Flights of Fantasy discussion
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I am a book hoarder and I must be stopped
I use the library specifically for this. I just go and get whatever I want and it doesn't really matter if I take them back the next day or I have 50 books out. It lets off the pressure of the need to acquire books without expense or taking up space.
You don't need fewer books. You need more reading time.
For space: Have a yard sale - like yesterday! The books you know you will never reread; the abandoned series, etc.As for purchases, the best I can suggest is a budget.
If its the actual shopping that draws you then make it a weekly budget, if not then monthly (or how ever often you go to your stylist).
^Haha.You could be like me and move five times in twelve years. I learned things cost to move in time and money and space and just bad karma clutter.
I looked at some statistics the one day for number of books published every year. Its staggering. There are always sales and my reading habits and wants change all the time. It was then that I stopped buying books for reading. Since that point I've bought about a dozen books for various reading paths, but I've always gone for the library first. I've got a good library so that makes it easier and it has been more than a year and a half since I bought a book for reading.
I agree with Nyssa that a budget is a good starting place. It is where I started.
Mostly it's just willpower. Walk past the books.And be more choosy. Is this something you're really going to read? Or is it just something you might read that you're not all that into?
For those latter ones... just keep walking. You don't need them.
Sarah Anne wrote: "I use the library specifically for this. I just go and get whatever I want and it doesn't really matter if I take them back the next day or I have 50 books out. It lets off the pressure of the need..."Library??! HA! I currently have 11 books on loan from the library.
Yes. I know. I have issues. Screw it, I have a subscription.
Dan wrote: "You don't need fewer books. You need more reading time."Truth!!!
I need a lot more reading time.
Becky wrote: "Find a new stylist?"lol
MrsJoseph wrote: "Dan wrote: "You don't need fewer books. You need more reading time."Truth!!!
I need a lot more reading time."
I think most of us need more reading time!! :)
I used to keep my unread books on a shelf in the basement and had around 200. I moved them upstairs to the living room as a reminder to not buy more books. This worked to a degree and I got the unread pile down to 30 books. Then I bought an e-reader AND moved the books back downstairs. This was not a wise move.
HomeInMyShoes wrote: "^Haha.You could be like me and move five times in twelve years. I learned things cost to move in time and money and space and just bad karma clutter.
I looked at some statistics the one day for ..."
You know, both my husband and I have moving aversion. I moved once a year for about 6 years (college, etc) and haven't been a fan since. I would start my collection anew (or slug it around) each year... but it was MUCH smaller then.
You and Nyssa know I've been budget working now for almost 3 years. I've gotten a LOT better but...it seems that now that the money has reined me in somewhat I am discovering new ways to get more books. Just cheaper now.
I think that - on top of a budget - I need to do something.
When I read Nyssa's post about a yard sale I physically recoiled.
O_O
Nyssa, I don't think its the shopping. I *think* its the new acquisition and its the book(s) period. I also will pick up almost any free DTB I can put my paws on.
MrsJoseph wrote: "Nyssa, I don't think its the shopping. I *think* its the new acquisition and its the book(s) period. I also will pick up almost any free DTB I can put my paws on. ..."For me it's about the potential that every book has. It's such a lovely feeling.
Maybe instead of setting a budget you set a number...Like, instead of "I have $50, how can I finagle as many books as possible out of this."
It's "I am allowed 3 books a month."
Or, "I can only buy more books after I've read 5 I own."
Something like that.
If a yard sale turns you off, then donate them. That's what Jose and I did before one of our moves. It helped that the library there was practically empty so they appreciated receiving quite a few boxes of books. But again, that suggestion was only if space was an issue for you. Other wise my motto is:
The only way I got over my free e-book hoarding was by stopping cold turkey. There was not much else to motivate me other than the fact that I was completely overwhelmed.
colleen the fabulous fabulaphile wrote: "Mostly it's just willpower. Walk past the books.And be more choosy. Is this something you're really going to read? Or is it just something you might read that you're not all that into?
For those..."
^^This.
