On January 1st, 2011, I am implementing a ban.
A book-buying ban.
I will go one entire year without acquiring any new books whatsoever. I won’t purchase them or borrow them from the library, I won’t get them on loan from a friend. I won’t acquire e-books, either. And I’m asking my friends and family not to gift me any books of any kind.
No new books for twelve full months.
I feel a little dizzy about it. Nervous. Almost-but-not-quite panicky. But I also feel relieved. Calm. Peaceful. Excited. Ready.
I walked around my house a few weeks ago, noticing how many piles of books I own. There are many piles, shelf after shelf, heaps of books lying around waiting to be read.
This is a lot, and this isn’t even all of them!
We own a lot of books, but the number that I haven’t even read yet is boggling. I keep piling them on, adding them to the heap, and not reading them. I’m not even making progress in the to-read stacks, because I add more than I read!
So it’s time to take drastic measures. It’s time to make space for the millions of words waiting to cross my path. It’s time to spend time with authors already here, ideas laying in wait, pages anticipating my gentle caress. I have books written by friends, books written by strangers, books I’ve had a long time, and books I’ve only bought in the past week – all waiting for me.
I’ve been waiting for them, too. I look at them longingly, wishing I had more time to read them – but I’m in charge of what I read, of how I spend my time. The addition of new books is fun, alluring, tempting – but not fulfilling. How can it be, when I just add them to a stack of others? I’m not getting anything out of the books, but I’m giving up space and money for them. And my bar is high – I only purchase those books I feel will be fulfilling, life-changing, interesting, gripping, or highly entertaining, so I know I’m surrounded by books that are just begging to make my life better in some form or fashion.
And now they’re gonna get their day in the sun.
Twelve full months without acquiring any new books. Plenty of time to read all the ones in all the stacks all over my house.
Would you like to join me? Are you hip-deep in books you haven’t read yet? Want to play along with my book-buying ban and see what it’s like? Feel like keeping me company on this wild ride? Pace made us two awesome banners; feel free to grab one and wave it proudly in your own space, by copying the HTML code and pasting it onto your own website or blog!
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Dear Kyeli, what a challenge! I so admire you for taking this step. I think it is huge and brave and – eh – so very brave (cannot think of another word for it)! I can understand that this step is frightening you a bit (or a lot). So yay on you for doing this! And for coming up with this idea in the first place. To me buying books is like breathing. I usually buy five to ten per months and I do think it is an addiction. Just now there is a huge pile waiting for me. And there are many books on my shelves I would love to read again…
Still the idea is a little too huge for me to jump in at once. It really scares me… I will think about it and come back with a decision:-)
.-= Cerise´s last blog ..Rainbowspirit Advent Calender – Christmas Eve =-.
I have a heap of books waiting to be read too. Some of them I’ve had for years and I didn’t think about reading them even when i was bored to death. Maybe I don’t really want to read them after all. So I’m keeping them in case I want to read them one day.
I generally read books as soon as I acquire them (otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten them in the first place) so this isn’t something I need to do myself, but I do wish you well with it!
I suspect your biggest temptation is going to be when a book comes out in 2011 that really interests you–just remember that the book will still be out there when the year is out, and you’ll probably be able to get it even cheaper then, too.
.-= Sheila the Wonderbink´s last blog ..My New Career- One Year Later =-.
I am so with you. I’m most excited about the idea of making time to read the books that have been patiently waiting for me to get too them. Now I have to contain the thoughts of stocking up before the first……
.-= Christine Martell´s last blog ..Are you fueled by hope =-.
Great idea! I’m not sure I can do an entire year, but I can definitely do a quarter. I’m with you from at least Jan-March!
.-= Cate´s last blog ..Christmas in Ireland =-.
I’ll admit, the idea scares me. I love shopping for books more than anything else. And swearing off borrowing too? EEK!
But, I just got 15 books for xmas, which thrilled me, but had me thinking “Holy Crap when will I have time to get through all these?”
Also, I’m still in school so I’d have to be able to buy textbooks. Hah!
I think I may modify this to meet my needs, though. Hmmm.. :)
.-= Green´s last blog ..NaNoWriMo- an Invocation =-.
Oh man, Kyeli, just wait til you see my to-read shelves. XD I generally have about 200 books in my queue because I acquire books faster than I read them. I hardly buy books anymore, at least by my own standards. I used to have a $30/week habit for most of college.
