Don’t Save Books! 12 June, 2023 – Posted in: Books – Tags: Books, Opinion, Reading

If you read a lot of books you undoubtedly have authors whose books you adore. You may have read every book they’ve published. But more likely, you’re holding back on one or two you want to ‘save’ for some event or occasion. I’m just going to say it : Don’t Save Books!

Holding onto a book at a later date may seem like a good idea. It’s comforting to know that you’ve reserved something you regard as special. That you are delaying the gratification of diving into a new world. It may even make you smile when you come across the book (or books) in question. It’s very easy to do, but I say read that book now.

Books are written to be read. The author has spent a lot of time an effort writing the book for you to enjoy. They (the book and the author) want you to read them. It’s what makes them happy. It may be one thing to put off reading a book for a few weeks or months, but letting years go by may be putting your enjoyment at risk.

Life is pretty uncertain and just because you put a book aside for the future, doesn’t mean that the future will let you read the book. There are so many things that get in the way of simple pleasures these days. If you have a book that you know you are going to enjoy, then putting it off is pointless.

Books are one of the few easy ways we can take time for ourselves on a daily basis. The pressures of work, family, and social obligations pull us in awkward directions. It can get to be too much to bear at times if we aren’t careful. Let that book you’ve been holding onto be a way of bringing you back to your centre.

The worst thing that will happen is that you’ll have read something that is special to you. The best thing is that now you can look for a new book to make your life better. So don’t save books any more. Read them with reckless abandon. Devour them. Inhume them. There will always be more books.