After begging, crying and nagging on my part, I FINALLY got the wonderful Fiction Vixen to appear and post on my blog! She is so fun and entertaining to talk to and I knew that someday, she would cave and appear on my blog. She is the equivalent to a movie star in the blog world in my opinion! Everyone knows who she is and everyone wants her on their blog! Well, nah-nah! She is on MY blog today and she is all mine! HA! So sit back and enjoy the wonderful post she contributed to the blog today! Go check out her blog after you enter her giveaway she also is sponsoring here!
I’d like to thank Amy for having me as a guest at My Overstuffed Bookshelf. I’m beyond flattered that she invited me and in awe of her bravery. I do owe her an apology though. She invited me quite some time ago and I have managed to allow real life and other pesky things to get in the way of my blogging fun. You see, she left the topic and due date up to me. Big mistake Amy. Big. Mistake. If I am given even the slightest opportunity to procrastinate, I’ll seize it, no guilt. Procrastinating is one thing I do not procrastinate on. So now that I’ve managed to blame my lovely hostess for my slackassedness, let’s get down to business.
Since Amy left the blog topic up to me, I had to do some deep philosophical thinking. I donned my hooded robe, and retreated to a Tibetan monastery to meditate on life and blog topics. I emerged from the experience a changed woman. Oh, I still procrastinate and blame others for my short comings but I have a new appreciation for the comfort of hooded robes.
Upon my return to bloglandia, I decided to visit My Overstuffed Bookshelf and become one with the blog. I wanted to absorb its essence. Understand it from the inside out. And then, as if the heavens opened *queue dramatic music* a topic came to me.
Hoarding: The Overstuffed Bookshelf and Why I Fear It.
I wouldn’t call myself a neat freak; I can certainly tolerate my share of clutter. But I like tidiness and organization for the most part. Admittedly, books stack and store nicely in most cases but there are some of you in bloglandia that make me sweat and tear up with your pictures of your overstuffed books shelves. I can’t handle it. Bookshelves sagging under the weight of books crammed within shelves make my heart race and I whimper like a baby. I have nightmares of being buried under an avalanche of paperbacks! I can hear the creaking and cracking of the shelves as they struggle to support the weight of the written word. This is a real phobia people, stop laughing at me.
Is that Fiction Vixen under there?
Books come and go rather quickly in my house. I get them, read them, review them, and pass them on to new homes. I know, I know…how can I do that right? I do have collections of my favorite series and I keep the one off here and there but for the most part, once it’s read, it’s out of there. No saggy shelves! A library volunteer once had the nerve to roll her eyes at me when she saw me coming with yet another box of paperbacks. Now I just roll up, toss the box toward the front door and speed away cackling like the wicked witch of the west. I also put my books up for swap; I give them to friends and give them away on my blog. Hopefully someone will discover a new author, write a review, and be entertained for a few hours.
So tell me, what team are you on? Team Saggy Shelf or Team Read and Rid It? Or are you somewhere in between?
***GIVEAWAY***
I have an extra copy of My Way To Hell by Dakota Cassidy. I can’t have duplicates just lying around the house so I’m giving it away. I really enjoyed this book; you can read my review here.
I’ll leave the rules of the giveaway to my gracious hostess.
Ha! She left the entering rules to me! So, we are going to make this fun for everyone!
1. This contest is only open to USA.
2. Answer the question above in red in the comments.
3. Please include your email address for me to contact the winner!
4. It is not required, but appreciated if you are a follower of Fiction Vixen and myself! We love having our own army of followers to corrupt!
5. Contest will run until 8/20/2010 with the winner be announced on 8/21/2010.
What a fun guest post! I’d have to say I’m somewhat in the middle… I do have a huge collection of books, but I like to pass books on when I’m done, unless it’s one of my favorite books, then it stays…
stephaniet117 at yahoo dot com
LOL @ hooded robes 🙂
I get rid of books! No saggy shelves for me. Other things may sag, but my shelves are sturdy!
(don’t enter me)
This was great! 🙂
I’m definitely in between. There is no way I’d allow saggy shelves, but I can’t part with my precious (note creepy Golem voice) for anything. SO I just make room for new bookshelves! The books have all the room they want and I have all the books I want! BWAHA. I’d literally move my bed into the middle of my back yard if it came between me and my books.
I forgot to enter my e-mail! SORRY! 🙂 I was excited about the question.
ChapterChicks@gmail.com
I hate saggy bookshelves, but I would still like to keep my books no matter what. I’m hopeing when I get older I can get tones of bookshelves and make my office into a libabry filled with the books I loved, but I would never just put them on the floor like that in the picture. =P Thanks for the awesome giveaway1
morgynmjoubert(at)hotmail(dot)com
I’m in the middle right now but I am trying to get down to a reasonable TBR pile.
mce1011 AT aol DOT com
I’m mostly on Team Never Own it to Begin With. Whatever books I do have were obtained for free or cheap. When I’m done I pawn them off on other people.
