A problem worth having

So, for the first time in probably two decades, I have my to-be-read pile down to three books. It's usually somewhere between 15 and 30 books, but I've intentionally been trying to whittle that pile down because I got tired of looking at it (and because a lot of books I'm excited to read seem to lose their luster after I've stared at them for a few years).

Then I go to my newspaper job. We get lots of books for free. Tons of them. At least 5 or 6 a day for review. However, we're generally not supposed to take them.

Until today. The book editor decided she wanted to clean out her office, so she took about 20 mail crates full of books and lined them up in an empty office. Then she passed the word that anybody could have any books they wanted.

At first I cursed. Then I think my eyes went all goo-gooey and I plied my way through those boxes of books like Renfield scouring his cell for rats to eat. I came away with about 20 books, mostly novels.

That was at dinner time. I took a box of those 20 books to my Explorer.

Then it was back to work.

And I kept hearing that office calling to me, saying "There are still plenty of homeless, orphaned books here waiting for you to provide them shelter."

So, toward the end of the night I scampered back to the books and perused them once more. This time I only came away with a dozen books.

I didn't want to be greedy or anything.