Book-Buyers Anonymous

I do not think it is too much of a stretch to say that the biggest recurring annoyance I cause my betrothed (and this shows how great I am, ha) is my inability to stop buying books. There are just too damn many, and there are too many good places to buy them. The latest bargain shop I've found is IcoBooks, which is the first place I've found to have lots of books published by Vintage. I've picked up Ellison, Mishima, Kawabata, Faulkner, and others, all in new or like new condition for $5 each with shipping. The website is slow and often broken, but the books arrive fast, well-packed, and in great condition. One of the best sites I've found.

But now I am done. I declare right now, publicly and in writing, that I will not buy another book in 2004. I will not attend the Green Valley Book Fair in August as planned. I will not be placing any more online orders (and the vendors gasp!). Instead, I will try and make do with the hundreds of books still on my shelf, waiting to be read. It's a veritable library of its own at this point, and I'll be better off getting excited about books I own, "shopping" among them for the next one to actually read, and giving my fiancee no further concern that our already cramped apartment will soon be a library with a bed.