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Original poster

A year of no book buying. Anyone care to join me?

378 replies

Parisbanana · 18/12/2016 20:24

I've had a dummy run, starting at the beginning of the school year in September, just so it didn't seem too daunting! But so far I'm embracing it. I buy a lot of books generally and just thought we'd got so many in the house. I do read the vast majority of what I buy, but I do have books I haven't read, and my husband and teenage kids have some great books I would love to read.
So over the past 3 months I have definitely decreased my bedside pile. I am currently reading A Christmas Carol which dh reads every December but I never have. It's quite a joy to browse our book cases and spot things I haven't read and think this is the year I'll get round to it! Or to reread old favourites.
And I've just been made redundant so tightening the book buying belt is even more important.

Anyone fancy giving it a go?

OP posts:
PleaseTieMyBow · 28/02/2017 20:19

Cagliostro I know how you feel about plodding! Even books you are enjoying sometimes just seem to take so long. I have Delusions of Gender on my tbr pile, it's been there a very long time but I may read it next.

BTW this is ParisBanana. I don't normally announce name changes (they're very infrequent) but since I started this thread I didn't want you to thing I'd disappeared Smile. I'm here for the duration and am determined to have that pile seriously reduced by the end of the year!

Matilda2013 · 01/03/2017 08:45

Oops! Couldn't resist buying Do No Harm for 99p today I've been interested for a while now. Shouldn't look at kindle deals!

Matilda2013 · 02/03/2017 18:33

Onto book number 15 Daisy in Chains - Sharon Bolton. I've seen this book everywhere so hoping it lives up to the hype!

FiveShelties · 05/03/2017 21:03

How strange Matilda, I am reading Like this , for ever by Sharon Bolton. It is a fantastic read, almost finished, a real page turner. I would love to hear about your book.☺

Matilda2013 · 05/03/2017 22:20

Oh fiveshelties this is the first book of Sharon Bolton's I've read (tbh I thought it was maybe her first as it's had so much hype!) but I am thoroughly enjoying it and hate having to put it down who says we need to sleep and clean the house etc. It's about a surgeon who was convicted of murdering four women but he wants a lawyer/writer to help him prove his innocence. Very good so far and I have no idea where we're going and I'm about halfway through

PleaseTieMyBow · 06/03/2017 17:37

Just read my mumsnet book club email. Top threads included one I had managed to avoid as it was posted in chat and I never noticed it. Favourite books of all time. I just read it and now have a list as long as my arm to add to the already long list which cannot be bought for another 10 months.....
I will not be tempted to Amazon, I really won't, I'm doing so well (6 months so far HaloGrin)

Loopytiles · 06/03/2017 17:43

I stopped buying hard copy books for myself when DC1 was born ten years ago (not coincidental!). My job involves lots of (dull, factual) reading I've stopped enjoying reading for pleasure.

I have access to a relative's kindle account and read the odd e-book, but their reading preferences are mainly too challenging for me now! I still enjoy children and young adult fiction.

I buy books for the DC but prefer to use the library for them too because of storage space.

mmack · 06/03/2017 17:51

I bought a book in a charity shop and ordered a non-fiction book as well. I lasted 2 months though and that is probably the longest I ever went without buying a book. I also read The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster and I'm reading The Land of Spices by Kate O'Brien so the tbr pile is still going down.

Izzy24 · 06/03/2017 22:55

I spent this evening trying to sort out books for the charity shop.

I managed to let go of two.....

And realised my tbr pile is even larger than I thought Blush

(Although sometimes I re-read something and don't realise that I'm re-reading until several pages in. So there may not be quite as many as it seems!)

anonymice · 07/03/2017 14:14

two gone is better than none though, Izzy. My DH struggles to do that!!
i am on Book 17 now. It's another crime novel which my Mum lent me - I need to stop letting her lend me books. But still none bought!!!

