On January 11 I wrote a post about a self-imposed ban from the library in order to focus on reading books I have here.

The rules

  • No requesting more library books until March 1
  • I can go pick up books that I’ve already requested that come in.
  • Also, I can only get new books from Amazon if they are free.  That’s totally cheating but come on, free books!
  • The only exception is if I run out of audiobooks which may happen because I have a road trip this month.

How did it go?  Here’s a hint.  I’m posting the recap a few weeks before March 1.

At first I was great!  I listed a bunch of books that I had started and wanted to finish for #DiverseAThon.

 

I finished those all up. Mission accomplished.

I went on a road trip and listened to a lot of audio books too.

Then the trouble started.  I have so many books here that I haven’t read.  Some of them I was really excited about at the time.  I wandered around not reading any of them.  Here’s what I did instead.

  • I just kept listening to more audiobooks that I had exempted from the ban.
  • I read books that I was receiving in swaps.
  • I started rereading books.  By the way, let’s celebrate Goodreads adding rereading!
  • I read two, yep 2, books that I had here that I hadn’t picked up before.  I liked them.  It is proof that I should read the books I have here.  But, I don’t want to.

By the way, here’s all the books that came into my house while following the rules of the ban precisely.

Sent through swaps

I’ve read 2.5 of these so far.

Free on Amazon

I’m halfway through Ingrid Winter.

Came in from a previous request to the library

Yeah, I gained 10 books while actively not getting new books.

So the moral of the story is that I should rehome a lot of unread books I have here, especially all of those I picked up and read a few chapters and put down.  Here’s the book that broke me.

I was thinking about #ReadtheResistance and thought that I should reread this one.  My current library doesn’t have it.  Why did my rural library have this crazy liberal hippie fantasy?  Anyway, I decided to order it but I totally wouldn’t read it before March 1.  It came in the mail.  I gazed at it.  I put it aside like a good girl.  And then I said to hell with it.

 I’m ending the experiment early and going back on the library request website.  I also got an Amazon gift card in the mail and went wild.

The Hate U Give and River of Teeth are preorders.  I ordered River of Teeth based solely on her Hippo Day tweets and her twitter handle @gaileyfrey that made her my new favorite person in the world.

I’ve started requesting library books too.  I’ve added all kinds of shiny things to my Goodreads TBR lists during my ban – both upcoming releases and deep backlist.

I shouldn’t try to fight my nature.  If I want to read it, I’ll read it right away and I’ll love it.  If I put it aside, let it go no matter how good it might actually be.