I can’t stop buying books!

[cantstopbuyingbooks]

Help!

I picked up a huge stack in Asda for my holiday, which I then started to read.

Then I got some more on Amazon, which I’ve broken into.

Then I got even more in Asda today! I just can’t help myself! I’ve read five in five days!

speed reading through them rather than a steady pace ?

But surely a steady pace is defined differently for everyone? My steady pace is a lot faster than a lot of people’s, but I’ve always read fast - even as a young child. I was ready the Harry Potter books in a day, my mum always commented on it. I read a book in an evening last night and can still tell you exactly what happened.

Check your gp practice, mine has a giant bookshelf which is regularly restocked with donations, 50p per book!

Buying 18 books in one week and "not being able to help yourself", "buying a stack at Asda and then a stack at Amazon - I just can't help myself" sounds like a cry for help tbh.

You started a thread saying "I can't stop buying books" and I actually opened it thinking you may have a shopping addiction and wanted to stop buying so many, but that is so far from the case. You're absolutely thrilled with it!

I’ll take a look!

Yes, I absolutely adore reading? Is that okay?

Dangerous territory.. watch out lol. Joking aside, you can sometimes find an unexpected gem on those shelves.

Supermarkets and other public places often have book swap or charity shelves, usually outside the tills, so another place to look for free/cheap second hand books as well as to donate ones you've read that you don’t want to keep. So a few options if you've the time and inclination to browse.

Also in old phone boxes and Little Free Libraries

I also adore reading but if ever find myself buying them in large numbers, especially when not secondhand, I have a word with myself. I wouldn't be thrilled with it and so proud that I felt the need to start a thread telling a bunch of strangers. I am absolutely astonished that you are.

Have you any idea what goes into producing those books and the state the planet is in already? Before you start again 🙄, no, you are not "single handedly" responsible for climate change and I never suggested you were, but your thread is disgusting tbh. And the people enabling overconsumption (eg Tiktok reels which say things like "I'm just a girl who loves books - oopsie, accidentally bought 25 books instead of one" are really no better than people doing the same thing with clothes. And the books you buy sound a little bit like the fast fashiom of the book world. They are churned out at breakneck speed to be "devoured" in your words at breakneck speed. Pointing that out is not intellectual snobbery or gatekeeping.

I don't think any of this makes you a bad person or the worst polluter ever, but I also dislike the premise of this thread.

You don't give a hoot though. You are so pleased with yourself it is unreal.

I can easily get through 4-5 in a week, but they’re mostly the 99p jobs on my Kindle. But I do also get a few from the library and charity shops. Now and then I donate a pile to our local National Trust site’s bookshop, or back to a charity shop.

Dh OTOH is always buying books - full price and usually heavy non fiction, but he’s a very slow reader (but takes it all in) so as I’ve often said, even if he lives to 105, I doubt he’ll ever get through his To Be Read pile.

Oh how life must be, up on that high horse

That is the unfortunate side to this website.

I am not on my high horse about your shopping or reading habits. They aren't ideal, but I'm sure there are worse things. What I dislike is you making a thread about it and then digging your heels in, and taking cheap shots at people who reasonably dislike your thread. "Oh, single handedly responsible for climate change am I?" when you know perfectly well nobody had suggested any such thing. "Oh on your high horse are you?" which is just a cheap dig, because you either don't have, or don't want to say, anything more intelligent.

Anyway, you seem to be completely resistant to hearing anything negative about your reading and shopping habits. So I assume this was a thread you wanted only positive responses to. Sorry I cannot provide that for you, but that is because I find the whole thread pretty disgusting.

You are not a bad person or single handedly responsible for climate change, but your thread is in really bad taste.

I'm a lifelong book addict, so what I say is good for you!

I only ever have paperbacks or hardbacks, and there's always a paperback in my bag, which gets replaced as soon as I've read it!

I buy them online and in physical shops, new, and also from charity shops.

I have no TV or radio by choice, but my flat looks like a library! I buy flat-packed bookshelves - those attached to the wall and free-standing - and build them myself, and there are other books on the coffee table!

Give yourself a day off love, maybe go read a book.

I can’t stand a hard back! I’d rather read on my phone, but sadly it seems hardback is still the favoured first choice for publishers.

I love a hardback - they feel so luxurious - but only buy them second hand for myself, though usually get DH a couple of new hardbacks for his birthday/Christmas.

I think because I’m always carrying a book, I prefer paperbacks. But it’s always testament to a good book if I picked up the hardback!

Maybe go have a glass of wine and chill out a little? It was a lighthearted thread and almost everyone else on here has managed to realise that and take it in the good faith it was meant.

For what it's worth, I bought 5 from The Works this morning. I needed none of them!

Asda books are often shite though, let’s face it. Maybe try something more challenging. Will make it last longer?

But why does everything have to be intellectually challenging and difficult?

I have a tough job. I like to switch off. A thriller can be just as challenging as some others in places.

Ok. Maybe call yourself ‘cantstopwontstopbuyingbooks’ then? Puts a different spin on it.

Honestly, OP, why aren't you reading War and Peace in the original Russian you found in a skip? Shame on you, young lady.

My TBR never gets any shorter.