Since book blogging I’ve also started accumulating and looking for ARCs, these always get passed on to friends and family members.
I will occasionally purchase books to keep that I know I will either read or refer to later. But most of my books come from the library and return there.
StephTheBookWorm–Somewhat in the middle, I can work with that! 🙂
Mandi–Yes, hooded robes. Long brown ones. 🙂
Chapter Chicks–Move your bed in the backyard? HAHAH I love it!!
Maureen–Reasonable TBR pile? I know not what you speak of.
Ahh Amy (Campbell)–That’s what I’m talking about!! Yay one for Team Read’em and Rid’em!! 🙂
I guess I am sort of Team Saggy Shelf. I have a hard time parting with books unless I really disliked the book or have duplicates and even then I only get rid of them if I have no more room on my bookshelves.
throuthehaze at gmail dot com
I’m guess i’m team saggy shelf. Or actually i’m beyond the shelves. I’m now team shelves, cabinets, and baskets under the bed. Whenever i see a good deal on books i can’t help but buy. Then there is of course charity book sales….. I can say with confidence that i have no problem with giving away books that i don’t like. I actually have a full box of them up to anyone who wants them. ^^
Melissa
jedisakora@msn.com
I am a follower
throughthehaze–Oh my, never get rid of them? Oh my. 🙂
I’m somewhere in-between. I was definitely a “saggy-shelf” kind of gal until I married my husband 13+ years ago and I’ve since learned to pick and choose a few favorites to keep. I read WAY too many books to keep them all and still have room for my children and husband in the house!
LOL Lynne, yes when the hubs and kids have to compete for room, it’s time to donate some books LOL.
Fun post! I’m definitey Team Read it and Rid it: My book habit (in a round-about way) actually broke my bed – true story! While my TBR is saggy shelves, once I’ve read it, out it goes! (Unless it’s a series I love or if it’s signed. I can’t bear to part with signed books)
bookaddictpatti at cox dot net
Patti–Oh no, never get rid of the singed ones! Never. Your book habit broke your bed? LOL
I get rid of mine as soon as I read them, which isn’t fast enough! tWarner419@aol.com
Team Read It and Rid It. I’m like you, that I keep a couple of my favorites handy, but most of my books get traded through PBS. I have a couple that I’m giving to the school when it starts back up too. I love to see people reading, and when my books are sitting on my shelves, they are not doing anyone a bit of good when someone could be enjoying them!
meredithfl at gmail dot com
Yay! Two more for Read’me and Rid’em. Actually I’m surprised. I really thought most people kept their books. Collecting is great, I wish I could do it. But too much clutter gets to me. 🙂
As of right now I am saggy shelf cause there’s just not enough time in the day, but I usually rid them once read.
Please count me in.
cindyc725 at gmail dot com
I’m an in-betweener. I keep the books I enjoyed reading (usually the 4 and 5-frog rating books) and I’ll swap or giveaway the rest. I only have 2 bookcases, one for my TBR pile (which is just about full to the max) and my “read” bookcase (which only has 3 out of 5 shelves filled). So I don’t go overboard with hoarding.
thebookvixen at gmail dot com
Fabulous post! I’m in between because the books I really love I must keep but the books I’m not very attached too I am able to give away or sell. I’m also a follower of both blogs!
lilazncutie1215[at]yahoo[dot]com
I get rid of it unless it’s one that I really like and intend to read again.
I follow both blogs
forwhlz at gmail dot com
For the longest time, I was on Team Read It and Rid It because I hate clutter and also because I moved so frequently when I was younger that it was too much of a pain to keep them.
However, there is now another alternative – my darling Kindle! In the 2 years since I’ve acquired it, I’ve also acquired about 400 books. They come with no fuss, no muss, since they are nothing but etheric bits and bytes. Now I have the best of both worlds, I get to keep my books, but they don’t create any clutter or mess!
jen at delux dot com – I follow both blogs.
Stack the books until the shelves collapse! I have hundreds of books everywhere. I can’t bear to part with my books. If I want a friend to read a book I buy it for them. If they borrow my book they bend it up. 🙁
lovemybabysquid at yahoo dot com
Love this topic!
I would have to say I am Team Saggy Shelf — have been collecting books since I was young and have over 10,000 books at this point (romances, fantasy, SF, horror, westerns, mysteries,non-fiction). My excuse was “but what if I want to read it again!”
