So much money spent...

I recently went on a bit of a buying spree, some of which I had saved for and some of which I hadn't.

I ordered a computer - I saved up for that, and the computer desk I'll need to buy once the computer arrives. Considering that I got the "white screen of death" only a couple weeks ago (because my computer is just too good for the boring, ordinary "blue screen of death"), and there have been a few other worrisome signs that my laptop is getting on in years and feeling every bit of it, ordering the computer was probably a good idea. I'm looking forward to its arrival.

Shortly after ordering my computer, I went on a major book buying spree. Really major. Even considering that it was all used and most of it was even more marked down than usual, I still spent a lot more than I should have. Here's a partial list of my haul:

• Ceres: Celestial Legend (vols. 5-14)
• RE:Play (vols. 1-2)
• Offbeat (vol. 1)
• Fullmetal Alchemist (vol. 10)
• Death Note (vol. 6)
• DNAngel (vols. 1-3)
• Tsubasa: Those with Wings (the whole series, in three collected volumes)
• Megatokyo (vol. 2)
• Get Backers (vols. 7 & 13)
• Hikaru no Go (vol. 2)
• Mixed Vegetables (vol. 2)
• Tramps Like Us (vols. 4-5)
  
• The Twelve Kingdoms (vols. 1-2 of the original novels, translated into English)
• Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
• Dead After Dark (anthology)
• More Than Magic by Kathleen Nance (I remember liking this and have been looking for this in used bookstores for years now)

...and an assortment of novels published by Tokyopop, some of which I've heard of and some of which I haven't.

When you think about it, it's really quite amazing that I usually not only have a budget but also manage to stick to it. One of the people I was out book shopping with said that I should donate my manga to our very pathetic public library when I'm done with it - the problem with that suggestion is that, just like when I buy books, I buy manga not to read it and be done with it, but rather so I can read it and then reread the whole thing or even just my favorite bits. Sometimes I just want to look at the pictures again. Before I moved to a town with a tiny, sad public library, I got all my manga from the public library, knowing that, if I liked something, I could just check it out again. My personal manga collection ballooned once that was no longer an option (and once my savings account began to look healthier again), and, for the most part, I don't really want to part with any of it.

Well, we'll see. If I ever decide to move and can't take all this stuff with me, the public library might be happy to have my humongous manga collection (which is heavily weighted towards shojo stuff). Heck, I could even offer to catalog it for them, if they wanted. Then, all they'd have to do is process it and find shelf space for all of it.