Book Buying Embargo

Don't panic I am not talking about forever! My Best Beloved and I are going on holiday to Hay on Wye and Oxford in about five weeks time and he has come up with the 'brilliant' idea that we (mostly me) shouldn't buy any more books until we go on holiday.The idea being that it will make the book-buying of the holiday even more special.

John (my Best Beloved) doesn't think that I will be able to do it and that I'll crack and give in before the five weeks are up. Please bear in mind that we live in York and we have a number of very good second hand bookshops!

Has anyone else decided to (temporarily) not buy books, either to ease their groaning bookcases or in the attempt to catch up with their 'to be read' pile? If so how did you get on and do you have any advice?

I find the Wishlist feature very handy. I used to have (ok, still have to some extent) a bad habit of sitting at the pooter, hearing about an interesting book and going clickety click, oops I've bought it. Adding it to the Wishlist instead at least allows a "cooling off" period. Of course if you tend to buy from proper shops, this might be less useful, but you can still keep a list in some fashion.

Note that if this temporary restraint is exchanged for being allowed to buy as many books as you like in Hay, you may still have an overall win :-)

Has anyone else decided to (temporarily) not buy books, either to ease their groaning bookcases or in the attempt to catch up with their 'to be read' pile?

Story of my life! I don't have any advice to give you because I could use some myself in this area, but this is what I have been doing: (note that it's not working at all, so you want to not do this.) In an attempt to climb Mt. TBR this year I have been striving to read only books that are already on my shelves. I am coping with this by buying more books to put on my shelves. After a couple of weeks of extra pocket money (from not buying books) I break and impulse buy a truckload all at once to make up for it. See, it's on my shelf, therefore I can read it! /end rationalization

The best advice may be to have your spouse hide your wallet.

Sorry, I have been doing the opposite: buying hundreds of books since getting laid off (shopping therapy? ... don't worry, most of these were probably just $1 in the clearance section), even though I have no more shelf space for them!

But I do like the idea of reward-as-motivator, and I hadn't thought of the Wishlist as a helpful tool to keep us in line, but it's true. Perhaps you could do a hybrid: if you can't resist the urge to shop before the trip, do some window-shopping locally, but when you find something you like, promise yourself to make the purchase only after getting back in town (and maybe all the money spent during the trip will temper things once you're back).

I've read that a good motivator for people really afraid of cracking is to have somebody hold them accountable to do something they really loathe if they fail. For example (and sorry this is a US-based example), if you're a staunch Democrat, have your Best Beloved send $10 of your money to the Republican Party for each book you buy between now and the trip.

All I wanted to do was end the year with fewer books than I began it. I haven't figured out my reading totals yet but I just discovered I've bought 73 books already this year so I'm not hopeful. Things were going quite well before I won a £100 book token (well, it would have been downright rude not to use it) and I went on a spree yesterday. Even allowing for book-gifts for family and friends, it's still bumped the misty reaches of Mount TBR into the stratosphere). And I completely agree with Martin. Somehow, adding a book to your personal wishlist feels almost as good as buying it and it's a real help in cutting down (though who am I to give advice on the subject anyway?)

I was going to write that giving-up book-buying is easy - I do it several times a month ... but that's not really adding to the thread, is it?

I have to say that the wish list thing doesn't really work for me. I have two on Amazon - one for books I want and one for ones I'm not sure about - and they're both getting really, really long and they're taking-on a sort of 'elephant in the room' quality. So, regularly, I have a go at them, intending to edit them right down - and find lots of books I'd have forgotten about if I hadn't stuck them in wish lists, and so many of them are soooo enticing ...

#6 - Actually, the trouble with wish lists is that all the books in them are so enticing - else I wouldn't have shoved them in there in the first place.

I've tried. And failed.

But what I have found that *does* work at slowing me down is that any books I buy must be from a wishlist. It's helped me reduce my wishlist on both here and Amazon, and I have managed to keep Mount TBR at a reasonable level. And I have to have a book on a wishlist for a minimum of 1 month before it is "purchasable".

I will be avoiding buying books this month, but only because I am heading down to the USA in the beginning of June, and books are often cheaper there (even at full-price). So any money I save in the next few weeks will be blown (& then some) in June.

Good luck!

Having a wishlist works well for me. I stick everything on there and then when I want books I flip through, decide what sounds good at the moment and order.

My biggest down fall is used bookstores, so I'd avoid those totally! I go in to browse, find a book I like and pretty much always end up buying it because it might not be there next time. Well, that is the excuse anyway. ;)

Your only chance, Ruth, is to chain yourself inside of Clifford's Tower for five weeks.

My people! This is one of the many reasons why I love LibraryThing, the joy if being able to communicate with fellow book addicts.

A wish list is a good idea and one that I already use quite a lot on Amazon - like Mart1n I do have the habit of listening to the radio, hearing about an interesting person/poem/book and think I'll just have a quick look on the Internet...and before you know it is is'ker-Ching'.

Omargosh many thanks for the suggestion - my husband would love it, as he is a member of the Conservative Party (think Republican) and I am most definitely not! The very thought of having to use good book buying money for such a purpose sends shivers down my spine. - so it might just work!

My TBR pile is indeed huge and I am trying to convince myself that this will be a good chance to make a tiny dint in it....mmmmh I am not convinced either....

Get myself locked up in Clifford's Tower? well that might work as well and it would be better than the York Dungeons or the Crypt of York Minster...

Many thanks for all the advice, I shall keep you posted as to my progress. Only five more weeks and three days left to go...not that I'm counting'

I've slowed down dramatically the last several months. It's mostly due to temporary crowding. I'm in the process of renovating the basement so that room is out of commission. I've also had to move everything else out of the basement so the rest of the house is fuller than normal as well. Renovation plans do include some bookshelves and future plans for more. It will be exciting to finally have more of my library out where I can get at it. It's been so long since I've had any proper shelves.

