# How many unread books do you own? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 6, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670 "2003-11-06T07:07:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![maikai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/53a042/32.png) [@maikai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maikai)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/21 "2003-11-07T07:20:08Z")
> [@](#): > > Posted by GMRyujin > Probably hundreds. See, I buy books because I want to read them. That doesn’t mean I want to read them _now_, but that I plan on reading them sometime in the future, even if that future is years off. This is exactly how I feel. I’ve been getting better, though. I can browse in bookstores without automatically buying something. It takes a lot of willpower, but I can do it. I’m also going to cut down on my weekly comics buying. Jeez, it feels like I’m committing a sin by saying all this.🙂 To the people who have many unread books, do you feel bad about it? Not guilty or anything. Just like, I don’t know how to describe it. I don’t feel like I’ve done anything wrong and I know I’m going to read them all eventually, but seeing books I got two years ago that haven’t even been opened… Ahh vague dissatisfaction. You gotta love it. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/22 "2003-11-07T10:27:12Z")
At a guess anywhere between 500-2000. ---
**Author:** ![blinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@blinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinx)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/23 "2003-11-07T11:39:10Z")
I have exactly one unread book - I bought it this morning, but instead of reading it on the train ride to work, I fell asleep. I read everything I buy as soon as possible. ---
**Author:** ![kitarak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kitarak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitarak)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/24 "2003-11-07T12:34:59Z")
Hmm. Not counting textbooks and the like, which I mostly use as reference rather than actively reading them cover to cover, probably about 20 in this room (A quick guesstimate suggests about 200 books in here). None of these are books which I’ve lost interest in and not read (ok, one of them was - a copy of Dante’s Divine Comedy, which I wasn’t too fond of the translation in. I have another copy of that by a different translator which is still on the To Read pile). Probably a few more at home, but I think almost all my unread books are here at uni. The problem is that a lot of these 20 are fairly heavy reading, and most of the time when I find the time to read I’m not feeling up to any deep thinking. So there are a lot of classics sitting on my bookshelves which I haven’t yet got around to reading. (But they didn’t cost $30 - I doubt any of them was more than £5 ). I’m getting through them, but the problem is that I’m always buying more books. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/25 "2003-11-07T13:19:11Z")
I dunno. I read serial romances (go ahead and laugh, I’m used to it. Also, click on the little www house at the extreme bottom of this post to see my take on the romance genre) and these books are cheap and fast reads. I just recently bought a street hawkers whole inventory of romances-- two shopping bags full-- for ten bucks. I haven’t actually counted them yet. Then there are the multiple book series that I’m in the middle of. I’ve got about 4 Hornblower books, 3 Ender books and 2 Gabaldon time travel romances all paid for and waiting for me to get to them. ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/26 "2003-11-07T14:52:47Z")
Maybe about a dozen or so. The vast majority of my “unread” books are books that I bought thinking I’d like, started to read, and then realized I didn’t like it as much as I thought I did, so technically they aren’t wholly unread. I’ve got about 3 or 4 here that I just haven’t got started on yet. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/27 "2003-11-07T15:02:21Z")
Our dining room is lined with bookshelves on three walls. Mostly Dave’s, as I gave a lot of mine away when I emigrated. He’s read all of his, I’ve read all of mine, and there are some that overlap (I’m not gonna read the Star Trek books). We tend to read new books as soon as we get them, but I have one that is sitting waiting for me. So, one. That I know of. ---
**Author:** ![Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krisfer_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/28 "2003-11-07T16:50:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GMRyujin \* > \*\*Probably hundreds. See, I buy books because I want to read them. That doesn’t mean I want to read them _now_, but that I plan on reading them sometime in the future, even if that future is years off. \*\* Yeah what he said! Hell they’re everywhere! I buy them knowing that I want to read it… whether that moment is now or not is moot. I will read it someday… nad in the case of some of them that purchase date was over 10 yrs ago. But then I am not reading science fiction much these days, but you never know one day I may wake up and say “GOSH! I WANT TO READ SOME SF!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/29 "2003-11-07T17:45:22Z")
About 40 or 50. I don’t know. I have a book buying problem. I worked in a bookstore for a year and a half, and bought stuff constantly. (Hey, 40% discount!) I still have books from that time period that I haven’t read, even though I quit in 2001. It doesn’t help that I really, really, really like books. I think I may like buying books as much as I like reading them. It’s a bad habit - look at my profile. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/30 "2003-11-07T17:46:12Z")
