'No More Buying Books Until I've Read the Ones I've Already Bought' Thread

InaPickle
InaPickle Posts: 5,968
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edited 21 June 2016 at 2:30PM in Debt-free wannabe challenges
If you are anything like me you have bought lots of books you liked the look of while they were on 3-for-2's or other special offers etc., but haven't quite got round to reading them yet, and the chances are that you are adding to your collection at a rate of knots. Putting our MSE-hats on, we know this is not very frugal, and also not very space-savvy as books take up quite a lot of room. As a result (and thanks to the idea of the lovely girls on the 'No buying toiletries in February challenge!' which works in a similar way to this one, only with toiletries), I've decided to make this thread in which I vow not to buy any more books until I have read all the ones I own.


This will take quite some time as I have a big box of lovely, unread books next to my bed, and not a lot of time in which to read them. However, I can also read books which I have borrowed off libraries/other people, or, if I sell a book on a website like greenmetropolis.com, I can buy another one to read instead (prefereably for not more than I was paid for the book I just sold). Overall, the number of unread books I own should not increase from the start to the end of the challenge. (I'll do the maths tomorrow before work as there is not enough time today.)


On the up side, we could include a little book review and say what we thought to our latest read. :)


I will start: my name is Pickle and I own FAR too many unread books. I am currently 2/3 of the way through 'The Code of the Woosters' by P.G. Wodehouse (library lend), and it is very funny so far.


Who is with me on this one?! ;)

EDIT: list of places to buy/sell/swap books (with help from Niccatw ;))

Sites to sell your books on...
http://www.greenmetropolis.com/index2.asp Very high standards...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/seller/sell-your-stuff.html Always handy...
http://www.ebay.co.uk
Sites to swap your books on...
http://www.readitswapit.co.uk/TheLibrary.aspx
http://www.bookhopper.com/ You can chose which country suits you best. And it’s easy to browse their library
http://bookmooch.com/ Great points system but a lot of American members who aren’t always willing to send to the UK
http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php
http://www.titletrader.com/
Bookcrossing...
http://www.bookcrossing.com/ You give your book a number and then as it moves from one person to another, you can go online and leave a journal entry for the book, to see where it's gone
If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply!
[purplesignup][/purplesignup]
Please call me 'Pickle'
No More Buying Books: ???
No More Buying DVDs: ???
NMB Toiletries ??? and I've gone back for my Masters at the University of Use Ups!
P
roud to be dealing with her debts 1198~

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Comments

  • i'll join you inapickle:beer:
    my book shelves are heaving under the weight of "to be reads" im currently reading the virgins lover by philippa gregory its about queen elizabeth the 1st. one day when im feeling brave and have the time ill count up the books i've bought to read but havnet yet got round to it. my downfall is carboot sales they have lovely books calling out to be read for only 50p and it seems a shame to leave them there.
    im sure there are some one readers amongst them that i should read and pass on but if i really love a book i cant let it go. ill never give up my copy of the other boleyn girl or the innocent traitor.

    what do you want us to do post when we start and finish a book and what we thought of it and if we are keeping it or charity shopping it.

    I did let 10 feng shui books go a couple of weeks ago as part of my decluttering:rotfl:they all went to the church table top sale
    SPC~12 ot 124

    In a world that has decided that it's going to lose its mind, be more kind my friend, try to Be More Kind
  • InaPickle
    InaPickle Posts: 5,968
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    I did let 10 feng shui books go a couple of weeks ago as part of my decluttering:rotfl:they all went to the church table top sale

    :rotfl: Oh, the irony! :rotfl:
    what do you want us to do post when we start and finish a book and what we thought of it and if we are keeping it or charity shopping it.

    I'm still makiing this up as I go along, but that seems like a very good idea. I'm going to count how many books I've got at the first opportunity (likely to be tomorrow), see how many I own (very many), and how many I've currently got out of the library (6 from what I can see at the minute), then start knocking them off the list. TBH I've needed to do this for a long time, so this will be great motivation.

    Also, if a book is good quality, you can sell it online to make some pennies (and keep it truly :money:). I'll try to get a list of sites together when I can, and I'll put it in the first post. Not everything is worth selling, but some are. I have a quite a few specialised French dictionaries and thesauri which just would not be appreciated in the average charity shop (and which also cost a fortune :eek:), so I'm going to try to get some money back for those.

