I didn’t want to tell anyone my new year’s resolution out of fear that I might actually not make it through the whole year. However, I figured I need something to keep me honest; the internet and a loyal readership should surely keep me in check. Right?
*In 2017 I decided to not buy books, with two exceptions: if I was giving someone a present, or if I really needed something for university and couldn’t get it online. So far, after one month in to the new year, I have bought three university books, and the other seven books I have read thus far, have either come from my local library or my already extensive bookshelf.
Now, I love books. Possibly a bit too much. It is very easy to get caught up in consuming, books are no exception. At the end of 2016 I decided to make a spreadsheet of all the books I own and have not read. The number stands at 123 (including eBooks and physical books). I have every intention of reading them all, I am not the type to buy a book for decoration. But I wanted to make sure I was reading at the same pace I was buying.
Being a book blogger is not an easy road. Unless you are getting freebies from publishing houses, or have a million dollar trust fund so you don’t have to work and can read and buy books all day, it can be hard to stay up-to-date with trends. You can even find yourself wondering if you should read for the trend rather than what you want to actually read. Whilst I love to blog, I also don’t want to get caught up in buying more and more and getting less and less out of the experience.
Listed above are just a few of the reasons why I’m pulling in my book buying in 2017. I want to read what I already have and appreciate what I have. On top of that, I really want to use my library more. I think that libraries are a great and sustainable way to share information and books with the public. Libraries feature a lot in my childhood and I wouldn’t have it any other way. So I’ve decided to make them a key feature of my 2017.
Did you make and bookish new year’s resolutions and if so, how are they going? Did you blog about them too? As always, share the reading love.
I feel similarly – I have stacks off unread books lying around and will often compulsively buy new books that I like the look of on the Internet… and never read them. And yes, the darn eBooks, they’re the worst for that! The one good thing about going to Cuba last year, was that I couldn’t buy anymore, so I had to read what was already on my Kindle.
So far, I am enjoying picking from my home library and local library. The local library is also always a surprise. There are always new books and I feel a lot more daring to try something new to read; something I usually wouldn’t buy otherwise. While there have been some duds, I have been nicely surprised too.