Whenever people walk into my bedroom for the first time I see a lot of similar reactions: "Wow, you have a lot of books." "Have you read them all?" "Why don't you give some away?" "Who needs that many books?" Did I just walk into a bookstore?" "Haven't you ever heard of a library?"

I love to read, and I love to own a lot of books. Not every book lover feels this same need to own a lot of books. Some are fine with reading a book and passing it along and only have four or five in their possession at a time. Some use the library exclusively, and others will use a kindle or eBook.

I'm not saying one method is better than the other (though some are definitely a bit more practical), but I strongly believe that people should do which ever method brings them happiness. And yes, owning a lot of books (while not very practical, especially for moving purposes) makes me happy.

I think most book lovers will agree when I say that going to a library or bookstore and browsing the shelves is very relaxing, especially during finals or after a long, stressful day at work. Well, sometimes I don't want to make the effort of driving to the bookstore or library to get my browsing fix in (plus if I go to the bookstore it increases my chances of spending money by one hundred percent).

It's so much more convenient to just have a shelves full of books that I can look at any time I want. Also, it's nice just to flip through old favorites and reread my favorite passages. Also, it's just nice to have a collection. Some people collect trading cards or sea shells. I collect books.

No, I have not read all the books that I own. Listen, sometimes life gets busy and I don't have time to read as soon as get home from school, or I don't feel like reading a certain kind of book, or I get a gift card and end up ditching the book I was going to read for the shiny new one I just got. I'll get to them eventually (maybe). Besides, having unread stories means always having a new potential favorite just waiting to be discovered.

To answer the question as to why don't I give books away, I have. I'm not a complete pack rat. Last year and over the summer I donated a bunch of books to my local library and my eight grade English teacher. I'm also extremely sentimental so it makes sense for me to hang onto books I've read, especially favorites.

And while having more than one copy of some of my favorite books practically doesn't make sense, it brings me happiness. I like having pretty editions of my favorite books. Besides, having the box set of "Harry Potter" where the spins create Hogwarts is just cool.

So yeah, I'm a bit of a book hoarder, but it brings me happiness. I may have a lot of them, but I choose to hand onto the books that I'm either really excited to read, or I love and want to keep on my shelves.