    Let me know how many you've got when you do! ;)
    Please call me 'Pickle'
    No More Buying Books: ???
    No More Buying DVDs: ???
    NMB Toiletries ??? and I've gone back for my Masters at the University of Use Ups!
    P
    roud to be dealing with her debts 1198~

  • terryw
    terryw Posts: 4,396
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    I did let 10 feng shui books go a couple of weeks ago as part of my decluttering:rotfl:they all went to the church table top sale

    I hope that they were arranged correctly on the table top.:D
    "If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools"
    Extract from "If" by Rudyard Kipling
  • candygirl
    candygirl Posts: 29,455
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    I'll join in this as have a house full of books I haven't read, so I pledge not to buy any more, and only to borrow from the library :D:D
    Have just read Nella Last's War, and Nella Last's peace about Housewife 49.Excellent books;)
    "You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf"

    (Kabat-Zinn 2004):D:D:D
  • macma
    macma Posts: 911
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    my trouble is I keep books I HAVE read:think:
  • InaPickle
    InaPickle Posts: 5,968
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    candygirl wrote: »
    I'll join in this as have a house full of books I haven't read, so I pledge not to buy any more, and only to borrow from the library :D:D
    Have just read Nella Last's War, and Nella Last's peace about Housewife 49.Excellent books;)

    Splendid! We are turning into a merry little band of book readers! :D

    Good luck with reading the rest! :T
    Please call me 'Pickle'
    No More Buying Books: ???
    No More Buying DVDs: ???
    NMB Toiletries ??? and I've gone back for my Masters at the University of Use Ups!
    P
    roud to be dealing with her debts 1198~

  • candygirl
    candygirl Posts: 29,455
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    InaPickle wrote: »
    Splendid! We are turning into a merry little band of book readers! :D

    Good luck with reading the rest! :T
    Am also reading Foster Kid by Paul Barber who played Denzil in only fools and horses, it's very good but sad:(
    "You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf"

    (Kabat-Zinn 2004):D:D:D
  • gonzo127
    gonzo127 Posts: 4,482
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    i am probably in the minority here however i have around 400 books (yes the wife goes crazy at me about them) yet i have read every single one at least once, some up to 4 - 5 times!

    my problem is i go through fads with the different genres and i am currently into Sci-fi and fantasy as i have really gone off my horror and crime ones at the moment, but i dont want to get rid of any as i know as soon as i do i will end up wanting to read them again... i am just thankful i have a library close otherwise i hate to think how many i would own
    Drop a brand challenge
    on a £100 shop you might on average get 70 items save
    10p per product = £7 a week ~ £28 a month
    20p per product = £14 a week ~ £56 a month
    30p per product = £21 a week ~ £84 a month (or in other words one weeks shoping at the new price)
  • true27
    true27 Posts: 1,569
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    Hi Guys,

    Can I join too? In my flusher days it was my ambition to turn my spare room into a library! I LOVE my books, they are my children, but they are completely un-MSE!!

    Currently re-reading CJ Sansom's Dissolution (even though I have a whole shelf of to-be-read!) and I'm currently resisting the urge to go and buy a new bookshelf, keep staring at the various piles on the floor :eek: poor books!

    So my pledge is to not buy any new books and to sell any that are in good enough condition (poor babies :s) but only to borrow from the library. The library bit is there to help build my confidence up, I've been suffering from agrophobia for a while and I really need to shake it off!
    Paddle #8 DFW Nerd #1284
  • System
    System Posts: 178,076
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    gonzo127 wrote: »
    i am probably in the minority here however i have around 400 books (yes the wife goes crazy at me about them) yet i have read every single one at least once, some up to 4 - 5 times!

    my problem is i go through fads with the different genres and i am currently into Sci-fi and fantasy as i have really gone off my horror and crime ones at the moment, but i dont want to get rid of any as i know as soon as i do i will end up wanting to read them again... i am just thankful i have a library close otherwise i hate to think how many i would own

    Don't worry, I can join you there.

    I need to go through my Tom Holt's at the moment as I'm sure I've missed some and have nothing new to read at the moment
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