On Book Polygamy
"What crime could somebody commit in Salt Lake City?" Louella wondered. "Monogamy?"
"And they'd arrest you years later," Alden said, "on suspicion of serial monogamy."
—— Lawrence Block, Dead Girl Blues (2020)
When I was 12 and attending that boarding school, I bought a book every week (two if I could afford it). I only read one at a time, then reread it until I bought another one on the weekend, or I headed to the library to get another one. We could only check out one book at a time.
Fast forward to now: I have over 1k books in my personal digital library and a few hundred loaded on my Kindle. I am mostly reading (read: opening and closing) 10 books at a time.
What I have now, my 12-year-old self would consider heaven. I don't feel like I'm living in heaven though. It feels more like a book polygamy hell. I'd love to go back to commit the crime of serial book monogamy.