I was addicted to library book sales, so I feel your pain. I had to just stop going to them and now I limit myself to 1 or 2 a year and I'm very selective about the books that come home with me. Last time I went I only brought 3 books. O_o
Also, I've learned how to purge. Any books I've lost interest in go into my donation drawer. Once I read a book, I have to decide if it's re-read worthy and if it doesn't meet criteria then it goes into the donation drawer.
I'm now doing a TBR challenge with a group too and I've made reading my dead-tree books a priority. I recently moved and let me tell you, it was a bitch. I have to make it a priority to get rid of more books because we plan on staying a short time in our home and I don't want to go through the hassle of packing all those books up, especially if we decide to move out of state.
Jackie wrote: " I have to make it a priority to get rid of more books because we plan on staying a short time in our home and I don't want to go through the hassle of packing all those books up, especially if we decide to move out of state."I'm planning a move across the globe in a few months...not looking forward to this.^
Colleen, your number system is fantastic - I might just have to use that one too.
colleen the fabulous fabulaphile wrote: "Maybe instead of setting a budget you set a number...Like, instead of "I have $50, how can I finagle as many books as possible out of this."
It's "I am allowed 3 books a month."
Or, "I can only..."
My daughter just suggested this as well!
Good luck with your move, Jenna!The number system works really well, by the way. I use it when I got to the library. Only 2 books per trip allowed!
Jackie wrote: "Good luck with your move, Jenna!The number system works really well, by the way. I use it when I got to the library. Only 2 books per trip allowed!"
It helps, in a way, that my library only allows 10 holds at a time. I rarely use that many at a time, though. I tend to go for 4 or 5 max - the number I know I can get through in the 3 weeks allotted.
colleen the fabulous fabulaphile wrote: "Maybe instead of setting a budget you set a number...Like, instead of "I have $50, how can I finagle as many books as possible out of this."
It's "I am allowed 3 books a month."
Or, "I can only buy more books after I've read 5 I own."
Something like that."
I think I NEED to try this. NEED.
Nyssa wrote: "If a yard sale turns you off, then donate them. That's what Jose and I did before one of our moves. It helped that the library there was practically empty so they appreciated receiving quite a few ..."It's not the "sale" thing...it's the removal of books from my home thing.
I'm like...the crazy book lady. O_O
MrsJoseph wrote: "Nyssa wrote: "If a yard sale turns you off, then donate them. That's what Jose and I did before one of our moves. It helped that the library there was practically empty so they appreciated receivin..."lol. i hear you.
Nyssa wrote: "The only way I got over my free e-book hoarding was by stopping cold turkey. There was not much else to motivate me other than the fact that I was completely overwhelmed."See, THIS I managed to do. Mostly. But it was because it was quickly so overwhelming that I don't even bother to catalog free ebooks anymore.
*gasp!*
I guess I have about 100 - 150 printed and around 900 unread Kindle books here,
I'm slowly developing more restraint. I grew up in a tiny town with a tiny library and a .. thrifty .. mother. I never had enough books. But now I have to pull myself out of starvation response.
What works for me is seriously asking myself, every time, "Is this shiny new acquisition something I'm *more* excited to read than all the ones collecting dust on my shelves?"
It's kinda scary that as soon as I saw this topic, I knew who the OP was. HeheIt's ok, MrsJ. There are worse addictions to have. ;)
Chris wrote: "It's ok, MrsJ. There are worse addictions to have. ;)"Stop enabling her! :p
Hey, Mrs. J. I posted this on your challenge thread as well but figured this might have been the better option. "I'm thinking...that along with the "x" number of books suggestion on helping to curb your book hoarding, you could use your budget in another way to help as well.
You were under by $0.70 in May, so you can aim for under by $1.00 or under by $1.40 in June, then under by $2.00 or $2.80 in July, etc."
