My name is Acacia, and I have a book-buying problem.
Now, for a long time, my book-buying habits were not that bad. Before the age of sixteen, I got money from birthdays, parents, and holidays, that was about it. My transportation was also dependent on my parents willingness to drive me to the bookstore. Any books I got, I usually read right away or relatively soon after getting them. The number of books I had owned for years and had never read was very small.
However, at the age of sixteen, a problem began to grow. I had my license, which meant I could drive myself to the book store whenever I wanted, for however long I wanted. I also had a tutoring job and was still receiving good chunks of money here and there from my parents. I also was managing to get hundreds of dollars in giftcards for holidays and birthdays. All of this resulted in the creation of a book-buying monster.
I buy books at a rate that should not be allowed. I go to the bookstore for one specific book and walk out with three others I had no intention of buying. I purposefully set aside money not for food, but for books. In high school, this problem grew, but was not quite as problematic as it is now. In 2012, I read 100 books (a goal which I was very proud to have finished at the time). I don't know how many books I bought that year, but it was a lot. I read 100 books, and didn't even make a dent in my growing TBR pile.
When I started college, my parents gave me a bi-weekly allowance so that I would have money to go do things with friends and not have to worry about finances while at school. About a third of this goes into my savings for a rainy day, another third for food and activities with friends, and the last third for books. The problem: while at college, I manage to read far less than I ever did high school. So, I buy a lot of books while I'm at school, but I have no time to read them.
Over the years, all of this has resulted in a growing TBR pile that I have, as of late, been feeling the weight of. I have been forced to admit that I have a problem, and I am going to take this time to list the ways in which I will be eradicating myself of it.
So, here are the ways in which I am going to slowly, but surely, take down the monster that has become my TBR pile.
1) Getting rid of books.
Oh, how this hurts to even talk about. I don't get rid of books. I love owning my own personal library. Even if I never reread my books, I love keeping them after I've read them. Who knows, one day I may decide to reread it or lend it out and I will be so happy to still have it. However, I have books that I have owned for years, but have never read. These are the books that I bought at the age of 15 or 16 with every intention of reading them, but they just kept getting pushing farther and farther down the TBR pile. So, as of the end of June, I have resolved to go through and get rid of a good chunk of these books. I think this will help me feel much better about the size of my TBR pile.
2) No more binge buying books.
Any time I decide on buying a book, I will be buying just that, one book. One step at a time, one book at a time.
From now on (or at least until my TBR pile has been made much, much, much smaller), if I buy a book, I must immediately read that book. See, I often buys books, but then take years to read them. Now, if I buy one, it will immediately be read and never even see the TBR pile. This way, the TBR pile does not grow.
4) Read at least a classic a month.
A good chunk of my TBR pile is made up of classics. I love classics, but I don't read as many as I should, both as an English major and as someone who owns so many of them. So, to assure that these are being read, I will read at least one classic per month.
5) Read two, buy one.
So, to tackle the TBR pile for good, I will be implementing this new rule: For every two books I read off of my TBR, I may buy one book. So, I will read two books, buy one, read the book I buy, read two more books from my TBR pile, buy a book, read that book, on and on and on. I think this will allow me to get through my TBR pile without feeling constricted to it. It will also allow me to keep buying books, but not add to my TBR pile.
With these rules in place, I am hoping to take down the looming monster that my TBR pile has become. Summer is coming up soon, which means I will be able to read a lot more than I do while in school and tackle the TBR pile faster.
I'm feeling confident that this will work, and I will let you all know how it's going in a few months. Hopefully by then my TBR pile will be much, much smaller than it is now.
Your Pemberley Reader,
Acacia
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