For me it’s even more than that - my mom’s a librarian! So I literally grew up inside libraries, and she always had stacks of books all around the house.
The media hording instinct is powerful but I can at least limit the actual spending to the kinds of things that aren’t easily gotten from the libraries. I’ve been trying to check out basically as much English manga from the library as possible just to make sure I don’t go and buy the Japanese version…
The physical space aspect is a real concern too! Genuinely what got me to cut down in the end was suddenly realizing that I had finite space in my apartment and probably would have to move before I actually got to a lot of it anyway.
That is a good strategy that I try to follow too. Unless I really want to support the author.
Glad to hear you realized that when you still had space (unlike me)
No one in my family was a librarian but I made up for it by becoming one myself
But my parents were avid readers and several family member are collecting book series. There are some comic series that my grandfather started collecting in the 1940s and then my mother continued collecting them and now my younger brother continues that “legacy”. We have a whole cellar just for these collections so that is probably like a small private library on its own.
Fortunately for my rooms and my purse is collecting series not something I’m interested in.
Everything about that’s awfully cool! That sounds like a lovely heirloom! I’ve never quite developed the comic-collecting habit I thought I would as a kid, and by now I’ve probably read more (American) comics digitally than in floppy form, but a collection like that would be such a cool thing to peruse.
And thanks for librarian-ing! It’s such a positive institution (that always deserves better funding)
I should have mentioned it, you’re right! I got it as a gift from my partner’s dad, who had the pleasure of visiting Japan for the Tokyo Grand Prix.
As the cover says, it’s in both English and Japanese, and it’s adorable!
Hello Kitty introduces us to her boyfriend Daniel 「ダニエル」who’s visiting from the US and they go on tours around the country and take part in some traditional Japanese activities. I think it’s a super cute intro to Japanese Culture!
i don’t have any actual books yet, but a few years back (long before i decided to learn japanese) a friend gifted me these gothic lolita magazines. they come complete with lots of sewing patterns (which i could work out) and instructions (which i ought to have a look at again one of these days). as i enjoy sewing and tend towards the goth scene for fashion it was a well-appreciated gift. even though i couldn’t make out a word of the text
I discovered a box of them in my drawer. I started uni before USB drives were a common thing (in fact, I remember them becoming a common thing), so the only way to transfer files between the main Mech Eng building and the non-networked computers in the lab building was by floppy.
Of course, once USB drives became common, all the non-networked computers in the lab building abruptly developed viruses.
Is this seriously a manga-style introduction to git? What am I looking at here? Whatever it is, I need it… For both my mediocre git skills and my horrible Japanese.
Highly respect the チェンソーマン. Have you gotten through any of it yet? I’m keen to buy the series myself but I’m worried it might be a few years before I can get through it :S
and they go on tours around the country and take part in some traditional Japanese activities. I think it’s a super cute intro to Japanese Culture! 
