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I want to fill our child's room with books so we will probably buy a whole lot more books than toys.

I don't buy very many books because you can go to the library. Toys can be educational, too, like wooden puzzle sets. I think every parent likes to say that don't buy a lot of toys but kids need to be kids, too. There are ways to learn and play at the same time. All learning doesn't have to be from a book. I would not want my child to be a brainiac and have no social skills or common sense for example.

i think i'll probably think toys are a waste of money, but books never are. i'll probably get a few toys to help with development, but mostly books.... until they're a certain age.

Both. I always tell people to buy her books cause I like to pick out her toys so that I'm not saddled with something too big or obnoxiously loud.

My son loves his books, in fact, he is in his room now, turning the pages of some board books.

Both, I don't necessarily feel guilty, I always feel the need to spring clean though because kids toys (and even books) are easy to feel like your drowning in (the amount of kids stuff we have acquired in the last 2 years still boggles my mind.)

Lately I take my time with purchasing toys/games/books for the munchkin. I try to make sure they are going to last for sometime (for multiple kids etc.. so I usually prefer wood over plastic), have some type of learning quality (not always the munchkin loves princesses right now.), and are easy to clean.

I think play (especially independent play/pretend play) is important. Sae has learned so much from playing, we count, learn colors, and shapes through play and she has retained it faster than just books alone.

Definitely both. We stick with non-electronic toys that our daughter can manipulate herself and breathe life into. Things that encourage movement, creativity, etc. We love playsets and lego that encourage storylines and cooperative play (they learn so much language and skills this way). A great site that discusses this is Play on Words. http://playonwords.com/
Books are also a wonderful way to introduce language and concepts; especially if the book is a little bit "older" for them. A great resource I've downloaded to my e-reader is called The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. He writes all about the importance of reading aloud; how to go about it for different ages, and then he gives huge lists of the best books for reading aloud in different categories. It was interesting that he recommends less books for small children so that the ones that are there are read over and over again to create a sense of comfort and love of the stories. He also gives tips on how to expand reading from simple picture books with few words to books with more sentences and paragraphs on the page. It's been a great help to me time and time again. Just wanted to share!

I buy both and I don't feel guilty at all. I buy things she will enjoy and be creative with. I love watching her play with her toys because a childs imagination is such a beautiful thing, I can sit there and wach her play for quite a while and it always makes me smile.