Why do you keep so many books (if you do)?

My mother quilts and plays bridge, and town politics are sort of a spectator sport here. Sometimes she knits sweaters for upcoming birthdays. Bridge is kind of an indulgence, but it doesn't cost any money -- she's horrified at the number of movies I own. My father, well, he's got his own recreations. (He's Very Religious, along Pat Robertson type lines.)

I keep the ones I keep because I like having them to open and read from. About 160 of them are volumes of poetry. About fifty are various reference works. The rest are just damn good books.

this is pretty much the reason why i have so little vinyl. freaks me out. feel like i need more stability for me n vinyl to happen.

I have kept a running list of every book I've read since January of 1992. Seriously! This may seem obsessive, but sometimes I'll think of something from a book but won't remember where it came from - or need to figure out a title or author - and it really helps.

(I also have a running list of books I want to read, but that is so out of hand that it should never be discussed.)