Like a lot of bookworms, I buy a lot of books. Way more than I need. That never really bothered me—I don’t really buy anything else beyond the essentials (food, bills etc.), but I’ve started to think a little differently lately. So today I’m going to share with you how I’m trying to change my book buying habits.
The Situation Right Now
First off, I should tell you about how things are right now and how they have been. I started really collecting books in 2012, which luckily was also when I started to read more consistently. This was when I first started blogging and really discovered the online book community, so it makes sense that my purchase habits went up. And unsurprisingly, my book buying went up a lot again this year as self-isolation started. I live by myself, so books are really my biggest source of entertainment, so again that makes sense to me.
I started the year off with 261 books on my TBR, that number quickly rising to as high as 307 by the end of March. I’m not someone who could ever manage having a small or no TBR—I like options because I am often halfway through at least six different books at any time. Right now, I’m down to 270 books which is my lowest point since the start of the year.
My goal by the end of the year is to have that number more around the 200 mark.
What’s Changed?
Being stuck at home almost every single day since the middle of March means that I’ve spent a lot of time just staring at my books. If I’m making a purchase online, I’m forced to physically look at my shelves and all my unread books from where I sit. It’s different from being in a bookstore and knowing you have all these books waiting for you at home.
Now I have to see that I don’t really need another YA fantasy book on my shelves right now when I already have ten waiting for me that I’ve been ignoring for months.
What’s The Plan?
I don’t think I’m being too overambitious here with my plan, but the general idea here is to shop my shelves more often. I have 270 books on those shelves, if I can’t find something I want to read in a particular moment then I clearly need to give myself a break. I have something on my shelves for every genre I read—I have non-fiction, I have middle-grade fantasy, I have YA fantasy, I have mystery, I have romance. I’ve got it all.
And if I don’t? I have so many different ways of accessing ebooks and audiobooks that I will literally never run out of things to consume.
So I’m putting myself on a book buying ban until the end of September. My birthday is right at the start of October, so I know I’ll want to buy a bunch of new releases and backlist titles for myself then. But for the time being, I’ve got more than enough to tide me over.
Earl Grey Books 