Do you ever feel guilty for buying books?

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All these chastisements you are receiving lead me to think that some here might buy YOU books. I could probably be persuaded to chip in. After all, we do want the feet of those bringing good news to be firmly grounded in truth, don't we?
 
I am a man on a mission.

While in the USA I am trying to buy books for the next 4 years. I have spent almost 400USD in the last 3 months.

Now, I feel guilty.

These are theological books and commentaries, but WOW, that's a lot of change!

I was even trying to figure out how to buy a cheaper present for my son's birthday next month in order to add an extra volume, no kidding, yesterday (of course, he likes bugs the best, which are FREE, so thank God for cheap kids).

Do any of you agonize over spending decisions on books?
Yes I do, even when I buy the cheapish 4 dollar books :)
 
Ha, thanks, but I've got to be a missionary, not a MOOCHionary. I am not lacking and so priorities need to be towards those that are lacking. The fact that I have several hundreds dollars possible for me to spend says that we need to prioritize other people who cannot even possibly spend this amount due to large house mortages and failing jobs in a rough economy.

-----Added 8/29/2009 at 04:24:16 EST-----

Here is an idea for your next purchase. :) You can buy it for your wife and mother for Christmas so you don't feel so guilty about the $400.

I am taking preorders for my new book Getting Off the Niceness Treadmill during the month of September only. The cost is $10 plus shipping. Books will be a limited run and will be distributed at the end of November. After September the price will be higher, and you may need to wait for the book to be reprinted. My pastor edited it for Reformed theology.

Check it out and PM me if interested. Getting Off the Niceness Treadmill

Yes, but I don't want to get off any nice-ness treadmill; I would like to become nicer. Nice-ness is not a problem that I want to purge, it is a goal that I only occasionally reach consistently.
 
My wife and I have a Turtle. Actually, she's a russian tortoise We named her Shelly. She likes to eat broccoli. :)

Speaking of turtles, I currently have four water turtles. I have two Red Ear Sliders, one Yellow Belly Slider, and one Razorback Musk.

Now with that said, it's about time for me to feed them today. :)
 
My daughter takes our turtle for a ride in her little plastic wheelbarrow. She is right now doing so. She forgot to put on pants, so she is walking her wheelbarrow with the turtle inside without any clothes on.
 
It's become soooo easy to buy books with Amazon, so I sometimes question my purchases. My husband is very patient with me. :hug:

Are these modern authors? So much of the good historical theological writings are available through E4 group, online etc. Just seems like it would be easier for you to transport too -- even a Kindle? Although I don't know how good their theological selection would be. (Hey, I just spent another $200 for you. Maybe I'm a lousy influence.)
 
I like more current commentaries and live authors. E4 is good, but most CD-ROM commentaries are Matthew Henry, Poole, etc, when I want something more newer and exegetical. The Baker Exegetical Commentaries are impressive.
 
Those of us who do not live in the US or UK (even in Canada) pay much more for the books because of shipping especially if we want to buy from Christian sites where the prices are cheaper (monergism, ref. heritagebooks, cbd, cumberland etc..). I could in theory pay nearly half of the total cost just to ship to Québec city which is about 1-2 hours north from the highest point in Maine.
 
I like more current commentaries and live authors. E4 is good, but most CD-ROM commentaries are Matthew Henry, Poole, etc, when I want something more newer and exegetical. The Baker Exegetical Commentaries are impressive.

When it comes to book authors, the deader the better! :sing:

Just kidding. But I'm sure someone will agree with me anyway. :D
 
Rich, If you bought and used 400 USD worth of cigars in 2 months, your 2-mile run time would undoubtedly decrease dramatically I would venture to guess!
 
Rich, If you bought and used 400 USD worth of cigars in 2 months, your 2-mile run time would undoubtedly decrease dramatically I would venture to guess!

Umm, yes. Except that our PFT's are 3 miles long. I could easily smoke 400 USD of cigars in a day and still run 2 miles.
 
I like more current commentaries and live authors. E4 is good, but most CD-ROM commentaries are Matthew Henry, Poole, etc, when I want something more newer and exegetical. The Baker Exegetical Commentaries are impressive.

Now that is something to feel guilty about.
 
You book snobs! Solomon told us not to long for the good old days. God is raising up some of the best writers NOW! Powdered wigs need not equate with greater theological prowess. Gimme some stuff written post-1990.
 
Well, I did once buy an audio book for about $60 and I felt bad about that especially when about 2 months later I found the same book/narrator for about $7 when I joined a book club!!! But otherwise........no
 
I don't feel guilty, but then it has been a long time since I could spend any money on books.
 
