Book Buying Freeze

[direstraits]

Goodness... I've not felt this way before.

I've realized in the past couple of weeks that I've stopped having book buying urges. I could walk into a bookstore and come out with books accidentally, you know? But now I watch what I buy, and have become extremely selective. This is true even for the stuff that I actually want to buy.

It could be due to the fact that I've suddenly realized that I've bought too many books already that I haven't read yet.

Would you stop buying books even after you've realized that you've just got too many that you'll probably won't finish reading them all?

I suppose I'm just rambling...

ds

 

[venusunfolding]

I've bought way too many books in the past couple of weeks. I need to stop. I have enough books to keep my busy for at least a year and just keep buying stuff.

The few times I've walked into Half Price Books and come out with nothing I always wonder if there is something wrong with me.

 

[HermioneWeasley]

i'm kinda the opposite. i do go to the library a lot, but i've been buying a lot of books lately. books i've read too. i suppose that i've become so attached to some books that i want to own that. and for that reason i buy some books. or buy books that are non fiction.

 

[ewomack]

I'm in the exact same boat. Book buying can become a heroin-like addiction. Then suddenly you have dozens of books and no time. It's wasteful and frustrating. One thing that helped was thinking that time spent buying books detracts from time reading books. And if I have unread books at home, what am I doing in a bookstore?

It helped a little bit...

 

[Stewart]

I stopped buying books for 2006 until I've read a proportion of the eighty or so I haven't got round to. I still take books from the library.

 

[direstraits]

But that's the thing, right? Here we are going against our inherent programming *not* buying books, when just a year before our loved ones had to physically restrain us from buying ever more books.

The past few times I've been in a bookstore I actually let a couple of books went unpurchased.

The few times I've walked into Half Price Books and come out with nothing I always wonder if there is something wrong with me.

I'm with you there, venus...

I've actually bought just too many books that are still waiting to be read, and all of them (supposedly) brilliant.

- Rushdie - Satanic Verses
- Erikson - Gardens of the Moon
- Adams - Watership Down
- Huxley - A Brave New World
- Holdstock - Celtika
- Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse Five
- Wolfe - The Knight
- Keyes - Flowers for Algernon
- with most anticipation: Kay - Last Light of the Sun.

There are plenty of others still.

ds

 

[G4G]

Would you stop buying books even after you've realized that you've just got too many that you'll probably won't finish reading them all?

I suppose I'm just rambling...

ds

No.

And rambling is good.

 

[Stewart]

But that's the thing, right? Here we are going against our inherent programming *not* buying books, when just a year before our loved ones had to physically restrain us from buying ever more books.

Ah, but I'm still tempted. It was sheer masochism that took me to Borders last week, browsed for over an hour, before leaving empty-handed. All those titles I needed...

 

[SFG75]

I just keep buying and add them to the "gotta read" list. No problem with that, you'll eventually get around to them anyways if you do that.

 

[scooter13]

I have stopped buying books in the last few weeks, too. And some of it has to do with the fact that I have so many yet to read. The better reason is because of my son. Just can't go off spending money on books that I might get to read in the next few years if I have another mouth to feed. And since I have a child to take care of, I am reading less then I used to read. So it all makes sense that I should stop buying books.

Of course, it hasn't been easy, like a smoker or anyone else addicted to something trying to stop cold turkey. Maybe I should start an organization, BBA (Book Buyers Anonymous).

 

[abecedarian]

I went to Borders yesterday with my hubby and 12 year old son to shop for my 6 year old son's upcoming birthday. We purposefully did not allow ourselves to look at anything else. Even my son put back the book he was asking for, saying he'd get it from the library before deciding to plunk down money for it.
Even keeping ourselves away from the stacks, we managed to find a few titles on the way in, that I wrote down in my notebook. I'll see if I can get them from ILL in a while.
I think we all have times it is right to stop, or at least limit, book purchases. I know I've reached that point when I find myself thinking, 'ya know, I don't have to own every book I see.' This usually happens right after Christmas when we're broke...

 

[angerball]

When I lived in Australia (up till late last year), I had accumulated way too many books, and I had over 100 on my TBR pile. Now that I'm in the UK "temporarily" it has stopped me from buying alot of books (though I have still bought a few ), because I know I'll have to ship them all back home.

I now go to the library a lot more than I did back home. Even when I already have books out on loan, and unread, I still go back to the library to have a good browse. There's nothing like being in a huge room full of books.

 

[cabrasopa]

I have to start stop going into every book and charity shop i pass first.
Once i'm in it's very rare i come out empty handed.
I do seem to get throught them though, my TBR pile is about 15 at the moment.
Can't see myself ever having a book freeze no matter how large my pile gets.

 

[abecedarian]

It rarely is the size of Mt TBR that makes me refrain from buying more books..the lack of spendable cash is the culprit every time. That greedy ol Donald Trump won't send me his credit card

 

[kuroc]

I have a whole stack or 2 of books that I haven't read yet but I keep buying them anyway oh well.

 

[venusunfolding]

All those titles I needed...

it gets a little overwhelming

 

[mehastings]

Would you stop buying books even after you've realized that you've just got too many that you'll probably won't finish reading them all?

Um...yup. I'm on a book buying hiatus. I've got hundreds sitting around waiting to be read right now. I have a lot of expenses coming up in the next couple months so books have hit the back burner. Oddly, I'm OK with it. The only books I've bought since Christmas were children's books I bought with a store credit. I suppose I'll come temporarily off hiatus if BotM books are chosen that I am interested in and don't own. Otherwise, nil.

 

[Ell]

Well, ummmm . . . I promised myself not to buy any more books until my BD, but I went into a Chapters Store yesterday and saw a couple of books I just HAD to get.

One was Collapse by Jared Diamond and the other The In-Between World of Vikram Lall by M J Vassanji.

Now, I've got to explain myself. I had to get them because Collapse is finally in tradepaper (I've been waiting for almost a year) so it's affordable; AND they were both at 20% off; AND I could get an additional 10% off with my store discount card which expires at the end of the month; AND I had a gift card from Christmas burning a hole in my wallet. So you see, I HAD to buy them.

. . . and that's the truth.

 

[mom2kngr]

I am always buying books . My husband keeps asking me if I will ever get them all read. Well someday, maybe. If my work load wouldn't have doubled in the last week I am sure I would be buzzing through the TBR pile faster than what I have. Tbook I am currently reading is only a 413 page book and I swear it has taken me almost a month to read. Just time is putting a pinch on things. I CANNOT go into a bookstore and come out empty handed. Same way with library....if I got there I ALWAYS check something out. Horrible addiction!

 

[mehastings]

Now, I've got to explain myself....I had a gift card from Christmas burning a hole in my wallet.

As far as I see it, you didn't buy them. Somebody else did. Right? No explanation needed!