or: Some are sucked into the internet… me, books

One of my New Year’s Resolutions this year is to not buy any books.

As I set this resolution, I found myself making caveats which really indicates how difficult it is going to be for me to keep this resolution.

The caveats have included

• A book for work is ok. This one is really what makes this kind of resolution so hard because I have a knack of being able to include many books into this category which defeated some of the purpose. As an example, initially this would include books on any topic ranging from fish right through to social media and how to use it better for work purposes. After all, I do need to stay informed on all of these things since it impacts the business and affects our growth. 
• A book for self-improvement is ok. Who doesn’t want to be a better version of themselves? Isn’t this what continuous improvement is all about? I’m a big advocate for life-long learning and if it helps me be a better person too, that should be a bonus. Right?
• A book about Mauritius is ok. I need to learn more about where I am living, the culture and the language so I can assimilate better. Or does this fit into self-improvement? Or could it be work? Does it really matter which category it fits into since really, it is another book and under any category, it is ok?

You get the idea.

To be clear, this doesn’t just mean physical books, it includes books for my kindle too.

It’s no secret. 

I like to read.

It’s quite close to the top of one of my 974 favourite things to do.

It may even be the top. 

I haven’t spent the time to order my list.

Yet…

This resolution has come about because I have a To Be Read Pile that should be able to see me through the year and if it doesn’t, there are enough other books around the place and I’m sure there are some brochures and pamphlets around too that I haven’t read yet.

The pile grows because I hear about other books or I read about them somewhere or they are referred to in something (movie, other books, articles) and I’m then interested too.

Or I start reading about something, find a link to something else and suddenly I’m down into a beautiful black hole of books that winds its way into more books that links into even more books and this is why I have a problem.

I don’t even remember the book that started the path to that particular black hole in the first place. The link isn’t always obvious.

Sometimes it is a random thought that I decide to research online that then leads me to a book.

This pathway is brilliant since it leaves no paper trail however it takes a long time and results in me having to narrow down which book I will then read about the topic. 

Who am I kidding – it is very rarely only one book!

I’ve been down quite a few book black holes and they are fabulous. Twisty-turns paths of paper (sometimes electronic) that lead to something new each time.

A book-lined pathway of happiness.

I’m a book explorer.

Now I’m picturing myself wearing a safari suit and a pith helmet a la David Attenborough wondering through a book forest that smells of old pages and a distant smell of coffee that somehow I know is coming from near the back where I would find comfortable green leather backed lounge chairs with cushions and soft blankets to throw over your legs while reading. The temperature at just that level where this is cosy yet doesn’t induce sleep.

So easy to see how I suck myself right in!

Too many books and not enough time to read them all.

I want to know everything about a lot of things  for no other reason than I’m curious.

This is why I know random things about fish.

And that seagulls have different accents depending on where in the world they live yet they all understand each other. 

And now I’ve been thinking I need to put a stop to my caveats or make them a little more restrictive.

Since starting this Resolution, I haven’t bought a single book. 

That’s pretty impressive for me since we are already nineteen days in.

I’ve just been given this one (thanks Heledd!) and I’m reading my second previously purchased ebook while reading a secondhand paperback that Heledd left behind before she returned to her home (I have one more to go from her too so that should keep me occupied for a bit), so I have no need to buy any books.

I find it a challenge to go into a bookstore and not buy anything. 

I have been unable to stay out of them though. 

So far this year I have bought three notebooks.

That’s another problem I have. 

Notebooks.

But I have to write somewhere…

 

Thanks to Falco for the title to this post. You may remember him better for Rock Me Amadeus.