Does anyone have a spare bookcase?

I have developed a compulsion that is both unhealthy and terribly fun.

You see, I love books. Love, love, love. So much that most of our bookshelves at home have been overtaken by my books. College texts I couldn't get rid of, knitting patterns, Star Trek books, Star Wars books, generic science fiction novels, heaps of fantasy, mystery, and classic novels, collections of poetry and short stories, plays, you name it--I have it. Except Shakespeare's sonnets. I need those. Plus a decent copy of his plays all together, because mine is falling apart.

But the objective of this post is not to list the books I will compulsively purchase in the next year.

There will be a lot of them.

As a part of my job, I read tons of books. That's right--I get paid to read. I review the books for my work blog, and I have come across some really, really good ones. Some that are so good that I have not wanted to check them in and give them up to the reading community I "serve."

But I have to.

And here is what is happening...

First I must say in my own defense that I had to write in one of my copies of Saving Francesca. It was analysis time, and I had to make sure that I was highlighting the portions of text I planned on referring to in the book discussion. It was Important.

But doing so marred that copy in a most shameful way that I could not endure, so I bought another one to keep pristine for future reads.

Then I went to Borders and saw a perfect copy of Jellicoe Road, a book I read before Saving Francesca also written by Melina Marchetta, a literary goddess I now revere.

So I had to get it, right? So what if it is still in hardcover, it is prettier that way. And I will keep it for all eternity. It's special. It won awards. Plus, I would not have ever picked up Saving Francesca if not for Jellicoe Road being so good!

So I bought it.

Then, the next day, I went back to meet up with my aunt again, and this time I bought John Green's novel Paper Towns, because I think I'm going to do a book discussion on that novel too, as soon as it is in paperback, because it is so good. And I will have to write in a copy of it, so I should have a nice one on hand too.

And then, on Independence Day, we all went to Books-a-Million and I had to get a copy of Marcelo in the Real World, because I'll be doing a book discussion on that too, eventually, because it is so freaking good.

Good books everywhere.

And I can't get enough of them.

Can't one of you stop me?

No.

Don't. I'd rather go on this way.

And I don't need a Kindle...or do I?