Exactly!

I think I also downloaded "Miss Mabel's School for Girls", but haven't touched it yet.

Hmmmm...

*busily scribbles in more titles on the 'recommended reading' list*

I don't tend to do much with ebooks or ebook sites, so that's not really been an issue for me.

Hm, I don't tend to have that, even with all my books.
Partly because books that I buy specifically, I've usually already read, or I'm only getting them because someone asked for it for a gift.
I just don't tend to buy books on spec. And if I haven't bought it, if it's just checked out from the library, well, it's not a big deal if I don't end up reading it and I return it before getting to it.
It means the library has better stats on numbers of books checked out, whether it's read or not, and it's not taking up space in my house, and it's still there to check out again sometime later if I want, so...
the stakes are very low, either way.

Then there are books I pick up cheap at library book sales, and sometimes garage or estate sales, but those tend to be in the line of "five dollars for a huge box of random books" so if I don't get around to reading them, I don't feel guilty giving them away to people or deliberately "forgetting" them at book stations or wherever else I think someone will find it, so I can cut down the numbers on them pretty easily, if I don't think I'll end up reading it.


Er. I have... um. This is hard to admit, but I have also been known to straight-up recycle books that I consider really awful, too. Speaking of bad romances, there are a bunch from a certain period of time that involve rape, which is somehow "okay" because "he falls in love with her and they end up married". Um. No. No, I do not find that okay. So sometimes when I come across something like that, I'll use it for kindling or recycle it instead of passing it along. Which is probably an indication of my willingness to go through books, and is maybe a contributing cause for why I don't feel overwhelmed.
Maybe.
I could be wrong!

That's good though :)
I usually only buy books which I really want because I don't want to spend too much money on material things (it's usually food or travelling I spend my money on xD Or gifts). So I only buy books written by authors I already know (like Stephen King, Jules Verne etc.) or if I already know the story through a movie or a recommendation.
If books are really cheap (if I buy them second hand at a flea market or something) then it's easier for me to buy books I don't know. Usually I read the back of the book and decide based on that. But then I might never read that book. I think 50 % of the books I own are not read yet

I'm exactly the same with everything you just said, and i'm currently reading a Jules Verne book btw (A Journey to the Centre of the Earth)

That's one of the main reasons I love op shops; It pushes me out of my comfort zone and makes me buy unfamiliar books, because only a couple of dollars, right? It's not like i'm going to regret this purchase. But, then it can lead to a bit of a hoarding problem if I let it get out of hand. I've had to give myself a break lately and focus on reading books rather than buying them. I'll let myself buy more books once i've read AND gotten rid of a few more books.

Oh lovely, what do you think of that book so far :) ? Which language are you reading it in? :)

I agree with you on that as well :D
I try to read the ones I have instead of buying new ones, but I don't get around reading much lately. Well, not true, I do read a lot, but it's all just articles and books for university...
I am quite sure there are at least 10 books I will get rid of after reading all of them. And then I still have the books I've left at my parents'... But I think I got rid of most of the ones I wouldn't read or already read and did not like.

I usually give them away to the Red Cross or something like that.