My 2019 'no new books' reading challenge

[Daniel]

So I love to collect books, as I'm sure everyone else here does to, I love nothing more than to walk into a Waterstones or a charity store and pick up a book that catches my attention. I remember buying my first book (Terry Pratchett's Guards Guards) with money i earned from my first job at 11 (i was a pop boy) and I never looked back. But having just looked over my bookcase today i counted 135 unread books, not to mention my kindle collection. I have some amazing books on that shelf, all collecting dust, I have Stephen Kings Dark Tower series, I have the second and third Ancillary novels, I have too many to mention and I feel terrible that I have continue to buy more and more only to leave them.
So I have decided that my own personal reading challenge next year is to only read books that I already own, and not to buy a single book in 2019, it's going to be the first time in 20 years, it's going to take some impulse control but I'm going to try.
Wish me luck.

[Dara]

Best of luck! I can't not buy a book that's vaguely on my radar when it's a kindle deal. I'm like the mouse hitting the button for heroin until I die.

[David H.]

Good luck--I didn't go that extreme, but I am trying a variation this year.

According to my own statistics, since about 2009, I've averaged about 70% books borrowed from the library or a friend (up to 84% one year).

But I'm still buying books! So this year (2018) I was trying to focus on books I owned (I've about 650 or so), and trying to keep it at 25% from the library. Unfortunately I'm at 38% for the year, but that's the best I've done in 10 years so I'm semi-okay with it (also I kinda cheated by buying books a few times I would've otherwise gotten from the library... whoops!)

So good luck, Daniel.

[Trike]

What’s a pop boy?

[Daniel]

Trike, it's like a milkman but with pop/soda and a boy, I worked for my godfather who was a pop man, we sold pop door to door from a van, we also sold bags of potatoes, crisps, cakes and Christmas hampers which people would pay a couple of pound a week to get a bunch of stuff for Christmas.

[Colin]

It's a nice goal. Lord knows there are too many books that have been on my 'to be read' list for far too long, and probably enough books on shelves (real or virtual) to keep me going all year.

BUT, at the very least there will be 12 Sword and Laser book picks to consider buying, and some authors whose new books are non-negotiable, day-of-release purchases. So I'd just be setting myself up to fail if I joined you!

Good luck though!

[E.Y.E.-D]

I often think about not buying new books and I could probably succeed if all my favorite authors took a year off publishing anything. That happening seems extremely unlikely, so I will continue buying shiny new books.

[Tasha]

I try this from time to time, but always fail. I have no willpower.

[Mark]

[Trike]

Lol

[Silvana]

Good luck, Daniel. Better stay away from the deals mailing list, deals threads and so on.

I actually have the same challenge, but only since October 1st. Let's see if I could stay 'clean' till December 31st.

[Rob, Roberator]

Good luck. I'm not sure if you're including the library in your challenge or not. If so I guess you'll not be participating in the monthly S&L picks unless you happen to own them already?

Personally, I've had the goal of reading down my own-and-unread pile the last few years. It's kind of been working. However there are always going to be new books published each year I buy, and those "can't pass up" deals Dara mentioned.

I really should track the size of that pile from year to year. Right now it's at 142, but I know the list isn't complete, just the stuff I've remembered to add/tag. Especially with all the free books Tor has been giving out lately.

On the plus side, once I finish this month's pick this weekend, I've lined up something I already own to read next, and I'm about to finish an audiobook I had already owned as well. So that's 2 off the list!

Of course Scalzi's new book comes out Tuesday, so I'll be buying that one..

2 steps forward, 1 step back?

[Silvana]

Autobuy authors and series are very challenging. Lucky I am so price sensitive I don't have an autobuy author/series, except for James SA Corey's The Expanse and GRRM's ASOIAF. Therefore it is actually a good thing that Tiamat's Wrath's publication is postponed to next year as my list will be shorter by then 😆

[Fresno Bob]

I've tried for the last 5 years to do the "read the books I have" challenge, and have failed each time. I'm a slave to the library, from which I've now checked out over 1500 books!

Can't resist new books! I wish you luck

[Trike]

I’m not sure I could do it. Here are just some of the books I’ve bought in the past couple months.

[Mark]

I just looked through my TBR pile (physical and virtual) and didn't get far before I realized that I'm trilogy-challenged. I found six 3rd-in-the-trilogy titles that I need to read

Night Shift
Wasteland King
Revenant Gun
The Night Masquerade
The Dinosaur Princess
Siege Line

Odds are I can't finish these six books before I buy some other book. Pre-orders don't count do they? I can't be held responsible for pre-orders I made months ago.

[Tasha]

Trike wrote: "I’m not sure I could do it. Here are just some of the books I’ve bought in the past couple months.

"
I loved the Alex Ross book!

[[deleted user]]

My rule is to read three books before buying a new one. The rule has been broken many a time, but it has helped me restrain myself a bit.

[Trike]

Scott wrote: "My rule is to read three books before buying a new one. The rule has been broken many a time, but it has helped me restrain myself a bit."

Ooh, that’s a good one. I wish to subscribe to your journal of good idea life hacks, please.

[Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth]

Lol, I agree, Trike. Like Fresno Bob, I keep trying and failing to make it through my book pile. There is just so much out there to consume these days!

[Erik]

I'm going to try and set a *new* book buying goal. I can't be held responsible for what happens at estate sales.

[Trike]

I just bought two books. Don’t judge me.

All Yesterdays: Unique and Speculative Views of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals and Howling at the Moon.

[Mark]

[Daniel]

No that this thread has been mentioned on the podcast I feel like I have to do it now

[Rob, Roberator]

Daniel wrote: "No that this thread has been mentioned on the podcast I feel like I have to do it now"

Haha. Yup. No backing out, or you may be publicly shamed on the podcast!

[Trike]

Rob wrote: "Daniel wrote: "No that this thread has been mentioned on the podcast I feel like I have to do it now"

Haha. Yup. No backing out, or you may be publicly shamed on the podcast!"

True story: this is exactly how Rob became a moderator.

[Iain]

I rarely buy new books anymore...

Except for S&L picks I try to borrow from the library. It saves a fortune in book cases...

[Sheila Jean]

So this thread has been here for the better part of a month, and my brain still processes it as "No New Books challenge for May 2019".

I'm actually doing a good job getting through a stack of books I acquired in the last calendar year, but it's also the first year in forever that I bought or received books. Except for my audible subscription, I went nearly 100% library because (1) $$$, (2) where to put them?, and (3) I was moving house pretty frequently at the time and moving book boxes is hard work. I'd pretty much given up buying books by the time ebooks was a major thing, so I don't have a slew of electronic books either.

My goal is to pass on most of these recently acquired and read books so I don't have to deal with (2). I'll probably keep a couple favorites, but that's it.