My 2016 Book Diet

I am on a new book diet. There are so many unread books on my shelves that I am severely limiting the number of new books I can have. Gifts are ok...those don't count as cheating. And, I can have up to 4 books a month as long as I have weeded out more than that number from my shelves during the month. That's a book diet, without it being a crash, starvation, bookishly unhealthy one.

I showed great restraint tonight. I am proud of myself.

I spent an hour in Barnes & Noble browsing. And I bought.....a large coffee.

Thousands of books. And my purchase was a large skinny mocha with 2 shots of espresso.

I saw several books I want to read...but I added them to my check-out list on my library app. I will borrow them instead of buying them. I can connect to my local library, look up available books & put them on hold right on my phone. If they don't have the book, I have two other websites that allow me to check out ebooks using my library card #. That really cuts down on my impulse buys. Those impulses have turned to adding titles to a list on my library account instead.

I'm learning!

I have bought one book so far this month.  I loaned out my favorite sci-fi book a few months ago to someone....I remember loaning it, but not who I gave it to. If the person was going to return it, I would have had it back already. I wanted to read it again. So, I bought a new copy. "Lucifer's Hammer" is back on my sci-fi shelf. As soon as I finish what I'm currently reading, I am going to read it and "The Hammer of God" again. Both great books! Lucifer's Hammer was not available from my local library, and not available for borrowing from either of the online options. I couldn't find a used copy. So, at that point, I felt justified in buying one. I loved my 20 year old paperback, but a new copy is great too. The old copy was about to fall apart anyway.

I didn't buy any new books in February for myself at all. I was gifted a copy of Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) by my lovely otspsecretsister. The rest of my bookish endeavors for the month were library and TBR books.

It's working! My goal is to read and trade/donate/give away books this year to free up enough shelf space for my library to be better organized. Right now, I have so many that my floor to ceiling shelves are stacked to the brim, with books squeezed in wherever they will fit. I can't find anything. It is a disorganized mess, rather than a beautiful display of my most prized possessions.

In the past two months I have purchased one book, and I was gifted one. I have listed 4 books for trade online, and given away 3 more. So, 2 have come in.....and 7 are going out. :) I have checked out 23 books from the library instead of buying them.

I'm making progress! Yay!!