This month’s #ShelfLove topic is all about how well we’re sticking to our goals and what we’re doing to refrain from caving to the temptation of buying books.
Honestly, I feel like I’ve got it pretty easy so far. The Boyfriend has been buying me one book of my choice, as long as it’s not a full-priced hardcover or new release, every week that I get all of that week’s writing finished for my research papers. Not only is the agreement motivational, but it’s keeping me sane. It’s also making this No Book Buying Challenge a breeze. So, check back with me around mid-May, when I’m not getting a book every week.
Besides the Boyfriend’s amazing gift of books, I’ve been making do with the books I already own but have never read, as well as the books I get through Netgalley, and I just recently used up the last of my gift cards. I’ve also done quite a bit of “buying” and downloading of free books offered around through so many different websites besides the major book sellers, and checking out the occasional book that grabs my attention from the library. Other than that, I don’t have any special strategy, which is why I’m a little worried about what I’m going to do when the semester is over and the Boyfriend is no longer enabling my habit.
The problem is that I’m addicted to bookstores, and not just to books. Bookstores, with their mostly quiet and peaceful atmospheres and organized shelves, calm me down, but I have difficulty leaving them without buying at least one book. Even when I lived in South Korea, I would find something to read in the smallest of sections dedicated to books in English. It doesn’t matter if I’m also buying a magazine or something to eat or drink from the store’s cafe, I will come across a book that will call out to me and beg me to take it home. After this semester is over, if I want to make it through this challenge, I will have to stay away from bookstores, unless I have adult supervision. I have no idea how that will affect my mental health, but I plan on trying to mitigate any craziness by making frequent trips to the library, since it has a similar calming effect.