This time it really is going to stop!
A few months ago I wrote a post about cutting back on my book-buying habit: https://www.christinepoulson.co.uk/its-got-to-stop/. And did it? Well, a bit, and for a while, but I am pretty much up to speed again. Yesterday I did my accounts, and realised that it has all got out of hand. Part of it is down to ebooks. It is so fatally easy to download books, and they’re not even hanging about on your shelves to remind you to read them. It seems a little disrespectful to the authors to go on piling them up and then forget all about them.
So, I’ve decided. Cutting down is not enough. I am going to stop. Oh, not for forever, just for three months. In the spirit of someone smoking one last packet of cigarettes, I ordered one last book yesterday, Helen McCloy’s Mr Splitfoot, and there will be no more until Christmas. This will give me a chance to catch up with some of the many books I have bought and not read – and to review them. I can still get books out of the London Library and my local library, but I will have to make the effort, instead of taking the easy one-click way out. (Incidentally I also have a pile of unread London Library books). And I’ll let myself ask for books for my birthday in December and I’ll buy them as Christmas presents. But I am not going to buy a single book for myself (not even from a charity shop – I feel a pang writing that!).
At the moment I am feeling a sense of liberation and I am looking forward to tackling that TBR pile instead of adding to it. And now that I have written about it here, I’ll have to stick with it (I hope).
8 Comments
Kevin
September 25, 2015So it’s a bit like Stoptober, only Stopautumn!
Having read your previous post on this subject, I felt a bit odd as all your comments seemed to be from female followers. Maybe it’s my feminine side that compels me to also compulsively buy and hoard books without reading them. It may not just be books though, as I often hear my wife saying to me, “not another pair of shoes?”
Christine Poulson
September 26, 2015It’s the ‘without reading them’ that chimes with me. I don’t think it’s just a feminine thing – I certainly know men who are compulsive collectors. I’ll let you know how I get on.
Helen
September 25, 2015Spoken with the feeling and withdrawal pangs of a true addict..
Christine Poulson
September 26, 2015And the very same day I was tempted! I finished a novel I’d enjoyed and my impulse was to order another one by the same writer on-line! I resisted.
Peggy
September 26, 2015Amazon’s wish list is an awesome thing. So is their shopping cart. Just be sure to move them down to the buy later part of the cart to prevent any accidents. And, sorry, don’t put any ebooks on your wish list. Even if you plan to buy the ebook (I’m not a big fan, but I do have a lot, most were free thank goodness), put the paper copy on your wish list. You can purchase a ebook faster than the speed of light just scanning down the page. Your wish lists and shopping cart will be all ready come December. And, if they’re paper copies, you can buy them locally because you have your list. Good luck!
Christine Poulson
September 26, 2015Thank you. Good advice. Putting a book on a list will help, I am sure, as it’ll make me feel that I am not depriving myself forever. It’s only the second day and I am already finding it difficult!
moira @ClothesInBooks
September 30, 2015Good luck with this Chrissie! I did something similar last year, and it was very satisfying indeed, gave me a feeling of achievement. However, I do seem to have got hold of a lot more books since the embargo ended…. I’m actually contemplating doing another withdrawal period.
Christine Poulson
October 1, 2015Thanks, Moira. I am struggling, but am determined to stick with it.