Book Buying Addicts Anonymous discussion
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Talk some sense into me please!
I'm afraid you may be asking the wrong people for help Kathryn, we're all in the same boat! ;-)
I know, but I figured that everyone just needs to say no occasionally!
I guess I'll do the best I can to reform for a few weeks. But when I fail I'll post about all my lovely new books!
The thing with books is that they are beneficial: they keep you sharp, they keep you centered and depending on the book it gives you knowledge. In a sense they are a necessity. I have curbed my book buying habit by going to the local library. I have found some great books there & I haven't had to open my wallet in a few months. I think it's ok, to indulge once in awhile.
Kathryn wrote: "I know, but I figured that everyone just needs to say no occasionally!"I say 'no' all the time, but even being very selective there are too many interesting books that I stumble upon.
I saw a programme called Collectaholics last night and found myself thinking... at least I've not spent all my money on a room full of 7000 beer cans!
Paulfozz wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "I know, but I figured that everyone just needs to say no occasionally!"I say 'no' all the time, but even being very selective there are too many interesting books that I stumble u..."
LOL!
Paulfozz wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "I know, but I figured that everyone just needs to say no occasionally!"I say 'no' all the time, but even being very selective there are too many interesting books that I stumble u..."
I guess it depends if there is still beer in the can or not!
I agree that books are beneficial and I've always preferred to own my books rather than borrow them. However I do visit the library when I think a book is too expensive. I have to pay £0.60 to get a book sent from another library and £4 if it comes from outside of my county so buying books for £0.50 just makes sense.
Oddly I find that when I have a large to read pile that I start reading like a manic and sometimes don't appreciate the books as much as I should and want to. I just feel the need to get the number down.
If it makes you feel better Kathryn I do exactly the same thing. Except I don't have a TBR pile, I have a TBR bookcase! Getting close to 300 at the moment and still can't stop myself buying more! I figure that my money could be spent on less useful things so I don't beat myself up too much
Don't worry ladies, mine is at 371, so I am not much better! Lol
You two are inspiring me to not just let the books in my Amazon basket languish. 27 to read doesn't sound so overwhelming as it did last night. Plus, I'll finish 2 of the 3 books I'm currently reading today and the list will drop to 26!
If my to-read pile was only 27 books, I would be quite pleased. It would mean I could definitely buy a book or two more. :)My to-read piles currently consist at least 400 books!
Where do you keep them all? How does your other half react to all the books piled every where?I am hoping to buy another bookcase in the next few months. I definitely need the space.
I just really love books and reading and best of all, collecting them. My husband is not a reader and makes a joke often of, "not more bloody books. They're useless." Lol. But really, he loves that I am bookish and that I love knowledge etc. he is really supportive, as long as I don't max out my credit card! Lol.
All of my TBR books are in the computer room and my read books are in a shelf in the living room. I'm not very good at getting rid of books since I did so once and I have always regretted it. I now only get rid of any if I accidentally double up on them.
I even keep books I don't particularly like . Yes, I know. I am a hoarder. Siiiigh.
I do need more shelves, as some of the books are on piles on desks and on the floor. We just have not got around to build those extra shelves which we have planned already for a year or two.
I trawl Amazon like a madwoman all the time. I can relate.
Mod
You are not a hoarder! Hoarders keep everything and just put their stuff anywhere. A bibliophile, like you and me, collects books and keeps them organized. This will make you all feel better, I have a little over 2000 books on my shelves that I have yet to read. But when the time comes that I am in the mood for just that book, I know I'll I have it and where it is at. So I say go ahead, keep collecting those books! When you're in the right mood for it, you'll read it then. Remember, there is no such thing as having too many books, just not having enough bookcases! :-)
Oh great, I recognize myself in all of you! my TBR shelves (please note the plural) sum up around 450 books...One of the most surprising reactions I got when telling this around me was: "great, that way you support the book industry" And actually this should have acted as dissuasive, as it made me feel as a simple consumer like for any other sector ... but this only lasted 2 minutes :)
Wow - this is more of an enabling group. I love it!When my husband starts to complain about the books taking over the house I'll just tell him that I could have hundreds of unread books instead of just a few dozen so he should really be congratulating me!
Yes, Kathryn, this group has very much encouraged my bibliophilia. And I am happy about that!
One friend told told my wofe, "At least it's not drugs or booze."
... and when my husband says, looking at the credit card bill "whaaaat? books orders, again???" I say to him "well it could be worse: luxury bags, designer clothes, jewelry... so what do you prefer I indulge on, paperbacks or diamonds?"
I've decided to make a to-read list. I split the books by fiction and non-fiction and then sorted alphabetically. When I get down to single digits (the book numbered 9) I'm allowed to buy more. I'm wondering if this will work.I seem to buy books that I do want to read but keep leaving on the shelf. Right now The Divine Comedy is getting this treatment. By reading alphabetically Dante will be right after I read my next fiction book.
(I realize that the Divine Comedy isn't non-fiction. I just lump my more challenging fiction books in with my non-fiction books in regard to reading order.)
Sonya wrote: "One friend told told my wofe, "At least it's not drugs or booze.""That is something I say a lot - would it be better to spend money on books or on nights out boozing in clubs and vomiting in the gutter while someone tries to rob you? I'd rather do the former personally, but I'm a boring fart! ;-)
Kathryn wrote: "I seem to buy books that I do want to read but keep leaving on the shelf."
