Lost In The Stacks: Confessions Of A Book Hoarder

I sniffed, sighed, relaxed my back onto the couch, and sighed again. “This cannot be happening” I whispered to myself as I stared blankly at my screen. I have noticed a weird thing in my reading habits, and it has been causing me a lot of worry. About two weeks ago, I read a book review by @oluchi31 . Not only did the cover page attract me, but she also reviewed the book in a way that kept me on my toes. Although I enjoy reading thrillers, I wouldn’t call myself a big fan of that genre. After deliberating for a few minutes, I politely requested the E-book on Discord, and after a few days, I received it and added it to my library. Before then, Heaven knows it had been ages since I last read a thriller. I was just happy to satisfy my “cravings” for thriller novels.

Killer Instincts by James Patterson. Years ago, I read one of James Patrerson’s novels and his writing style resonated with me. I knew I would find this book equally interesting or at least that’s what I thought. I added the book to my library and started reading almost immediately. However, to my surprise, I gave up on it after reading just two pages. “Is my book dopamine box full and in need of a detox? Do I need to take a break from reading and start all over? Or did the author’s first two pages fail to grab my interest?” These questions danced in my head for minutes. “James Patterson's writing style has nothing to do with this.” The angel in white robes in my head whispered. “Look deeper.”

Truly, James Patterson’s first pages of Killer Instinct are written in a way that’d make anyone get glued to it, so I just knew I had to look within, unfold layers and dig out the answers. Viola! I realized that this battle began when I got back from school. Ever since I got back from school, I have found it difficult, almost impossible to complete novels. I remember scrolling through Twitter, and then I came across a short book review of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I had watched the trailer numerous times on different social media platforms, but I didn’t know that it also had a book adaptation. I wanted to read the book before watching the movie, so I proceeded to download it. Actually, I asked a friend to help with the download.

Before then, I’d never read a book by John Green. After reading the first 10 pages, I realized the author wrote it using multiple points of view. I don’t really enjoy reading books written from multiple POVs, however, this wasn’t much to deal with as it was written from the POV of just two characters (the main characters). Everything was going well, until I passed reading halfway and stopped. My memory is flawed, but I think I read about 180 pages before closing my E-library. I wouldn’t say I got bored, I just wanted to take a break and do something else. I closed my e-library, hoping to pick it up the next day. Sadly, the urge to go back to reading that book never returned, and even now as I write this post, that book is still in my library, collecting digital dust.

I follow many bibliophiles on social media platforms. Now only do I enjoy reading their takes on books, I also look out for book recommendations. I came across a short book review on WhatsApp- Only Big Bum Bum matters Tomorrow. Somehow, the title piqued my attention and I really wanted to read it. “Isn’t this injustice against small bum bum-mers. Why should only big bum bum matter? My curiosity got the better of me and I requested the book. Swiftly, I got it and added it to my library. However, I totally forgot about the book until a few days later when my friend reviewed it and also discussed it on Discord. That’s when I remembered I had that book in my library. I opened my library and saw that the book had gathered enough dust to equal the Sahara’s desert. I cleaned it and opened the first page. “I plan to renovate my bum bum in Lagos…” I read it out loud, but just then, I got a tag from chess brothers reminding me about the tournament scheduled to start in the next 10 minutes. So, I tossed the book back in my library and headed to my chess app. Ever since, I haven’t returned to the book.

I miss reading books. I miss the scent of new books on sunny Sunday afternoons. I miss sitting in my blue chair with my back relaxed against it and my book placed on my blue desk. I miss burying my head, mind and soul into books, flipping through pages. When it comes to e-books, I miss lying in my bed with my phone in my right hands and my legs well tucked inside the duvet, crossed over each other. I miss scrolling through pages with my thumb, the words getting and transporting to me.

I have sat down to think about this situation. I want to believe that I am not slowly losing my love for books. It is probably a phase, and really, I can’t wait to snap out of it. After deliberating on this matter, I finally came up with an idea. Initially, I thought of reading a new book. A new genre that I had not read in a while, but after giving it a second thought, I decided to complete my unfinished books. Currently, I have four unfinished books in my E-library. My Eenie Meenie miny moe, the cast landed on John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. I’ll complete the book as soon as possible and review it afterward.

One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time." – Carl Sagan

All images in this post are mine.

Thanks for reading.