The 10 Reasons Why You Should Be a Book Owner

Sure, you can pick up books at the library. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact I encourage it. Millions of books a phone call or click away and they're all free or come with a small yearly membership.

And books are  are a pain on moving day. Suddenly that narrow bookshelf that held fifty books turns into a thousand boxes that everyone whines about picking up and carrying.

And now there's even e-books which take up no space at all on your tablets and computers, and I definitely encourage that since that's the way you can get my books.

So with all these pluses to not owning books why should you own the real ones with hard covers and pages?

1. That lovely little novel that took you an evening to read, or a week or even a month, took the author months and maybe years to write. You want that author to write again dontcha? And eat? And live in a place that doesn't have a cardboard roof and walls and a garbage can for a fireplace. Well, he/she needs you to buy the book.

2. Books lend a homey atmosphere. A room filled with books feels like a lived in home. There's something cozy about bookshelves of books, or a table with books. Books match everything. When you change your decor, you don't have to change the books. But if you want, you can rotate featured books to go with your decor or your latest interest.

3. Books tell visitors something about you. They show your interests and hobbies. They let people know if you're into mysteries, knitting or serial killing.

4. How to books, such as craft books can be resourced again and again. That's pretty hard with a library book. Ever tried to knit a sweater in three weeks? You don't have to worry about that with a book you own. Nor does the book disappear on you when the library does it's annual weeding.

5. You can press flowers and leaves between the pages of a book.

6. They make great sofa legs when your sofa legs break off. You can find just the right size books by mixing and matching the thicknesses.

7. They make great lap tables for writing.

8. They make great gifts. Even if the recipient isn't a reader they are probably interested in something. Cars, art, serial killing, there's a book on it.

9. There are worse things to collect than books. Like beer cans, dust bunnies, trolls, smurfs, and torture devices.

10. You can go to a well loved favorite again and again and again. You don't have to read it in a certain time and you don't have to wait for it to become available for the tenth time.

11. Bonus: You can read a book that no one knows your reading. Librarians will not snort in disgust when you choose Enid Blyton over Black Beauty. And no one will know that you have a passion for harlequin romance or those shades of grey books or serial killers. It's a secret. Except for maybe from

the book seller, but you can pretend it's a gift.

So there you have it. Ten plus one reasons to own books. Now I just have to find another bookshelf and figure out a place for it.