I do this 'all' the time! I also tend to be a little… ambitious… in my selections (for example: a 500+ page book on Plant Galls, or a huge five book set of the history of the middle ages). I'm better at that than I used to be, I do ask myself more honestly if I'll actually read the book and often spend quite a lot of time leafing through them if I'm unsure. I did that just today, after finding a copy of a Folio Society edition of The Dead Sea Scrolls in a local charity shop. It was only £1.99 (new copies are £35 so that was a real bargain!), but though I've built up a bit of a collection of Folio books I knew it was not really one I'd actually read so after looking through it a bit I did manage to convince myself to put it back on the shelf and leave it… though I did feel quite a bit of resistance!
I know how you feel. I had a little over 20 owned books that are to be read and thought I was doing good. Today I went to a mall in a bigger city was proud of myself for saving $54 in some new spring shirts and then discovered a Barns n Noble store!!!there went my savings and good behavior
I do try to restrict myself, quite often, in my desperate attempt to make my to-read pile shorter. There is the upside in restricting yourself that when you do allow yourself to buy some books, it does feel incredibly wonderful to buy some (new) books.
I am in deep trouble! the library is having a book sale next week....can you say books?!?!? lol I can tell you I will be there at least once during the week...trawling through looking for more :)
Catherine wrote: "I am in deep trouble! the library is having a book sale next week....can you say books?!?!? lol I can tell you I will be there at least once during the week...trawling through looking for more :)"I think this is ok though because its cheap and a one shot type of a deal. I don't restrain charity shop purchases or buying when I go to Hay on Wye. Your not going to see that book cheaper, so why not?
What is most challenging is the Amazon or online book buying in general. If there's only one, or if the price dropped drastically then buy buy buy, but I can't help myself buying books that aren't going anywhere and the price is almost definitely not going to change before I am ready to read it.
Kathryn wrote: "Catherine wrote: "I am in deep trouble! the library is having a book sale next week....can you say books?!?!? lol I can tell you I will be there at least once during the week...trawling through..."I agree...the price I the clincher..and they are in pretty good condition as well(being library books)...but if you could only see all the books I already have...you'd tell me..."NO MORE!!!" lol
Mod
Laura wrote: "I do try to restrict myself, quite often, in my desperate attempt to make my to-read pile shorter. There is the upside in restricting yourself that when you do allow yourself to buy some books, it ..."
yes kind of like a special treat :)
yes kind of like a special treat :)
Some of you are actually making me think I should go back to library books sales again. I only have 211 books on my TBR shelves, not so many after all!
Joseph wrote: "This probably won't help, but my mom always told me that when I see something I think I want, to grab it then and there because no matter how sure I might be of finding it somewhere else, there's a..."love it :) I do actually buy everything I want...eventually...if I find something that I haven't seen before(and may not again)..definitely! :)
who needs food anyway, right? lol
Catherine wrote: "I am in deep trouble! the library is having a book sale next week....can you say books?!?!? lol I can tell you I will be there at least once during the week...trawling through looking for more :)"I got into trouble last year with that - got hundreds but they were so cheap. This year it wasn't as good and I only got like a dozen.
Erin have you read any of the ones you bought last year?
I always liked the Taleb/Eco concept that your collection should always contain primarily books that you haven't read:
“The writer Umberto Eco belongs to that small class of scholars who are encyclopedic, insightful, and nondull. He is the owner of a large personal library (containing thirty thousand books), and separates visitors into two categories: those who react with “Wow! Signore, professore dottore Eco, what a library you have ! How many of these books have you read?” and the others - a very small minority - who get the point that a private library is not an ego-boosting appendage but a research tool. Read books are far less valuable than unread ones. The library should contain as much of what you don’t know as your financial means, mortgage rates and the currently tight real-estate market allows you to put there. You will accumulate more knowledge and more books as you grow older, and the growing number of unread books on the shelves will look at you menancingly. Indeed, the more you know, the larger the rows of unread books. Let us call this collection of unread books an antilibrary.”
-- https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/217049
Richard wrote: "I always liked the Taleb/Eco concept that your collection should always contain primarily books that you haven't read:“The writer Umberto Eco belongs to that small class of scholars who are ency..."
well then...I'm well on my way!
Moneywise, or even strictly speaking amountwise, my husband is not overly bothered with the amount of books I buy. I use my own money after all. His main concern is space. Where to put them all? That is the question which makes him shake his head.
space is always an issue :) lol I need a house just for my books, and one for my crafts :) and on to live in :)
Lol, need one for books, one for DVDs, one for pets and one for me. Lol
oh.no...the pets can live with me:)
They'd live with me, their house would be attached to my house via a connecting hallway. Lol. And their house would be more like a 2 bed unit.
Coz I want two cats, I want two more dogs, fish, axalotols, ferrets, lizards, snakes, rabbits, rats, parrots, and outdoor pets like chickens, ducks, llamas, goats, some mini donkeys a horse or two. And if I could live in the UK, I could have gerbils, hamsters, a couple of tortoises, chinchillas, fennec foxes and more! I am animal mad. Haha
Kiera wrote: "Coz I want two cats, I want two more dogs, fish, axalotols, ferrets, lizards, snakes, rabbits, rats, parrots, and outdoor pets like chickens, ducks, llamas, goats, some mini donkeys a horse or two...."me too..but mot quite that crazy! I'd want more dogs and cats...sheep, horses/ponies, llamas, alpacas, and maybe a few goats. I could do without the reptiles though ;)
I don't mind looking at them...but I would never own one :)
Book Buying Addicts Anonymous
Books mentioned in this topic
On Books and the Housing of Them (other topics)Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader (other topics)
Plant Galls (other topics)
The Divine Comedy: Inferno - Purgatorio - Paradiso (other topics)
None of the books in my wishlist are in danger of disappearing, its not a charity shop where I feel that I might as well buy the book as I'll never find it cheaper.
I need some support in not buying books that aren't a) somehow going to disappear or be unavailable to me in the future or b) not in a charity shop.