Matilda2013 · 08/03/2017 10:20

Finished book fifteen! Thoroughly enjoyed Daisy in Chains - Sharon Bolton and would recommend. I totally didn't have it figured out and was gripped right to the end

mmack · 13/03/2017 18:27

I finished two more. One was excellent-The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the Cazalet books. The other was very, very weird-The Passion of New Eve by Angela Carter.

anonymice · 17/03/2017 10:31

mmack I want to read some Rebecca West. Thanks for reminding me :)
I have not bought any books yet but I have got £3 credit for google books which is now burning a hole in my pocket....Pile of books to be read is going down though which makes me very happy. It's lovely to read this thread and all the books people are reading.

Matilda2013 · 18/03/2017 19:24

17 books down! I think we're getting somewhere although I'm struggling to pick what to read next everytime as I have to go through the TBR list

PleaseTieMyBow · 20/03/2017 15:48

Started reading Delusions of Gender (again) but has gone back on the pile. Just too much for me right now, no wonder I've never got very far with it before.
Am now reading Anne of Green Gables. What a delightful book! Am loving it, though making slow progress because I'm just so tired when I get to bed.

And confession time. I bought a book Shock
Well it's not really for me, it's for dd but I want to read it too so it's a sort of present! It's Monty Don's book Nigel. It was cheap in Sainsbury's. Dd had seen it when it was out in hardback and I'd told her to hold fire. Anyway I'll read it after her and let you know!

Izzy24 · 20/03/2017 19:50

Will confess too Blush - bought two Oxfam books to send to someone overseas where books are difficult to find.

You may wonder why I don't just send two of the (many) paperbacks I've read which sit on my shelves....

But you know why don't you? Wink

mmack · 22/03/2017 19:22

I bought another book but read a few more tbrs as well - Broke Heart Blues by Joyce Carol Oates and My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal. I usually like JCO but there was an awful lot of waffle in Broke Heart Blues, which is a pity because the central story was good. My Name is Leon was nice but very slight. I'm reading Indignation by Philip Roth at the moment and it's excellent. I think I'm about halfway though my pile of books now after 3 months on this thread. I started off with almost 40 and have roughly 20 left.

Izzy24 · 22/03/2017 21:09

VERY impressive mmack !

Matilda2013 · 23/03/2017 11:54

So I just purchased two 99p kindle books. Been a stressful time and thought it's only £2 and two books I'm interested in and I've read 17 so far this year so it's going well!

FiveShelties · 25/03/2017 22:28

I finished the Sharon Bolton book, Like This for Ever. It was very good and I have popped the one Matilda read above on my WishList. Have just returned from holiday and read quite a few books which were in the 'Library' there as well as three of my own which I left. Have still not bought anything and have gots lots on my WishList at Overdrive so not quite powering through the shelves here but at least not buying more.

Matilda I hope the stress alleviates shortly for you and the new books help.

Matilda2013 · 25/03/2017 23:58

Fiveshelties I say that Sharon Bolton book is one of the best I have read this year! Would you recommend that one?

Some money troubles on dp part, I had no idea but we're trying to work through so I feel a few £1 kindle books won't do me any harm Grin

FiveShelties · 26/03/2017 20:11

Matilda - yes I would definitely recommend it. Sorry about the troubles - hope they are sorted quickly, always tough when you suddenly find out something and I am sure the Kindle books would do no harm! Not that I am encouraging you - much Grin

Matilda2013 · 26/03/2017 20:24

Aw thank you Grin will have a wee look out for the book. Maybe try the library Wink

summerholsdreamin · 26/03/2017 20:31

Great idea, can I join please? We are moving house shortly and taking on scary sized mortgage. As such we need to save every spare penny.

Whilst packing I've been shocked by the amount of books I've not even looked at.

I hear by pledge that I won't buy any more books including cookery porn until I've read the pile I've packed in a separate box.

PleaseTieMyBow · 27/03/2017 20:24

summerholsdreamin welcome! It's quite scary how many books we can accumulate that haven't been read isn't it?! Good luck with the move. Are you going far? I'm finding the whole thing of no book buying really remarkably easy (I've been on a ban this entire school year so since 1st September and have only bought one book and that was really for dd although I'll probably read it too)

Just a question for everyone with a lot of books tbr. Are they literally in a pile? Or on a particular shelf? Or dotted around book cases and shelves randomly? My most recent purchases are on my bedside table but otherwise I'm generally in the last camp, dotted all over the place.

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