here's what happened when i tried to go on a book buying ban
a dramatic reading by me
Hi reflecters! How has your week been? Mine was a bit drab, spent most of it on my period, nothing much to report but I have been in more of a reading mood lately, so I thought I would pop in this week with a more casual post about books. And a little live reading, enjoy!
In late December 2023, I saw a Thread from a user saying she was going to go on a book-buying ban until March 2024 and if anyone wanted to join her on this incredibly difficult quest. She said she would create a support group chat for us all so we could mourn the loss of one of our favourite activities together. I thought, why the hell not? I had just spent a crap ton on books, I could use the break.
I closed out the end of the year happy with my last few book purchases, ready to dive into my long, long TBR list.
If you’re familiar with my Substack, you may know that I spent most of this year rereading The Secret History by Donna Tartt (my favourite book) at a glacial speed. I was so engrossed in visiting these well-beloved characters again, that I wasn’t even interested in reading anything else. I eventually picked up Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang and read that in about a week (really loved it) but everything else I was reading didn’t really grip me. The shiny new books on my bookshelf were starting to fade, and I couldn’t polish my shelf up again with new books because I was on a ban. With other people watching. My dignity was at stake.
Where did the excitement go? I had at least six books on my shelf I was looking forward to. I was constantly wishing I had another three pairs of eyes so I could just read them all at once. The perfect shade of pink that is Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami, the vibrant blue of Feel Free by Zadie Smith, the shocking pink of Bunny by Mona Awad, the sheer thickness of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and A Life Little by Hanya Yanagihara—stories waiting to be devoured.
But I just wasn’t interested. I had started the year in a slump. Sad face.
January came and went, February did the same, apart from that last week. I went on a spontaneous charity shop crawl with my boyfriend and naturally, we were both drawn to the books section. In my attempt at dragging him into my slow living lifestyle for 2024, I got him to like the idea of buying DVDs again and watching them on his Xbox instead of paying millions for Netflix and Amazon Prime. As he scanned cheap DVDs, I took a look at the philosophy section, not thinking I would find anything in particular. Except I did.
And off I went to the cashier, completely oblivious to what I was doing.
It wasn’t until a good couple of days later that I realised what I had done. (Taking this slow-living thing to a whole new level here.) I had failed. I’d stumbled right into the dragon’s mouth. The book-buying ban was over.
Was I disappointed in myself? Not really.
Once you’ve had one cookie, you might as well have them all.
I’ve gone rogue. I have an addiction, and I’m not afraid to say it. Yes, I’ve bought about eight new books in the past two weeks. What are you gonna do about it? I’m happy, let me live. I’m a reader, a book collector, it would be wrong not to.
I’m proud I managed to stick it out so long if I’m honest. Two whole months and not a single trip to a bookshop? I have the strength of a thousand men. I might even be able to fly. I am a goddess among women. Someone who keeps buying books, saying she will read them, increasing the mile-long list of books she says she will read with no worry? A mere pffft, I’ll manage? Terrifying. The challenge intensifies every week but she sheds not a bead of sweat, not a modicum of intimidation. Fear me.
The book-buying ban was fun, a nice test of endurance, but my TBR apparently demands to be long and unattainable. Now with about 10 new books under my arm do I feel like reading again. I can’t help who I am. Maybe I can only read if I’m simultaneously adding to the collection. And what a great shame that is.
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This is exactly me! I can’t stop and will not stop buying books. I love looking round charity shops for books as you never know what you’re going to find. I also see it as helping the charities 😊
Yes to TSH!! I really want to reread it despite my never-ending to be read pile looming in front of me haha.
But I think, like me, you're a mood reader, and it doesn't matter whether or not we have 10 books on our list, if that one in the store just sparkles and lights up our reader eyes, then who are we to ignore that call?