Are two completly different and sometimes overlaping hobbies.
I used to buy books like I used to buy PlayStation 2 games. Every saturday I used to buy 2 or 3 games, it reached a point where I had over 300 games but played the same 10 at most.
Like wise with books, I used to buy whatever grabbed my attention and I have a library full of books I have zero intention to read.
When I got my first Kindle back in 2011, the physical book lost its shine for me, it was now about reading the book and I became more serious about what books to buy. Not buying anything that seemed even a little bit interesting, I had to start to think about what I was really going to enjoy.
For me buying books and reading them are two different things.
I know I’m in a bad place, reading-wise, if I’m buying books much faster than I can read them. When I’m in a good place, I’m calm and buying books as I finish them. When I’m in a bad place, I’m mentally all over the place and am trying to buy books almost as a substitute for reading them. They’re aspirational purchases.
I do the same thing for art supplies or any gear I need for my hobbies. Whenever I notice I’ve bought more things than I can reasonably use or more than I need right now, I’m compensating for something that’s lacking psychologically/emotionally.
For me, they’re only two separate hobbies when I myself am somehow split.