I didn't buy a single book for a whole year - book ban update

I didn't buy a single book for a whole year! I was on a book-buying ban to help me save money on books and read more of my physical TBR. Did I succeed though? Let me know in the comments... Also let me know if you're doing a book ban too this year!
Preorder You’ve Got Chain Mail: bit.ly/ygcm-uk-pb
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Book 1 UK - bit.ly/SummerHouseSantoriniUK
Book 2 UK - amzn.to/3qynKht
Book 1 US - bit.ly/SummerHouseSantoriniUS
Book 2 US - amzn.to/3BDnPqB
Book 1 DE - amzn.to/3DhixC7

[@noteonthetext]

I have a physical tbr of 3 (it was about 13 this time last year). I almost exclusively read from the library and then buy the books that I loved and that I want to have in my collection. I think once I get my tbr to 0, I won’t buy books unless I’ve read them from the library first. It’s a system that works for me and I cannot even fathom how much money I’ve saved. Great video! I’m excited to hear your insights from your 2024 book buying ban 😊

[@searchingforsamantha]

Wow, that is very impressive! I’d love to get down to a 0 tbr but don’t think I’d be able to give up preorders 🙈

[@mazreadssometimes]

I've collected an obsceneeeee amount of physical books, and I've recently transformed my "need to own" into "need to get from the library"--I'm lucky that my library has an extensive collection--but since hearing you mention you're keeping your library reads to about 4 books at a time, that may help direct my attention back towards the books on my home shelves, while also maintaining the novelty of new books and not buying them to read them unless it's something I want to re-read again and again.

[@searchingforsamantha]

Yes for sure! That reframe is so helpful. And honestly the limit is hard to maintain - I hate sending things back unread 🙈 but I’m hoping it will help!

[@amybucelewicz4718]

I do the same thing with library books. I placed 10 holds in two days 🫣🤣. I do a Friday night first chapter party. I read the first chapters of each book and then organize them according to interest. I write down the ones I’ll get to later and return everything but my top 3. My ADHD loves the dopamine hit of seeing I have a hold to pick up. Of course because I’m doing Camp NaNoWriMo, my brain wants to avoid planning by reading instead. Ugh. 😅

[@searchingforsamantha]

Omg I love everything about this!! First chapter party sounds amazing.

[@carkarlaw]

1) I always use our trust worthy library. I usually listen to audio. I wrapped my library books as they are very sticky/dirty. You pointed out about rushing to return, you just need to space out the borrowing time. There are buttons and you can pause and hold your spot in line. 2) I also buy second hand books for few dollars. People always sell popular books, and I find they are usually cleaner than library books. 3) baking book - I always borrow the book first and then buy both hard and digital copies. I use digital to do grocery shopping and hard copy while making the food. Baking is a science and cannot change the quantities or ratio (I can but after using the recipe for few times).

[@searchingforsamantha]

A button to pause borrowing time sounds amazing 😩 I don’t think I have that on mine annoyingly. And YES to secondhand books!!

[@annettep28]

That was fun and in my humble view, you nailed it!🎉 As you asked: yes, I do have a similar reading plan f0r 2024. There is a TBR on my shelf of (now) 8 books. So, 1 of them is to be read each month. DNFs do not count as read, but of course they reduce the TBR anyway. On my e-reader there is a good chunk of books and I have a Stick, from which I May download more on the reader. They are not new, so they count as books I have. Then I borrow two books from the library and I may listen to up to 4 books on Bookbeat. That makes it about 8 books, that I am likely to finish in a month. A realistic number for me. Usually, the books I read have about 250 to 300 pages and I am a slow reader. If I do read bigger books, that might take me two months, but that is fine by me. My main goal is to entertain, sometimes to educate, but always to enjoy, what I read. Therefore, if I only finish one book in a month, but read throughout, enjoying myself: great!😊

[@searchingforsamantha]

I LOVE all of that!! For a second I thought you were saying you only owned 8 books you hadn’t read, and my jaw was on the floor 😂

[@juliehughes1258]

So earlier in June 2024, I took on the Read-What-I-Own challenge. I set my number at 20 books, meaning I must read 20 of my TBR books before buying anything new. Audiobooks, Kindle, and physical books all count. Well, I fell off the wagon as I've ordered some from Awesome Books but, other than that, I'm doing well. I've read 6 books between June 3-16 so that's pretty good. I'm not going to tell you how many books are in my Amazon cart right now. I'll buy some of those as Kindles when I finish my 20. I've also done another general unhaul of books I've read and know I won't be re-reading so I've freed up space already. I'm enjoying the process of winnowing out what I own.

[@searchingforsamantha]

Good for you!! And I get it - that add-to-cart dopamine hit is hard to beat. Do you have wish lists set up on Amazon and Goodreads? I found that switching to wish lists helped me.