Do any of you agonize over spending decisions on books?

No!! Goodness no! Sometimes I do spend too much as far as our household budget goes, but generally this is not a issue as we sacrifice elsewhere to give us the freedom to spend $ on books, and yes we try to be frugal in our book buying. Given the choice of splurging on a nice dinner out or having that money to blow at Amazon.com or a brick & mortar bookstore, my wife and I will choose the bookstore 9 times out of 10. Change :2cents: is collected and then taken to the grocery store change counter kiosk - no fee is charged if you take your "cash" in the form of a "gift card" for one of several sponsors of those kiosks; Amazon.com is one of the sponsors!! Any guesses as to where our "change" goes?

While in the USA I am trying to buy books for the next 4 years. I have spent almost 400USD in the last 3 months.

Now, I feel guilty.

These are theological books and commentaries, but WOW, that's a lot of change!

$400 for all the books you are going to read over the next FOUR YEARS?!

I probably don't want to know how much my wife and I spend on books very year. We get Amazon.com deliveries almost weekly - I would not be shocked to learn that on average we get 50 Amazon.com deliveries a year. Other folks have new entertainment centers, boats atvs, and other toys. We have books. I would guess at least several percent of my gross income goes to books or similar media. (Downloaded an audio version of a Piper book this week, and last week I ordered the documentaries The Monstrous Regiment of Women and Shaky Town.)

The last time I went to the Shepherd's conference (I missed it this year) I spent about $300 on books If I recall correctly.

You could use paperbackswap.com if you have some books you have already read and don't mind getting rid of.

Nooo!! :DOkay - I have a bunch of old paperbacks from many decades ago sitting in boxes in my basement - those I should get on paperbackswap.com to get some more theology and commentary books. But when it comes to my theology books, either I liked it and want to keep it, or I will give it to someone the other option is the book was nonsense, non-glorifying, heretical or other gross problems, which case I sure don't want to pass it along to someone else. (paperbackswap or otherwise)
 
If you've purchased more books than you can read in four years it may be out of moderation, and if out of moderation then guilt may be in order.

(I realize $400 isn't a lot of money when it comes to buying books.)
 
You book snobs! Solomon told us not to long for the good old days.
When Shakespeare was still alive he was better than his predecessors. Now that he's dead, he's still better than his successors. In other words, it's not a matter of when a person lived, it's a question of the quality of their writings. And a lot of times garbage doesn't get reprinted, so in some ways the process of time has helped with sifting wheat from chaff.

God is raising up some of the best writers NOW!
How would you know that? Unless you've read everything, it seems that this can only be a deduction from a theory of continuous improvement.

Powdered wigs need not equate with greater theological prowess.
There were a lot of writers with powdered wigs whose snufftaking appears to have made their brains molt.

Gimme some stuff written post-1990.
Does something have to be post-1990 to be good or great? Look, I know you worry about blind spots and things you don't see simply because of your culture. Well, that same thing works with regard to your time. If you only read post-1990 stuff how will the assumptions of your time ever get challenged?
 
You book snobs! Solomon told us not to long for the good old days.
When Shakespeare was still alive he was better than his predecessors. Now that he's dead, he's still better than his successors. In other words, it's not a matter of when a person lived, it's a question of the quality of their writings. And a lot of times garbage doesn't get reprinted, so in some ways the process of time has helped with sifting wheat from chaff.

God is raising up some of the best writers NOW!
How would you know that? Unless you've read everything, it seems that this can only be a deduction from a theory of continuous improvement.

Powdered wigs need not equate with greater theological prowess.
There were a lot of writers with powdered wigs whose snufftaking appears to have made their brains molt.

Gimme some stuff written post-1990.
Does something have to be post-1990 to be good or great? Look, I know you worry about blind spots and things you don't see simply because of your culture. Well, that same thing works with regard to your time. If you only read post-1990 stuff how will the assumptions of your time ever get challenged?

You've shot down my arguments. But, I still like newer stuff too, maybe because I've been focusing on dead guys for some time now.

Yes, speaking of your comment about age sifting the wheat from the chaff, do you think this leads to the romanticism of the past?
 
You should invest in an ebook reader. I highly recommend the Kindle (We had 2 of them... but my husband left one in a bumpy motorcycle and then took apart the other one in order to fix it). The books are cheaper (Newer ones are 9.99 and the rest are usually less) and you don't have to lug them all around.
 
It's not that the sifting is done to perfection. It's just that if Boethius, Aquinas, Calvin, Goodwin and Spurgeon all read and profited from Augustine, it's extremely probable that Augustine is profitable.
 
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