I'm not sure when my TBR (to be read) pile of books got out of hand. Maybe it started when I joined a professional writers group and started to buy members' books at signings. Then there were books purchased at conferences, books bought because publishers suggested reading books in their lines before submitting, and books published by my favorite authors. Sometimes someone gave me books they'd read, or I got books as gifts. I also liked to browse book stores. Some books have short shelf lives, so if you wanted those, you had to grab them while they were out. Then there were older books by newly discovered authors. Then it was autographed books. And I'm not the only one. My author friends have this same overabundance of reading material. Where to store it? And, once read, really, what is the point of saving a book? I know people who have read a book more than once. I'm not one of those people. I don't have the time. And now, I don't have the room. So I'm starting to part with my collection.
The nicest part of this is getting back to my library. If I start to read a book I ordered and it's not that hot, I can just return it and not feel I'm out the cost of a hardcover or paperback.
What most amazed me is that libraries are linked together and, if one library doesn't have the book, another will send it over to them. They have all the best sellers and even some books I didn't expect them to have. I'm saving time. I'm saving money. I might even have room on my shelves again.