[@juliehughes1258]

@@searchingforsamantha That’s a great idea. A wish list would be somewhat hidden and I wouldn’t have to deselect everything when I need to buy a non-book item on Amazon. Thanks Sam!

[@searchingforsamantha]

Exactly! I used to just add everything to my cart and then choose “save for later” which means being confronted with the temptation at every checkout 🙈

[@juliehughes1258]

@@searchingforsamantha I finished the project earlier today. Thanks again for this great idea. I bought another book today but it's a workbook for my chronic back pain. I consider this a medical necessity.

[@searchingforsamantha]

Absolutely! Definitely doesn’t count. Excited for you!

[@theRogueBeans]

Thank you for this video! I’m actually trying to read more. I got a library card a few months ago and it changed my life! Where I’m going to use your strategy though is for my video game purchases. I have a crippling backlog of games to play and I keep buying more. I think the strategy you presented will work really well for me. Thanks again!

[@searchingforsamantha]

Omg video games are so hard! My husband is a big gamer and he lets himself play anything that’s free through his PS membership or on Steam, but no spending money on anything except preorders (which for him tend to just be big releases like GOW, Horizon, FF, etc.) and even for those he’ll wait for a sale sometimes (he’s been waiting on the new GOW to go on sale for like a year 😅)

[@cuatajj3207]

I live in the San Francisco Bay area, and if you are a California resident you can get a library card in most counties. I went ahead and got one in every county around me. What one library doesn't have the other might. I can place a hold on a popular book on all libraries that carry it. There are some states you can get a 'non-resident' free library card like Broward County or pay a small fee a year like New Orleans public library which has a great selection. Not sure you can do it from an IP in the UK. Hoopla is a great app, no waiting or placing on hold needed. I only listen to audiobooks. Hope this is helpful.

[@searchingforsamantha]

I love Hoopla! I actually registered with my home county in NC, but you can’t use it for longer than 3 months without validating your ID at the library, so I got kicked out 😅 next time I’m home I’m gonna go get properly registered because that was a godsend when I had it.

[@debbiew7496]

I have kept my Audible subscription and make use of many of their free titles as well. I have a $25 per month budget for other books (can be carried forward if not spent) which keeps me accountable.

[@searchingforsamantha]

I love that! Maybe I’ll try that approach in future years!

[@Dustyrosepetal]

I don't know about your library but mine has ebooks and audio books. I usually have 4-6 books on the waitlist at any given time, the good thing about my library is that if I'm not ready to read it I can delay it by up to 2 weeks and someone else can get it. I use my kobo for the ebooks. Also at least in Canada, some libraries allow you to have digital library cards. I have my provincial card (Nb) and Nova Scotia's digital card. If you own a Kindle I don't think you can use it with your library, but Kobo works for most countries, not sure about the UK though.

[@searchingforsamantha]

Yes, I use the library for a lot of my audio! I don’t read many ebooks but would defo use it for that too. Really jealous of the delay function though!

[@Vanessa-rw4nr]

Thank you so much for making this Video :) I have over 100 books on my TBR, and I really want to focus on those in 2024. We have a great Cashback System in Germany, so I will use my Point to Buy new releases, and sell the books I didn't enjoy. When you talked about your book-buying habits, I really felt that. I sometimes buy books because I think they will make me look smart or because the cover is cute. I hope this BBB will help me be more mindful about what books I am buying in the future.

[@searchingforsamantha]

Thank you so much - I’m so glad it’s helpful!! I’m also SUPER intrigued by the cashback system 👀

[@1984isnow]

I initiated a book buying ban on myself a couple months ago, i have bought 15 since then if you dont count kings you like it darker on audible and if you count the passage trilogy as one! 🤣

[@searchingforsamantha]

Hahahaha 😂😂😂 honestly I had a few like that previously! Sometimes it just sticks.

[@terabyter9000]

Doing the same. I'm good for 10 years or so (450 books TBR).

[@searchingforsamantha]

Wow!!! See I obviously haven’t curbed my habit that much, because I’m kind of jealous 😂

[@katarzynamarzec2291]

I must t deal off with booking books as stress relief. I wanted to make book ban in this year. My excetions where new books from my fav writers whom books I want to have in my personal collection. January is hard form me and I ended with buying a lot of books. But... I dont give up. I start again.

[@searchingforsamantha]

Exactly! It doesn’t have to start in January, and it doesn’t have to be a 100% ban. That kind of rigidity gets us nowhere.

[@ReadingwithRylanne]

i think you did great!! someday i’ll be able to have self control like this (hopefully) HAHA

[@searchingforsamantha]

Lemme tell you, I did NOT think I would be able to do this 😂 you can do it!!

[@evam5134]

That's completely understandable, you as an author buying only 9 books during a book buying ban. Gotta have something to write off for taxes. Unlike myself that hoards and worms. I'm a mood reader too.

[@searchingforsamantha]

I’m doing my taxes this weekend, and the amount I spent on books to write off in previous years was honestly insane 😂