I suck at self-denial, so I won’t be joining you, but I’m going to continue focusing on making time to read and on sticking to my monthly budget (which allows a pittance for books right now).
You rock! Go for it!
.-= Ealasaid Haas´s last blog ..A Little Library Erotica =-.
Oh Ealasaid,
So good to see you on here! And I thought I would, after seeing the post title!
Books are so hard to keep from buying! But I am glad this post gives us inspiration to do so! I think limiting what you buy for the whole year, for everything, is actually much more of a manageable goal. That inspires me even more! Go Kyeli!
If anyone wants to know, Ealasaid is the Book ROADIE, and she will make you ever more organized and good at taking care of your books! She’s incredible. You should hire her.
Mazarine
That’s more drastic than what I did.
I’m limiting myself to buying 12 books a year, plus I can buy one more book for every three I read that are already in the house.
If anyone wants to give me a book, fine, I’ll take it, and I won’t count it against my buffer.
But this is incredible! I hope it works out well for you! (And, I’d be very interested in hearing about what you’re reading!)
Ealasaid –
I also suck at self-denial, but I’m OK with cutting back. I tried doing “no impulse purchases, period” and when I failed, I binged for 2 days on it. I then changed the rule to “no more than one impulse purchase per day” and have had mostly success since then, with 2 impulse purchases in the same day 3-4 times in, what, more than 2 years?
Sticking to your monthly budget sounds like a good plan. :)
I just brought most of my yet-unread books into my brand new office space (stacks of them, yippee!!), and I can see that I definitely don’t need to buy or acquire any more books for AT LEAST a year. I’m with you!
.-= Rachael´s last blog ..Be More Awesome- Caffeinated Recommendations 3- the Education Edition =-.
I have to laugh. That is exactly the challenge I gave myself at the beginning of 2010 … then I went to work at a bookstore in February. LOL! It’s like putting the alcoholic working in a liquor store. Oh well.
.-= Cynthia´s last blog ..reverb10 – achieve =-.
Aw, thanks for the props, Mazarine! I’m definitely a go-to person for all things Bookish (moving! organization! cataloging! shelf construction!), and after a few months and a couple classes, I’ll be starting to offer book repair, too! I’m in the San Francisco area, but travel arrangements can be made. :)
Julie – Dude, awesome! That’s a huge shift. I do most of my impulse buying online, so I have a bookmark folder for things I can buy, with subfolders by month. I bookmark items I totally want in the folder for the next month. If I still totally want them when that month rolls around, THEN I let myself buy them. :) It’s helped quite a bit, since in the intervening time I usually realize I don’t need whatever the thing is.
.-= Ealasaid Haas´s last blog ..A Little Library Erotica =-.
@Ealasaid – I also don’t ever do an impulse purchase of a book. :) My book purchases are now planned. And I’ve given up buying any duckies, although the frequency at which they were appearing in the $5 “grab bags” I was buying at the science fiction convention in September probably indicate I shouldn’t do the “grab bags” from that vendor in the future. (But I got a shirt I’d been wanting for awhile with no way to put on my wishlist very well, and gave all the ducks to my kids & spouse. If there had been one more duck left after that, I would have given it to the woman who works at the lube shop I go to, again, a local indy business.) Most of the impulse purchases are, “Oh, I want to try that food!” when I’m at the grocery store, or “Oh, I want that amusing thing I’m seeing here in the grocery store.” If I’m limiting myself to 1 thing a day, then if I’m planning on going to another store, I try to restrain myself in the first one. :)
All online purchases are carefully planned. Sometimes, the planning will be over the course of months. It’s taken a fair bit of self-discipline there, but the more you exercise it, the easier it is.
@Kyeli, Oh my heavens, you are a brave brave woman!
@Julia, you too! 12 per year, wow!
I have tried to cut back my book buying but it is a hard slog.
All my online book purchases are now planned! Truly! I wait for a while (several days or weeks) after discovering I want book X, recording the title, author, and a purchase link if I already looked it up. Then when I make a purchase some of them don’t see quite so necessary.
But this success has encouraged me to think I could go back into stores and do the same. Not at all! I am doing better at donating those I’ve finished with, though.
I am inspired. I have a similar addiction to collecting (some might say hoarding) books and not reading them. I am going to join you cause! I pledge to love the books I already have, and not add to the pile.
.-= Amanda´s last blog ..2011 Book Buying Ban =-.
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