Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Show Your Shelves Some Love (A No Book Buying Challenge) Sign-Up Post


OK, so my final challenge for 2015 is kind of a big deal. I have SO many neglected books on my shelves that I think this challenge is necessary. Before you start thinking I've completely lost it, you should know they are not requiring us to go cold turkey on the book-buying (phew!) So I think I can use this challenge to make a nice dent in my TBR pile while also limiting the new books I acquire without making myself completely crazy. Major kudos to any fellow participants who are attempting to go cold turkey -- I admire your commitment and discipline!

I am aiming for the Purple Belt Level which is reading 31-40 books from my own shelves. This may not seem like a lot, but even reading almost 100 books this year so far, I only counted 28 that were my own copies -- the rest were borrowed from the library, including a large number of audiobooks. With a baby on the way, I anticipate reading less overall in 2015, but I'd like to shift my focus back toward what I already own when I do have the chance to read -- I bought all those books for a reason after all! And you may have noticed that when I signed up for my other four 2015 challenges, I made a point of listing book selections I already own -- so now you know why!

The ultimate goal of this challenge is to read more books from my shelves, so if I do make a few exceptions and allow myself a monthly budget, I think I can still work toward that goal while keeping the new acquisitions in check. Despite my best intentions and my Golden Rule of Book Buying, I totally fell off the wagon last year! Hopefully they won't kick me out of the challenge after this, but here are my exceptions/budget for the year:

Exception #1: Books that don't add to the TBR pile
Books for Baby -- I know I will borrow from the library a lot and my best friend is already dreaming up a book-themed baby shower, but I don't see any reason to abstain from buying baby books because 1. They would get read right away, so no worries about them sitting neglected on a shelf. 2. Books for baby don't really have anything to do with the piles and piles of my own unread books. No need to deprive the little one just because Mommy bought too many books for herself in the past.
Cookbooks -- I really do need to rein myself in when it comes to cookbooks, but the spirit of this challenge is all about reducing the number of new books added to my TBR in favor of reading the neglected books I already own. Whether or not I buy new cookbooks in 2015 will not affect my TBR, so I'm not going to force myself to commit to no new cookbooks.
Exception #2: Library Book Sale
Money collected benefits the library and books are usually $1 or $2 -- I don't see any reason to pass up books I find here throughout the year, though obviously I should not go overboard.
Exception #3: Used Bookstore Credit
I have a HUGE bag of books to trade in at the used bookstore by my Grandma's house when we visit for Christmas. When I have sufficient credit there, I can literally "buy" books for a 25 cent handling charge each. I can't see myself sitting on all that credit for a whole year without using it, BUT I do think I will probably use a lot of it to get baby books anyway (see above) which would be OK. If in the process, I see a few for me too, I think I can let it slide as long as I have enough credit to cover the order. Besides, if I splurge at Christmastime, it won't be 2015 yet! (hehehe)
Exception #4: Book Club Books
I should be able to borrow most of these from the library, but if I can't or it's a book I know I will want to keep, I will allow myself to purchase it. Since these are time sensitive, there are no worries about them sitting neglected on my shelves adding to the long-term TBR pile after I bring them home.
BUDGET
Despite all the exceptions I've already made, I would still be very limited compared to my usual habits when it comes to the shiny new books. Since there will always be a new release by a favorite author or the next book in a series that I want to buy and read right away, I will allow myself a "budget" of one book per month which can roll over if I do not use it. There is a good chance I will be so distracted and busy with a new baby that I won't even have a chance to think about buying new books, but you never know!
So there you have it, my final challenge for 2015. No matter how many interesting challenges pop up in the next few weeks, I am officially cutting myself off. Wish me luck! I think I'm going to need it :)

16 comments:

  1. Good luck on your challenge. I really have a hard time resisting buying books even though I have so many, both on my physical shelves and on my Kindle,

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    1. It is SO hard to resist! I think us book lovers just always think we can read more than is realistic -- but I guess it's not bad to have choices though the time does sometimes come (like it is now for me) to rein things in a bit :)

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  2. Lol, one of my resolution's/goals for 2015 is to not buy any more books!! It's been my goal the past 3 years, but hasn't worked out. Maybe I can do it this year!!

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    1. I think it would be soooo hard to not buy any at all for a whole year, but I wish you luck -- maybe if you joined this challenge too I might help motivate you :)

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  3. These are great rules for your challenge participation :) My baby is 6 weeks old and I haven't read any books except baby books, so I have a feeling your one a month allowance will roll over for the first few months.

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    1. Thanks! Who know what the spring will bring, but I have a feeling it will be easy time to stick to this challenge and not buy books (since I am allowing myself baby books, anyway!)

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  4. I love how organised this post is!
    I've actually found that my reading overall hasn't dipped too much this year. I read a lot more than usual in the later stages of my pregnancy as I was too tired and achy each evening to do anything apart from curl up in bed with a book. I didn't read hardly anything for 3 months after Giles was born, but I'm back to my normal reading pace now.

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    1. Thanks Sam! Nice to know things got back to normal for you in terms of reading within a few months. After an unexpectedly easy first trimester (plus a few weeks), things have been a lot more challenging lately and I'm finding I am reading more while curled up in bed or on the couch myself -- it's certainly an adventure this whole pregnancy thing!

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  5. This challenge seems to be perfect for you! I wish you the best of luck. :) I think those exceptions are spot on and make sense. I still need to finalize my 2015 challenge list.

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    1. Thanks Kay! Good luck picking your challenges & hosting for the first time this year :)

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  6. This sounds like a great challenge, Christine! I think your exceptions are all justified. I must say though, when I cut back on my own book spending I do find that Alexander's collection increases a little... Oops. I'm working on my own book spending in the new year, so we'll see how that goes... It hasn't been as successful as I'd hoped for this year. New year, new perspective.

    Good luck with all your challenges for the new year!
    :-)
    Bits & Bobs

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    1. Thanks Jade!

      It's always so hard, isn't it? I can see myself getting a little carried away with books for the baby for sure. Good luck on your goals this year, whatever you decide they should be :)

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  7. I'm still trying to decide what to do with my Used Book Store Credit Dollars. I think I might start saving for a new eReader/tablet.

    Welcome to the #ShelfLove Challenge.

    Terri M., the Director
    Second Run Reviews

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    1. That's a great idea! I can't use mine for anything other than books, so we'll see how that goes for the year -- even if I let myself use some, I don't want to go overboard.

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  8. Good luck and thanks for joining our #Shelflove Challenge!

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    1. Thanks Rose! I'm really looking forward to it as it is much needed :)

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I'd love to hear what you think :)