I found a budget was great starting point for reducing purchases, but the other thing I did was made a spreadsheet of unread purchases and I made a challenge out of reducing the amount of money in unread pages I had. It worked sort of like:[Book][Price][Pages][Current Page][Dollars Unread]
where [Dollars Unread] = [Price]/[Pages] * ([Pages - Current Page])
When I saw a dollar value for unread (unused) purchases around me it became a challenge to reduce that to something like, no more than $100 of unread books and I just stopped buying. Freebie accumulation was harder to curb, but I did the same thing with a how much unread I have around and started figuring out the number of days, months and even years it would take me to catch up.
Factor in how what I want to read changes and buying things on sale didn't make anymore sense. Use my library and purchase special books. The special books have become very infrequent now.
Nyssa wrote: "Hey, Mrs. J. I posted this on your challenge thread as well but figured this might have been the better option. "I'm thinking...that along with the "x" number of books suggestion on helping to cu..."
This is a great idea! (But I already told you that, lol)
HomeInMyShoes wrote: "I found a budget was great starting point for reducing purchases, but the other thing I did was made a spreadsheet of unread purchases and I made a challenge out of reducing the amount of money in ..."So I just did a pull of my library and discovered that my OCD is now unhappy.
I've been adding in all of my books slowly - and all of the books that I purchased prior to having such complete organizational software has blanks where the price should be!!!!
OMG. I'm DYING over here. I have so many blanks that IDK what to do with myself. O_O
Just fill them in with a best guess round number or what would it cost now and discount it 50%.The past is the past and this is about not adding to the pile of unread that costs you when you could spend that on other BLE stashes. ;)
I hate giving up books to. I was forced to a few years ago when my wife passed away and due to the finical drain of the years she was ill and the fact that the house I was in had to sell i moved to MUCH smaller place. I still have 2 rooms loaded with books and my shelves mostly loaded 2 and 3 deep. I had to let a lot of books go and I'm now "forcing myself" to select books I doubt I'll ever read again to trade, sell or give away. I just bagged up all my Repairman Jack books for instance. I like the series but doubt I'll ever read it again. I'm also sorting out books I "really didn't care for" to add to those.hang in MrsJ. I still want to be surrounded by books. I get that book buying can be a sort of addiction as it makes us feel good. remember, you don't have to stop completely.
I bought a new bookcase. with the piles and sales though it only helped a littleso then i put some in boxes and put them in the basement. :D
Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "I hate giving up books to. I was forced to a few years ago when my wife passed away and due to the finical drain of the years she was ill and the fact that the house I was in had to sell i moved to..."I keep telling myself I need to do this. ANd I really do. I mean, why am I keeping books I KNOW I'm not going to read...ever.
Like, I have a copy of
Meaning its...historical fiction? Becks, want a copy of A Breath of Snow and Ashes
I'm using the library more and more, but I sometimes think that only slows me in getting to my own books, LOL.
I hate giving up books, too :( but I also get forced to do it regularly. I still have many books at my parents' house, but they want to renovate and tell me I'd have to get rid of most of them. I even once studied to become a librarian ^^ and I would have succeeded if I'd had had more money ^^ ... my personal dream would be my own house with a garden and my own library. And at least one dog. Books and dogs *drool*
Granted, I read many books in my lifetime that I would not read again and those couuuuld proooobablyyyyy maybe perhaps under certain circumstances be gifted away or left somewhere for other people to read ... I've heard of such challenges or events where people travel around, leaving books and wanting them to be read by strangers and after they're done, they're supposed to do the same. So ... maybe I'll do that.
But there's also a heap of books that I have read at least twice. Others I have read three times and others four, five or six times.
(That's something I don't understand in my husband ^^ he only reads books once. He only watches movies once. Or series. Now when I think of how often I have watched certain movies or favorite episodes of favorite series ^^ ... many, many, many times ^^ of course I know what will happen, but somehow that's no problem for me.)
When I was younger, I went to the public library all the time and read all those books in my native language.
But then I discovered in a d'uh moment, that most books are SO MUCH BETTER in their original language ^^ so then I started reading books in their original English and somehow never stopped. I love English. It's such a great language.
(I also had to learn French for 5 years, but never liked it and I am learning Spanish right now in an online course, but it's going to be many weeks until I can read something in Spanish ^^) .... which brings me to my problem, the libraries around here don't stock many English books. You only get native authors and a hell of a lot translations.