Same here. I buy it because I want to read it and know I’ll never remember the title/author if I wait. And I keep books I have read so I’ll know if I’ve read it. I’m forgetful that way. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/31 "2003-11-07T18:48:00Z")
Well, if you count reference books…maybe 50 or so. As for fiction…very few. I have a tendency to read VERY fast (1000 wpm) and read several books at the same time. Well, not at the SAME time, but…oh, you know what I mean. So everything tends to get read, and then re-read later, sometimes multiple times. I think I have read every book by Terry Pratchett and Robert Heinlein at least a dozen times. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/32 "2003-11-07T20:15:21Z")
I have a lot, no idea how many. A year or two ago my hometown library cleared out a bunch of old books at a “fill a bag for five dollars” sale and I bought several bagfuls. Some have been good, some too terrible to finish, some I’ve barely looked at. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/33 "2003-11-07T21:42:28Z")
I’m trying to figure this out. Probably about 2500 and a half. (Inclduing magazines.) About the time I got enough money to be able to buy whatever I wanted at used book stores, I also got kids. I know I haven’t read the past 15 years of Analog, F&SF and Asimov’s (doesn’t mean I stopped subscribing) or all the old books and magazines I accumulate, or the 35 Perry Rhodans I got for 10 cents each a month ago (added to the other 50 I have, 25 of which are unread.) I collect you see. The 1/2 is a Doc Savage magazine I started but didn’t quite finish. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/34 "2003-11-07T22:05:51Z")
808 science fiction/fantasy books. Entering all my books into a computer programme _does_ have its uses after all. Most of these are second hand books (quite often it’s the only way to get those old Jack Vance and A E Van Vogt books). We are a book reading family, so there’s loads of books all over the house. I’ll never be stuck for something to read. V ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/35 "2003-11-07T22:14:47Z")
Out of 750 or so books, I probably haven’t read 25-30. I do feel vaguely guilty that I haven’t read them all, but I _do_ intend on reading them all eventually. Some of those are anthologies that I’ve only read part of. Some are books from series that I haven’t finished yet. Sometimes I start reading a book while I’m in the middle of another, and don’t get around to finishing the first - until a year or two later, and then I have to re-read the whole book. A lot of the time I go nuts at the bookstore and buy tons of books, and I don’t have time to finish reading them all before the _next_ time I go nuts at the bookstore. My family thinks I’m nuts. They don’t see the point of owning so many books. They ask “What are you going to do? Just keep on buying tons of books for the rest of your life!?” Ummmm… yeah? Of course I am. That’s sort of the idea. They refer to my bedroom as “the library.” They borrow books from there all the time. “Let’s see, do I feel like fiction or non-fiction? SF? History?” ---
**Author:** ![hapaXL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@hapaXL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hapaXL)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/36 "2003-11-07T22:44:35Z")
I read every book I buy, which I think is just a way to curb my book-buying mania. I panicked a little bit when I got down to 5 unread books recently and went on a mini-spree (the internet is a bad place sometimes). So I’m up to about 20 books now and am not allowing to buy any more until I’m back down to about 5. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/37 "2003-11-07T22:54:40Z")
A couple dozen. The books I buy myself I read immediately, but for some reason, people keep giving/sending me books they think I’d like. And usually they’re right, but CMON, ALREADY!! ---
**Author:** ![Alto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Alto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alto)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/38 "2003-11-07T23:09:47Z")
You folks are going to hate me. I work for a publisher, and on my floor alone there are four or five free book sites where people dump books they’re through with, or that are extras, review copies, submissions, just lying around, etc. Then there are five other floors with more free book sites. I’ve curbed myself now (had to), but for a long time after I started here, I used to go home with 20 or so new books a week. When a book’s free, it’s easy to think, hmm looks interesting, maybe I’ll give it a try. I’ve taken so many that whenever I’m at loose ends for something to read, my shelves are always full of books I’ve forgotten I even had. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/39 "2003-11-08T00:23:39Z")
My wife and I have a couple thousand books (I’m thinking about rearranging the house to get wall space for more shelves), and between us we’ve read all but maybe two dozen. ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670/40 "2003-11-08T04:05:50Z")
About 50-100 books (out of 1,000 or so). Count me in as another one who buys books with the foolish intent that I will really read them someday in the near future versus when I’m old and rocking on my front porch. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unread-books-do-you-own/211670.md?page=3)