too much of a good thing

Mae West was famous for saying "Too much of a good thing is wonderful." So why do I get sad every time I walk into a bookstore or library? Depositories of many good things.

Ever since I was a kid, I've always looked forward to trips to the bookstore and I still love to browse the thousands of options available. Bestselling Fiction. Classics. Nonfiction. Biographies. Parenting. Self Help. Religion. It really doesn't matter, I'll read anything.

If there are books to browse I am there. Flea markets, Goodwill, used bookstores, attics, friend's bookshelves. I love books. I love the feel of the paper and how the letters magically come together to form ideas. I love being transported away into someone's imagination.

But lately, I find that as I am browsing I am hit with a deep sadness. A knot in my stomach for all the books I WON'T read in my lifetime. For all the authors that slaved away and put up with intense criticism only to be forgotten on a dusty shelf. Never read. Never appreciated. Never recommended.

I'm one of the most voracious readers I know. I can devour 5-7 books a month and it's not uncommon for me to have 2 or 3 books going at one time. But even at that pace, I will never read them all. Not even if they were all condensed and edited. Not even if they were all read to me while I was sleeping. So many books, so little time.

I've rarely left a bookstore empty handed. There is always at least one new book that cries out to come home with me. Added to the stack of "must read next" or loaned out even before I have a chance to consume it. So many choices, where to begin? It leaves me feeling sad and lost... sometimes too much of a good thing is just too much for me.