Bowerbirds, (and others) if you haven't already, you might find it helpful to join this group:

http://www.librarything.com/groups/bombsbooksoffmybooks

We have all made a bond to read books already on our shelves before reading new ones, in order to reduce the size of our TBR piles. We support each other in this effort, (and take lots of notes of the neat books others are reading - it's good for the TBR shelves, but bad for the wishlist!)

(3) macsbrains wrote The best advice may be to have your spouse hide your wallet.

I love it! Ha!

I have purchased MORE books this past year, since I joined LT, than in previous years.

So, it's all your fault, fellow LT'ers, for making suggestions and recommendations.

but I like y'all anyway...it has been a distinct pleasure to be here with like minded bibliophiles....

Thank you Staffordcastle I have just joined the 'BOMBS' group and even managed a ticker tape thingy to count down the days to Hay-on-Wye.

Fuzzi and Macsbrains, the getting my spouse to hide my wallet did make me laugh but I'll make sure that he doesn't see the suggestion...

Lucky you Bowerbirds. If I lived in York surrounded by those lovely tempting secondhand bookshops instead of visiting a couple of times a year we'd need a much bigger house. The only way I've resisted is not walking along streets full of temptation if that's possible so you don't get drawn inside a shop without thinking. If it's any consolation a good splurge of book buying after waiting is a joy. Best of luck.

There's no such thing as 'too many books.' There is such a thing as 'not enough bookshelves.' I regularly resolve to stop buying books (for a month, a week, a day, an hour, a minute), but resolve quickly weakens when passing a book shop, a book sale, a library with a sales corner... I'm truly afraid it's hopeless, and certainly hope that it is!

Welcome aboard, Bowerbirds!

#8 - And I have to have a book on a wishlist for a minimum of 1 month before it is "purchasable".

That's a really good idea, Mareofthesea.

I could have bought some really nice books with the money I've spent on 'impulse buy' books which I now wonder why I bought. Of course, that doesn't mean I'd have spent any less on books, but it's sort of in the right direction. Isn't it?

This is a wild idea, but it may be worth trying. Bear with me.

Gather all the books that you haven't already read (or don't remember if you've read them). Put them in a separate room in the house. Place a sign above the door: 'Inner Bookshop'. Tell your spouse to open it only during business hours, and pay him for every book you take out of the room.

#20 - Brilliant!

It's a just a matter of habit, and like all such things it needs a little bit of self-control and/or a change in circumstances to break.

I have a tiny TBR pile, and don't buy new books until I've finished reading all those I've already bought.

Once you're on top of the sitiuation it is easy. I ensure I buy a spectrum of books (ie if I'm buying 6 books then a mix of SF/Fantasy/Crime/non-fic) so that on any given day I have a choice of something different to read. Therea re always exceptions - but as long as you're clear to yourself what and when they are it isn't a problem - if I see soemthign that I've been looking for a long time I'll buy it. If I don't like a book or it's mid-series and I don't own the rest, it will get moved off the TBR pile into a "I don't intend to read this" pile. and hence doesn't count on the buying new book restrictions. Free ebooks don't count either.

Now now. If someone have a separate room for storing books... how come it is not already full of bookcases? :)

>22 reading_fox:
I moved halfway across the world; carried 5 books with me. By the time I moved out from the hotel and into my new apartment (4 weeks time) I had accumulated more than 50 books. I suspect that the self-restraint thing might work - but I know it does not work for me. :)

Hello Mweb,

York is indeed full of tempting bookshops and even a number of the charity shops can occasionally have some good finds. Due to the fact that I have to regularly go to the Post Office to send parcels, I have had to work out a route which means I either don't walk past any bookshops or very few... So far so good.

It is a very good point that Mareofthesea and Alaudacorax make about the money spent on impulse buys could be saved to buy books that you really really want.

I'm feeling stronger already!

...so what we have here is yet another case of an addict trying to mislead. On the surface the OP gives the impression that she and her beloved are NOT going to purchase books for awhile....however, she titles the thread "Book Buying Embargo". Now any calm person with any capacity for reflection whatsoever knows that this phrase is just a clever ploy on the part of an extreme book addict to give a public impression of moderation.

If you march into any book store and announce that you aren't interested because you are on a "Book Buying Embargo" every knowledgeable sales person in the place will rush up to you with the latest offerings because they know what you really mean... "embargo" spelled backwards is just O, Grab Me - which is the battle cry of book buying addicts everywhere.... :-)

Personally, I wouldn't bother with the subterfuge - my take on books is that books will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no books so I just purchase books whenever the mood strikes, which is often.

#25 - ... books will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no books ...

I'm definitely stealing that one.

Methinks alco261 has been reading the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers hence the paraphrase of 'books will get you through...'. Embargo backwards is much more fun :-)

Not for a very long time Bowerbirds - I must admit I was wondering if there was anyone out there who might recognize the parphrase. What makes it more interesting is that I borrowed that line and substituted the word "books" the instant I read it lo those many years ago.

Now, if you really want to go on a snark hunt find the decades old Playboy Joke book with the joke that had the embargo/o,grab me punchline. :-)

alco261, I recognized that line, but could not remember where I had heard/read it.

Not bad recall from a comic I read 35 years ago....? :D

Kindles - every time you feel the urge, buy one or download it from Gutenberg. No extra room taken up and the prices are lower

On a few more days now until our holiday and I can honestly say that I haven't purchased a book in the last five weeks. Many many thanks to everyone for your help with ideas to keep me focused. I have been able to take a few books from my TBR pile and have had great fun putting books into my wish list or save for later section of Amazon, rearranging them etc. I'll keep you all posted with how the holiday goes.