Books I Own Multiple Copies Of...And Why
Not too long ago I was at a second-hand bookstore (which is basically my new favourite place because you take in old books and get new books and it seems too good to be true but it’s not) and I found some old copies of The Great Gatsby. So I used my store credit and bought them. 4 of them. This how that transaction went:
Storeperson: you know you’re buying 4 copies of the same book *judgey face*
Me: oh..yeah I know I actually already have several copies at home *smiles as though this is perfectly normal behaviour*
Storeperson: …
Me: I sort of collect different editions that I like
Storeperson: …
Me: *becoming flustered by her staring*
Me: I actually do it with a few different books…
Storeperson: …
Storeperson: well I guess people like to do their own odd things sometimes…
And then the transaction was awkwardly finished very quickly and I rushed out of the store but jokes on her because I’m coming back to stalk their classics section and FIND ALL OF THE COOL EDITIONS OF THE GREAT GATSBY HAH.
My point is, I like to collect multiple copies of some books. Or I just end up with multiple copies of books because of reasons completely out of my control. There’s no way to tell how it happens… so here are some of those books!
The Great Gatsby
So I’ll start with The Great Gatsby because I’ve already mentioned it. This is one of my favourite books of all time. I don’t remember when I first read it, but I know it was sometime not long after I finished highschool because it was one of the books we could choose to read and analyse in English… and (plot twist) I DIDN’T choose it. But a bunch of my friends did and sometime after school when I was able to choose books to read solely for the purpose of enjoyment and NOT to try and deconstruct the author’s intentions and their use of specific discourse *shudder* I decided to pick it up and see what it was all about. And I fell in love. Sometime after that I was in Borders (remember Borders? I miss those stores. There was a 3 story one near my uni and it was majestic and I used to spend all my time/money there when I should have been in uni. It was great) and saw shiny, beautiful hardback editions of some of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s books and, again, I fell in love (I apparently fall in love easily. When the object of my affections is a book… Obviously). So then I had another copy. And then all of a sudden I have 8 physical copies (and counting) and 3 e-copies. WHICH IS FINE.
Harry Potter
So. Harry Potter. Another of the great loves of my life. This is where I can *maybe* see how it starts to become an issue that I own multiple copies. Because there are 7 books and then when you have multiples of each one it starts to get slightly out of control. Unless, you’re borderline (*cough* definitely) obsessed like myself and then there’s absolutely no problem so take your judgement elsewhere (if you were judging which you’re probably not because you’re still reading so… sorry. I just get protective of my books and their feelings). So I have my original set, which are my babies and yes, I know most of them are paperback and only 2 are hardcover. Years later I made the totally adult-appropriate decision to buy the pretty boxset with Hogwarts on the spines because they would look beautiful on my shelf. I have tried to read these editions… but I am so terrified of ruining the spines so I barely open the pages and they hurt my eyes because I’m trying to read at a weird angle and can’t see the whole page so they mostly just sit there looking more aesthetically pleasing than I can ever hope to be. Finally, there are the illustrated editions which don’t reeeeeally need any explanation further than pretty pictures = *grabby hands*. My fiancé buys me the new one each year for my birthday because he is an adorable enabler so that’s his fault not mine. Oh and I have the audiobooks. Again, completely different. Again, totally fine. Nothing to see here… I’m also definitely not eyeing off the 20th anniversary Philosopher’s Stone editions and trying to justify wanting all 8 editions which I objectively know is a ridiculous thing to want but at the same time don’t even care give me them ALL.
The Hunger Games
This is another one of those situations where I saw something pretty and shiny and my original copies were not really my favourite anyway sooooooo… HOWEVER, I actually traded my original copies in. Which makes me sound completely reasonable and practical until you realise:
I then used the store credit to get 4 more copies of a book I already own (see opening paragraph).
I have my eye on another edition of the trilogy, which I will most likely/definitely be purchasing one day.
But come on. Try and convince me I didn’t need these STUNNING foil covers. I’ll wait…
So there you go. I own multiple copies of some books. I like to use parentheses more than necessary. I fall in love with books and make it my life purpose to own them. All perfectly justifiable, normal and reasonable behaviours. *nods*