So I have to order all the books I'm interested in on Amazon and that's really getting expensive :( but it's so worth it! But so expensive .. and worth it ... and I can't do it any other way, so it's no use whining about it ^^
Aaaaaanywho, TLDR: I'm right there with you man, books are awesome, reading is awesome, libraries are awesome and actually, I'm still at that point where I say "I'm a book hoarder and don't want to be stopped" ;) gimme more space ^^ gimme more books ^^ or money to buy books ^^
But if you have to get a grip on yourself, put yourself on a budget, leaf through every book and decide if it's worth keeping, or if you want to gift it to somebody, maybe even the local library or if it's one of those bad ones that aren't worth the paper they're printed on. Unfortunately, those also exist. Trash those.
Pet the rest ;) and think of what to do with them.
(Does anybody else think that bookshelves on every wall just look so great instead of posters or tapestries? ...)
It's kind of funny... I'm a huge reader and my husband isn't (he reads, just not nearly as much as me). You'd think I'd be the one hoarding books, but I'm not. I've tried several times to de-clutter and throw out and donate old paper backs or hardcovers I don't want, but he always stops me. He's really against the idea of getting rid of books for some reason, yet I have no problem with it. It's not that I don't love books! I just like the feeling of having less things and more space for potential future things a lot better.
I use my library a lot, and, like Mike, prioritize my library materials, which means I am less likely to read books I own. That being said, that doesn't stop me from procuring materials; cheap books on sale or free items are a weakness, and sometimes a book just impresses me so much I want to have my own copy. I am not a big re-reader (except with graphic novels), but I'm discovering I occasionally find it soothing/relaxing to re-read something.
I have a lot of books I reread often, it's like visiting old friends.
The library has become a try-it-before-you-buy-it kind of thing for me. I definitely buy books that I really liked that I'll want to reread again."Luckily", these aren't the majority.
I like to reread almost everything.
MrsJoseph wrote: "I like to reread almost everything."Well no wonder you don't have time to read your thousands of unread books!
colleen the fabulous fabulaphile wrote: "MrsJoseph wrote: "I like to reread almost everything."Well no wonder you don't have time to read your thousands of unread books!"
I know. It's ridiculous.
But I do. I find it very enjoyable. I'm re-reading a book I've had to have read at least 20 times already right now.
I was going to re-read a book I've never reviewed to fit a challenge but I do have another book that will fit that I haven't read...
Sometimes nothing will draw me in, it's like I burn out or something. Then it seems only an old favorite will work. I'm sort of like that right now. I started 2 or 3 books but couldn't get involved, so I'm reading a couple of books I've read before.
Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "Sometimes nothing will draw me in, it's like I burn out or something. Then it seems only an old favorite will work. I'm sort of like that right now. I started 2 or 3 books but couldn't get involved..."YES! I call that shelf "cranky-book-fussies-DNF." There's some good looking books on that shelf.
Lol. There's a reason you didn't finish them. Probably because they looked better than they are.
Flights of Fantasy
Books mentioned in this topic
A Breath of Snow and Ashes (other topics)The Deed of Paksenarrion (other topics)
I am a book hoarder.
I've danced around this truth for some time - telling myself all sorts of lies: Those are just ebooks. 0's and 1's don't really take up space.
Or I'm sure I'll get around to reading this book soon! So it totally makes sense for me to buy it today.
But those are all lies.
The truth is that if I see some paper bound in such a way as to denote a book...my attention is immediately fixed. Own tons of books - many, many that I have read...and many that I have not.
But lately, things have started to come to a head.
My stylist's shop is now less than 1/2 mile from the main library branch.
The main library branch has a permanent booksale space and it is constantly restocked. I have purchased 15 books from the library in the last month.
And today I bought 5 more books from the $1 store. One of which I already have a PRINT copy of...just in MMPB instead of Trade. And another by Corey Doctorow...simply because I heard I should read him. AND two books in series that I have mostly abandoned.
How do I rein myself in??