Expensive Habits, Rattlebone and Other Books

Day 113: Expensive Habits, Rattlebone and Other Books

The strange thing about books is that once you start giving them away, you stop wanting to own most of them. Oh, sure, there are still a few that I pulled back out of the give-away carton. If it tugs my heartstrings, I'm keeping it. But so few of them do any more.

Most of this stack I brought here from San Francisco sixteen years ago. I probably moved them several times in the City, and I've moved them once in Ann Arbor. They are high quality reads. But I've read each of them only once, and I'm certain I'll never read them again.

I still love to read. I'm just not sure about owning books any more. Which got me thinking about the publishing industry, and the idea that if I want to keep reading books, I should contribute to that economy. Which got me wondering something else: has the book economy declined because of eBooks? Has it declined because people like me spend more time surfing the web and playing Words with Friends and Clash of Clans...and less time reading novels?

Well, according to the Association of American Publishers, the answer is "No." Our appetite for buying books is undiminished: the eBook industry is growing and the traditional book format is holding steady. But I've been using my library card more, and my credit card less, to sate my appetite for books. This may not be good for the publishing industry - libraries accounted for only 1.3% of total book sales last year - but it's definitely good for the level of clutter in my house, and for my pocketbook.