However, have just moved to a smaller house, so am finally and reluctantly trying to weed out those titles that I know that I will not want to re-read — of course, this involves reading them again just to make sure that they need to go in the “get rid of” pile
Lynn
dlynnpauley AT yahoo DOT com
I am somewhat in the middle. I keep a lot of books but only the ones I know I will read over and over again. So the ones I keep are well worn.
Im a follower
usignolc(at)yahooDOTcom
I’m somewhere in the middle! Every couple of years or 3, I will purge and take to the library!
I follow both of your blogs!!
mlawson17 at hotmail dot com
I am somewhere in between. There are a few books that I keep, because I will reread them sometimes. I had lent my mother several of the books I wanted to keep. I always told her I wanted them back. Last year she moved and gave them away or threw them away. I was so mad. It was about 50 of my favorite books.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com
I am a follower of both blogs. I am in the middle also. I love keeping books I really loved and enjoyed reading and some I get rid of. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com
I would love to say that I am somewhere in between, but I also like to say that I am somewhat of a realist – so….I am not quite to the Team Saggy Shelf level, but it’s close.
Thanks for hosting – please enter me. I am an old follower.
bsharp88@gmail.com
Great contest – Thanks.
I’m a follower and I must say that I am somewhere in between. There are certain authors I won’t part with no matter how my hubby gripes. Every once in a while I like to donate other books to the library.
vsloboda@gmail.com
I’m a keeper! I mean books not me personally. 😉
I hoard. Get rid of a book? How? What if I want to read it again? I have crawled around in a filthy attic, checking though dusty boxes because I had a craving to read a certain book at two in the morning. I have books tucked away everywhere. Finally in desperation, I learned to buy only the books I’ve already read or someone highly recommended that I know I will want to read again.
I am a follower.
d.septer(at)insightbb.com
I’m an in-betweener! I keep all the
autographed books that I win in various giveaways and those books
that have “captured” me, and I know I will read them again. TBR books
could have one of three destinations:
keeper shelves, friends & family,or
somewhere in the “wild, blue yonder.”
Pat Cochran
p-cochran@juno.com
Team Read and Rid It by all means. I read it and pass it on. Now my shelfs are still pretty deep but….
I follow both you gals on GFC
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(“)_(“)
alterlisa AT yahoo DOT com
http://lisaslovesbooksofcourse.blogspot.com/
Team Read and Rid It by all means. I read it and pass it on. Now my shelfs are still pretty deep but….
I follow both you gals on GFC
(\___/)
(=’.’=)
(“)_(“)
alterlisa AT yahoo DOT com
http://lisaslovesbooksofcourse.blogspot.com/
I am closer to read it and rid it. There are 3 of us in the house that read & review books, so we tend to hang on to books until they are read by everyone that wants to read them. If it’s something we LOVE we will keep them if we think we will reread them, otherwise it goes away. (I clean out house a lot!)
booksake(at)yahoo(dot)com
Loved the post.
I guess I’m somewhere in between. I keep a lot more books than I ever pass on to others(either by gift, swap or sell). But if they don’t fit neatly on the shelves, then they go into boxes in the garage. About once a year I go through the boxes. Every time I come up with a few more to go away, and some from the shelves go into the boxes while others go on the shelves to be read again.
My daughter is another story. She is a book hoarder. At least half the books I’ve wanted to get out of the house over the years, have wound up in her room. Shaggy Shelf doesn’t even begin to describe her stash of books.
I’m a follower of both blogs.
carolcobun(at)yahoo(dot)com
It’s hard to pick which I am. I do a little of both. I get rid of the books I didn’t love and I save the ones I do. I have more saved books though so I guess I belong to Team Saggy Shelf. lol
I’m a follower too.
chirth7@yahoo.com
Definitely Team Saggy Shelf! I’ve rarely met a book I didn’t instantly glom onto and never want to let go 🙂
Sarah
smaccall@comcast.net
I’m somewhere in between. I try to get books out of the library first and if I really love it, than I buy it. If I do get a book that I don’t enjoy I try to pass it on to someone who might like it better.
allisonsbj3(at)gmail(dot)com
Saggy Shelf! Although I definitely don’t have many books but I don’t like to get rid of them.
bmweida at yahoo dot com
So tell me, what team are you on? Team Saggy Shelf or Team Read and Rid It? Or are you somewhere in between?
I’m somewhere in between. I have 6 bookshelves in my house….1 Shelf are all books that I plan on keeping…the rest is books I want to read. I will only keep a book I LOVE. Otherwise I will Swap it on Swaptree or Paperback Swap or trade it in on Amazon! I also have a pile to donate too!
TaraTagli at gmail dot com
I hate to admit it, but I’m Team Saggy Shelf. I have good intentions to organize and donate, but a lack of energy and a big procrastination problem.
marlenebreakfield(at)yahoo(dot)com