Book Selection - Is the End Your Beginning?

I have a friend who, like me, is a big reader.   She and I can often be found wandering the aisles of our favourite bookstore pondering what books to buy next.   While our reading tastes are generally similar, what we look for in a novel differs when it comes to endings.   While I prefer novels that end happily, this type of resolution doesn't usually impact on my enjoyment of a book.   My friend, on the other hand, won't read something that doesn't have a happy ending.   In fact, she often goes so far as to read the final few pages of a novel before purchasing it to make certain she won't be disappointed by the ending.   Since she's not the only person I know who does this, it got me wondering if this is common practice for readers who insist on happy endings.  So fellow book lovers, I have two questions for you:

(1) Is a happy ending a prerequisite?

(2) Do you ever read the end of a novel first?  If so, why? 

Who's Excited for the Release of A Dance with Dragons?

On Tuesday, July 12th, A Dance With Dragons, the much anticipated fifth volume in George R.R. Martin's epic A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series, will be released.   I've eagerly anticipated the publication of a number of great books this year, but none more so than this one.   It's been a long wait between books four and five, but I know the wait will be worth it!   A better, more gripping and emotionally intense series I have never read.  

Is anyone else eagerly awaiting the release of A Dance with Dragons?  If you haven't read the series yet I can't recommend it highly enough - even if you're not a fan of the fantasy genre.  Harry Potter notwithstanding, A Song of Ice and Fire was my introduction to fantasy genre and I now consider it one of my favourites. 

  

Can One Have Too Many Books?

As I've alluded to a few times on this blog, I have a mild book buying addiction.  Okay, it is a serious addiction.   I'm constantly ordering new books online, and I can't walk out of a bookstore without purchasing at least one (and usually more) book.   Buying books makes me happy, almost as happy as reading them, and they do look so good on my shelves *grins*.  I have feed this addiction regularly for the past few years....alright, I've feed it for just about as long as I can remember...but I've run into a small problem -- although I read a lot, my book buying habit has resulted in my to be read pile becoming the size of a small mountain.   Even without buying another,  I own enough unread books to keep me happily reading for years.    Furthermore, in spite of having a home library I'm dangerously close to running out of shelf space.   

While sitting in my library recently, I was struck by the sheer volume of books yet to be read.   I've always lived by the motto that 'one can never have too many books,' however, for the first time in my life, I've begun to reconsider the wisdom of this motto in the face of my daunting unread pile.     Horrible thought, I know.

So what do my fellow book lovers think?  Is it actually possible to have too many books? Or do I just need a bigger home library?