Roxane Gay’s Hunger Helped Me Recognize My Goth Roots Stem from Something Darker

Roxane Gay‘s latest book, Hunger, opens up with “Every body has a story and a history. Here I offer mine with a memoir of my body and my hunger.” (3). Gay writes of being fat in a world that shames and demeans people for taking up space. And she looks at her body’s history: how did she get where she is? Why does she weigh so much? What happened to create this body? It wasn’t merely eating. It wasn’t just not taking exercise or being weak or lazy. I could not handle some of the physical challenges she’s endured. Hunger is not a self-help book, it’s not a feel-good book, nor is it a change-your-life book. And while it is not any of those things, this book is everything to me. This book is a writer opening up about her past, exposing the very things so many of us don’t talk about, this book made me feel connected to her in a way very few authors do.

What I’ve spent on Books in 2015

Starting last year I began keeping track of all the books I’ve bought. Every year I think I’ve curbed my book buying, but each year I realize I’ve bought around the same amount.

It’s an addiction that I’ve learned to live with. I avoid book browsing for months at a time but once I walk into a bookshop, I take a deep breath and smell the fresh books. It’s both welcoming and comforting.

Buying more Books at the Friends of The San Francisco Public Library Booksale

My book haul at the precise moment of the photograph.

I went to the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library‘s book sale in April and scored 12 books for $24. All the proceeds benefit the San Francisco Public Library.

Books Found on the Street and Ready to be Read by Someone New

Last year I decided to start taking pictures of books when I find them on the streets. I thought I would find a lot more of them than I did.

In the past, I have found some keepers. I found White Teeth by Zadie Smith (although I already owned it so I gave it to my friend’s dad).

Money I’ve Spent this Year on Books

Note: not all books purchased during the six month span are pictured.

 

At the beginning of last year I decided to keep track of how much money I spent on books. I buy a lot more used copies at thrift shops so I thought my spending would be quite low. At the six month mark, I did a tally and I had spent $243.91 on books, which was roughly $40 a month. These last six months I spent $413.87 which is roughly $59 a month. Combined altogether, it’s roughly $55 a month.