books in the house...at any given time there are AT least ten books on my wait list at the library and I have four or five checked out. I am one of those people who DEFINITELY get my tax dollars out of my library membership. At the beginning of the year, I set a goal to read 100 NEW books this year. By March I had surpassed it. I have lost count of the new books I've read this year.

Actually, you know who's fault this REALLY is? My sisters. Yep, it's Tori's fault. She reads almost as much as me (Though a lot of it is for school) and she is CONSTANTLY giving me suggestions for books and of COURSE I have to take them. I mean, what kind of sister would I be if I didn't take her advice on books? Also, I feel the need to add that she also contributes to the amount of books in this house...in fact, the last time we saw her I brought a bag of books home! (I left a bag up there too, so it's a trade off, right??? he he)

Alright, I admit it, it's my own darn fault there are so many books in this house. I love to read, I read constantly, and I can't get enough of a good book (Though I will finish a bad book too, just so I can say I finished it) I read quickly, I read often and I am SO SO lucky that both of my kids have picked up my reading habits. Books transport you to new worlds without having to leave your house, books have the power to inspire, make you feel good, make you realize how good you have it and generally give you a new perspective on life.

and besides that, who doesn't love an excuse to curl up under a fleecy blanket with a hot mug of tea and a book??