Sunday, September 06, 2009

Sunday Salon...the ban

Okay, I know I've tried this book buying ban kind of thing before. And every time I tried, I truly had good intentions. And still I failed. But hey, that's no reason not to try again, right? And I'm hopeful, really I am. For one thing, I have a lot of inspiration this time around:

1. Nymeth's post about tackling her TBR mountain. Yeah, and I suspect I was not the only one who had a nerve struck with her post. ; ) Seriously, isn't it just easier to face a monster head on when you've got friends doing battle along with you?

2. This:
Our once lovely library. Now there are books piled on the floor and books piled on the table and books scattered through the rest of the house... I'm in the midst of trying to rearrange it a bit, and weed it out a bit. But the bottom line is that there are just too many books for the amount of shelves. It's just become overwhelming. And not nearly as fun to be in there because it's like running a gauntlet just to get to a chair. :(



3. Reading the book Affluenza. Yep, it was the final kick in the pants I really, really needed.

Now I'm not claiming that I now have a will made of iron or anything. In fact, to help ensure success, I'm starting slowly. Very slowly. And I plan on rewarding success heavily to further motivate me. My goals are to buy less. And to tame the TBR piles to levels where I don't have to feel guilty about bringing more books into this house.

So, to buy a new book, I must:

a. If they are books from my TBR pile that I plan to keep, I must read 10. Or...

b. If they are books from my TBR pile that I will then give away, I must read 5. Or...

c. If they are books from the library, I must read 8.

d. PaperbackSwap doesn't count...but I can't buy credits.

Like I said, I'm starting slowly. But I'm hoping that success will lead me to realize that it's really not as hard as I imagined. And thus I will be able to raise those numbers without it leading to failure.

If I really follow through here, I guess there will be less blame to hand out, huh? Of course, I do still have this big box of books sitting here that I brought home from vacation...some of those have blame attached when I finally get around to it.

Anyway, wish me luck...

19 comments:

Ana S. said...

GOOD LUCK, Debi!!! I love how you're also including a system of rewards. It definitely makes things easier! I was all triumphant yesterday because I've finally read enough books to be allowed a comic...and only 6 more to go until I reach 20 and am allowed another book! It actually makes finally getting that one book you've "earned" extra fun :P

Kailana said...

I need to do something similar but for me I need to cut back on the library, not the book buying... Good luck!

Amanda said...

Good luck Debi. I'm probably going to end up at Half Price Books this weekend, maybe even more than once, and on top of my Borders trip, I think I might have to impose my own book ban. And, like Kailana says, I think I need to cut back on the library, too. I have so many books on my shelves to read, and this month 90% of what I planned are ones I need from the library! Agh!

serendipity_viv said...

I really need to do this, but I have no will power. I loved looking at your book shelves. I think they look fabulous with all those books around. I am not helping am I?

Unknown said...

(I swear, somewhere after my birthday, I will start up the TBR ban list again. And this time I'll be starting small too.)

Good luck with the ban, though! I don't blame you for not thinking it fun to go into that library/room anymore. That's a scary amount of books. (Don't kill me, but the last time I looked at my 'books to remove from the house', I started with the TBR pile ones. I need to look over them again.)

Anyway, good luck with the ban and I shall join the ranks of 'Book Banners' reasonably soon! ^-^

Bernadette said...

I do wish you luck. It is a struggle I have myself and I look to other bloggers for inspiration in how to curtail my acquisitive nature.

Thoughts of Joy said...

Good luck to you, Debi! I was wondering how that library was doing. :)

Eva said...

Good luck!!!

I mentioned this on Twitter, but book buying bans get SO much easier over time. :D Last year, I had a lot of problems following my 'no acquisitions' rule. But this year, I haven't bought a single book (for me), or used Bookmooch, or even used a gift cert. I won back in the read-a-thon yet! I'm just so much in the habit now of not getting books, it's a reflex. That being said, I fully acknowledge that without my *incredible* library, this type of ban would kill me.

Gavin said...

It's a great plan, best of luck. When I read Nymeth's post I thought I really should do that, figure out a plan to get all my TBR books read.

Then someone suggested a great book, my library didn't have it, it's Canadian, couldn'd find it on a U.S. site and, oh well, Hello Amazon.ca:)

Melissa said...

Oh, I can so relate to this ... I'm almost at the point of not wanting to go in our library (aka living room) either because of the books piled all over. And, I have no less than 22 library books on my night table, so that isn't any better ...

chrisa511 said...

Oh d-d-d-d-dear...you and Nymeth are really making me think of doing one of these myself :/ That and we're moving soon which means I'm starting to pack boxes...and, well..it's just embarassing :p And there's no room!! there's a few books that I HAVE to get (there are always those right ;) and then I think I may do this myself.

Melody said...

I can't go on a book ban, because I knew I wouldn't adhere to the rules anyway! ;)

I need to show your pic to my husband so he'd understand why I couldn't stop buying books because of the good recommendations from you guys and that I'm not alone when it comes to this!! :)

Literary Feline said...

Good luck, Debi! I've had to cut my book buying budget down for financial reasons. I think this may be the only real "cure" for my ever growing TBR issue.

DesLily said...

I have no choice but to do something similiar.. the money is just not there anymore. i hope i can still get books that come out that belong to series I am reading and stay at that.. we all need help! lol

Michelle Fluttering Butterflies said...

I do like the idea of a rewards system. Makes things a little more fun. Good luck with it :)

Carl V. Anderson said...

Your library looks like mine in the basement. It was once neat and clean and, while the shelves still are, it is surrounded by piles of other books and things. Definitely needs a thorough going over!

Memory said...

Good luck! I've been following TBR rules for nine months now, and it definitely gets easier as you go along. The first couple of months are hellish, but after that it's relatively smooth sailing. You'll feel quite proud of yourself for sticking to your guns. :)

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

I have to laugh because as soon as I opened up this post in my reader, Scott walked into my office looking at my shelves. I pointed to your picture and said, Honey, it could be worse. :P

anyway, good luck. I can't commit to a ban--even though I really really should. I think I've done relatively good this year with the book buying. Now I just have to find the time to read those damn books!

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