With my most recent purchase of Steven Erikson's Gardens of the Moon, I've already exceeded last year's total book purchases by some Php 80.00. And we're only mid-way into September. I've still got my eyes on Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker and Elantris and other China Miéville books but another book -- epic or stand-alone -- might just catch my fancy.
Throughout my reading years, when I finally had the opportunity to buy books out of my own sweat and blood (or what's left after paying all the bills and safekeeping for expenses), I am not really what you might call a hardcore book-buying bibliophile. In my younger years, sometimes in a year I buy 3 or 4 books. That was the time I was keeping tabs on David and Leigh Eddings' epic fantasy series including the Belgariad and the Mallorean which starred Belgarion the would-be king-sorcerer; and the Elenium and Tamuli which featured the adventures of veteran knight Sparhawk. Back then, around 1998 to the early 2000s, I made it a ritual to reread all the Eddings books I had at least once a year. I think I did this for about 5 to 6 years especially during those times when I was out of work. I never really sought out other books back then. I did buy an occasional novel or so but that was only when I chanced upon something interesting in a bookstore or a used-books bin.
Of course, I had other books to re-read on hand, most notably my Tolkien collection.
Now that I think about it, I'm guessing that my rather sparse book-buying back then had to do with economics. While I was indeed employed and drawing a salary twice-a-month, there wasn't much extra cash to spare. Most of the money left from salary after deductions and taxes went to obligations, transport (back then I was still going home to Laguna on a daily basis), daily sustenance, and the monthly payments to the plastic cards companies.
My book-buying started to pick up in 2005 when I hit gold and got employed in my first online marketing work. Not only did my salary increase by half but the small company also offered a 25% tax shield. Of course, by then I had married and had my own obligations but by then I had extra money somehow to spend. The Dune series by both Frank Herbert and the prelude Dune novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson were the beneficiaries of the extra cash and starting that year, I went beyond Eddings and Tolkien and discovered SF&F author after author.
Around 2006, I had already jumped to another online marketing work which again boosted my purchasing power and in RCBC Plaza, I discovered a book treasure trove -- Books for Less. While in reality Books for Less is still pricier than say, Book Sale, the Books for Less branch in RCBC Plaza somehow managed to get great SF&F collections. It was while I was working in RCBC Plaza that I started buying the late Brian Jacques' Redwall series which I continue to snag to date (I have only six novels to find from the series and I'm proud to say all of my Redwall series books have been bought from used-books bins) as well as the Left Behind series by Jenkins and LaHaye.
It was only last year that I started recording my book purchases but I think my book buying binge started around 2007 or 2008 as my purchasing power stabilized despite increasing home obligations, the birth of my eldest in 2006, and other factors. I never took the time three or four years ago to record my purchases but they must've been in the thousands of pesos or otherwise my lone bookshelf in the apartment won't be bursting by now.
The Age of the Internet also had something to do with my increased book-buying. The internet provided a wider reach for me in searching for SF&F authors (no longer limited to just scanning the bookshelves) and now, it's easier to scout a book before doling out the hundreds of pesos and being disappointed. I've had several mishaps in books, buying them because of the cover and not because of the story (surprisingly though, I managed to trudge through Battlefield Earth). But with information on books, reviews, criticisms, etc. readily available at just a click of the mouse button, I can now buy a book with ease. Of course, nothing beats actually reading the book and finding out whether you love it or hate it but knowing something about the book before buying it helps.
Thanks to the internet, new authors I've discovered include Sanderson, Brent Weeks, Miéville, James Owen, and of course, George R.R. Martin. There are still a lot of writers out there I'd like to read (starting with Erikson) so I don't think I'll be re-reading The Belgariad or The Mallorean anytime soon but I'm thinking of pulling out my copy of The Elenium trilogy for old times' sake.
I guess for this year I'm expecting my book purchases to reach around Php 6,000. My wife won't exactly be thrilled that I'm spending that much on books but at least she knows where my money's going. And it's not to cigarettes, booze, and ehem, other stuff.
