I managed about a full 10 minutes of shifting through them before I became overwhelmed, re-stacked everything, and left my books alone.
Well heck. This isn't going to work, I thought. I can't even casually look through my books without feeling stressed. I realized Lent is coming up, and while I am a very lapsed Catholic, I decided it would be a good chance to test my desire to read through my TBR piles. Once I found out Lent begins fairly soon (February 26), I really felt strongly that this was my chance to break my habit of adding to my TBR pile without also reading from my TBR pile. And once I've read the book, it either goes to friends to read, family to keep and read, or is donated. Only super special "must keep" books will stay with me.
Yes, I know Lent is all about giving up something that would be hard to give up for 40 days. Let me tell you, I've spent decades buying books whenever it suited me to do so; sometimes buying 5 books a week. Usually I last about 2 weeks tops before I buy something at the bookstore. Even using the library, I still buy books. Mostly because that's what libraries do for a lot of us--we see something there, read it, and decide we want a copy for our shelves at home.
My goal over those 40 days starting February 26th is to read books I check out from the library and read books from my piles at home. It's going to be a random mishmash of stuff, for sure. But I can't buy any books for those 40 days. I'm already feeling the pain.
I'll keep you updated on how I'm doing, of course. 40 days isn't very long, but it's long enough for me to feel overly dramatic about it:
Good luck with your no buying goals during Lent. Interestingly enough, I made the same goal for Lent as you did - no buying books!! My focus will be on reading and appreciating the unread books I currently have in my possession.
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