Some good folks created a tool where collectors can flag all the books they own so they know how far they are from a full set. I stopped buying old gamebooks some time ago because I wasn’t able to keep track of them.

So, this evening, I dug into the dusty shelves, and using that tool, I flagged all of my gamebooks. It took me almost two hours. I was surprised by many things, some pleasant, and some not.

• I only have 230 gamebooks out of 491. I thought I owned a lot more than that, given how much space they take. I somehow Imagined that I have 300+.
• There are maybe 20-ish I was absolutely certain I owned that didn’t appear, including some I purchased within the last 1-2 years. Maybe I mixed the shelves at some point.
• Found 5-6 duplicates.
• Found two super-rare books I had no idea I owned and prepared one of them for reading.
• Found 2 books that I own but the tool doesn’t have 😀

I’m not sure how I feel about this experience. I need to think about it. Buying and reading gamebooks brings me joy but keeping them at home brings me dust and clutter. I don’t like dust and clutter.