A certain writer said on Weibo that having a thousand books at home is enough, and the redundant ones can be thrown away. His advice is correct, but it only applies to those who have "too many books to be a problem". For those who "love books as their lives", no matter how many times they move, other things can be thrown away, but books cannot.
Those who "love books as their lives" mostly come from the era when there was a shortage of publications. At that time, it was not easy to read a newspaper, let alone books printed in volumes. Now this is not necessary. There are so many publications every year that there are countless classic works, new works by famous masters, and new works by newcomers. With just a move of your fingers, online bookstores will deliver the desired books to your doorstep in packages.
As the saying goes, "make up for what is lacking". Those who have lacked books have caught up with a good era for buying books. Online stores hold activities every now and then. Not only will the book price be discounted by 50%, but sometimes there will be additional discounts. A well-bound and exquisitely printed book only costs a little more than ten yuan. You should know that they are the books of Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, and Gide... The more classic, the cheaper, which has become a law of online book buying. Because many of these books have passed the copyright protection period and become public domain books, saving the author's royalties. Coupled with the large printing volume reducing costs, online stores force publishers to promote sales, resulting in book prices being far lower than prices. No wonder many book lovers always move books home in bundles every discount season, as if they were free.
I am considered a person who "loves books as his life". Twenty years ago when I was a "northern drifter", in addition to the changed clothes, what I brought from my hometown was a batch of old books. They weren't really good books. Some were bought from used bookstalls, and some were given by others. Some of the covers were damaged, and some of the inner pages were curled, but I just couldn't bear to throw them away. The reason for not being willing to throw them away is very simple, because that belongs to one's earliest "property". A young person has nothing and empty-handed, only a box of books to support him. Those books accompany you through the long nights, and you can't be their "heartbreaker".
Because I haven't had my own study for a long time, when it comes to buying books, I am rarely extravagant. I choose left and right, and only buy books that I like and books that are worth collecting. But even so, the books at home are still like Tetris, accumulating more and more. The bought books are piled up on the balcony, and some haven't been read, and the plastic seal hasn't been removed, and they have been neglected all the time. A few years later, the air conditioner that was not maintained for a long time leaked water when cooling, and soaked my books in the middle of the night. Those that hadn't removed the plastic seal escaped by chance, and quite a few of the read books were soaked by water and had to be sold as waste paper忍痛. After feeling heartbroken, I can only comfort myself like this: The old ones don't go and the new ones don't come. New versions of good books keep emerging, and just buy and keep them again.
Buying books but not reading them is a big problem. Why buy books if you don't read them? Is it just to satisfy the possessive desire for books? In that case, what's the difference from those nouveau riche in the past who decorated their houses and bought a bunch of fake books to put on the bookshelf? Under such self-blame, in addition to compressing the number of books purchased again, I can only urge myself to read more books and try to read all the bought books. I have ordered myself countless times that I cannot buy new books until I finish reading the newly bought ones.
Regarding how to read books, there have also been many entanglements. Should I read the books of my favorite writers first or the books of unfamiliar writers first? Always reading the books of favorite writers will limit one's vision and be addicted to the pleasure of reading, and it is difficult to get in touch with richer emotions and stories, and more diverse cultures and ideas. But reading the books of unfamiliar writers is really an adventure. If the first few pages can't attract people, the subsequent reading is a torture.
In the future, perhaps there can be such a principle of buying and reading books: Don't buy books that don't make you have the desire to write a book review. Although that's what is said, it is very difficult to implement. I guess most people will still continue to be confused in this vicious circle of the pleasure of buying books and the distress of reading books.