Discussion Post: How Do You Decide What Books to Buy?

I think a few months ago I promised I would do a discussion about why I'm no longer on a book buying ban. That post never happened. I never even got close to writing it either. Because honestly the real reason is because I really wasn't on one in the first. I have never not bought books.

It's one of the unfortunate (read fortunate) side effects of being a book blogger. You are hyper aware of all the upcoming releases. Whether that is because you need to have your pulse on what is coming next from publishers for reviews or because you are just entrenched in the world and seeing them in your Twitter feed, Bloglovin list, or on Goodreads those upcoming releases are in your face. Before I started blogging I would made learn about a few exciting books a year and now I know about a dozen a week. This is great because I learn about all kinds of amazing books I want to read but it's also really bad on the wallet.

I don't know about you but I don't have much of an expendable income. I can spend some money on books but not as much as I would like to, especially with the fact that I know so many books that are coming out and want to read so many of them. This means I need to prioritize the books that I do buy. So instead of talking about my lack of book buying ban I decided to talk about that as my discussion post this month. So here is how I decide which books to buy.

1.) I Only Buy Books I Know I Am Going to Read

Now, I know that this is not going to be something that everyone can do. Many of you and many people out there in the world are mood readers and therefore they will read whatever they feel like at any given moment. It's hard to plan out your books if you are a mood reader. I'm not a mood reader. I will sometimes want to read something different but for the most part I am a hardcore planner. Most of you know I do theme months here so I plan out what I'm going to read. Because of that I can definitely say that I can and will read a book that month and therefore feel okay buying it.

This also helps me prioritize the books I buy because usually the ones that I know I am going to read are the highly anticipated releases I can't wait to read because they are the ones that I have already been waiting on. Often times these are sequels or new releases from favorite authors. They are the standards and favorites that I want to read really badly and therefore I can buy them knowing that I will read.

Well the main reason I only buy books that I know I'm going to read is so that I don't have a massive TBR and bookshelf full of books I have not read. It's so easy to do that as a book blogger and I really try to avoid that. I already have enough of that. The other reason that I do this is because I make sure I don't waste my money. Not that buying any book is a waste of money. But I think you get more bang for you buck if you are ensuring that you read the books you buy. But easier said than don, amiright?

2.) I Prioritize Preorders

This I think helps me do the first one on this list, which is buying books I know I am going to read. Because if I care enough about a book to order it before it is even released then I know that I really want to read it. Plus if you are ordering them early you can often get deals from places like Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and many authors do fun preorder rewards so you can get fun things like bookmarks or buttons. It's a nice bonus.

This is of course harder in months where a ton of really anticipated releases comes out. I kind of have to prioritize this even more (I'll give you some of my tips for that later). In those months, like the upcoming September and October which are full of books I really want to read, I have to be even more thoughtful about the books I want to preorder. I try to only get one book a week and because of that I need to think much more about what I know I will read.

The other real benefit to this is that it prevents impulse buys. I mean this in two ways. One, it keeps me from just going on line and buying a book just because it's one sale. And two, it prevents me from seeing something I didn't know that I needed when going into a bookstore. I used to (and sometimes still do) buy books all the time just going into Borders (may it rest in peace) and just pick up whatever. Or

3.) I Don't Buy Books if I Already Have an ARC

Okay so this one kind of makes me feel like a little bit of a jerk. I know there is no benefit to the author or the publisher if you don't buy the book. Publishing is business and if you want to support them the only way to do that is to actually buy the book. So why am I advocating not doing that? Well, if you are on a budget and don't want to buy too many books buying one you already have a copy of is the way to do that.

For me this is especially the case if I have a physically ARC of the book. I prefer paperbacks anyway so having a physical ARC is like having a paperback to me. Yes, sometimes they're not as pretty because the cover is not final or they don't have the embossing, the shininess, or the cool dyed edges but still. To me having a copy of the book already

I also try to prioritize reading my ARCs. Besides those preorders and highly anticipated reads I Now I also try to limit the amount of e-books that I buy by prioritizing my e-ARCs that I have. I would say I read the same amount of physical books as e-books each month so by prioritizing my e-ARCs I am keeping myself from reading e-books and therefor keeping myself from buying e-books  because they are not books that I know I am going to read.


4.) I Pick a Format and Just Buy That One.

I know there are some people out there who are collectors, they want all the books in all the formats and that is totally fine. If you can get a book in hardcover, paperback, foreign edition, audiobook, cover redesign and you want to do that more power to you. You do you. But if you are trying to limit the amount books you buy then maybe don't spend money buying a book that you already have.

But this is also the case when it comes to upcoming releases that you are super excited about. As book bloggers and bookish people we read books in any number of formats. You can buy a physical book, an e-book, or even the audio for a book. It's sometimes hard not to get carried away and buythe book in all the formats, especially if it's a highly anticipated book and you want to read ASAP. Maybe you need that e-book so you can start at midnight or the audiobook so that you can listen at work. But again if you need to reduce your spending, limit that as much as possible.

The hardest for me is audiobooks. I really love audiobooks and I want to have a physical copy of the book and then listen to the audio. In these cases I try to decide which I would rather have. Do I love the cover and want to look at how pretty it is? Then I'll get a physical copy? Do I love the narrator and would rather listen to them tell me the story? Then I will get the audio. But I am very weak to it for favorite series. But I'm getting better. Plus I'm trying to spend my one free audiobook wisely now that I have just that and I would rather spend it on a book I can't read.

There you have it, the way I decide which books I am going to buy a month and some tips for deciding which books not to buy. I hope if you are on a book buying ban or you just want to spend your book budget wisely they help you. I know they have really helped me. Despite a few months where I bought more than usual, I've been only buying a few books every month.

How do you decide which books to buy or which not to buy? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Discussion Post: My 2016 Book Buying Ban

This conversation always stems from the same thing. I need to get a new bookshelf because I can't fit them all on the shelf that I have. Then I get a new shelf, reorganize my books and realize just how many books I own and see how many of them are unread. That happened this weekend. (Check out my pretty new shelf). Well plus I already had a freak out last week about breaking my ban.

Last year I decided to put myself on a book buying ban of sorts. Us bookish people, we can sort of go overboard when it comes to getting books. I know for me in particular if I see a book sale or have a coupon I'm like "I NEED ALL THE THINGS!" That's why last year I put myself on a plan that allowed me to buy very specific books.

So as 2015 drew to a close I decided to look back at that ban and see how I did and reassess these goals for 2016. Here's last year's post if you want to check it out.

1.) Don't Buy Books You've Already Read

In 2015 - At first I thought, I actually did pretty good with this one. I didn't want to buy books that I had already read and I could only think of a few times I broke this one last year. But then I thought about it more and realized I bought hardcovers for books I had already read, I bought books in multiple formats, I probably broke this more times than I realized. I know we all deserve a cheat from time to time so I'm not to mad about it but I can't really say that I accomplished this.

In 2016 - Be better. I will admit that I will probably break this one again. I'll get an e-ARC and want a physical copy. I'll buy books to complete a series. Saying I can't do this at all isn't realistic. I think I'm going to set myself a limit for this one. I'm going to allow myself to do this 6 times throughout the year. So this way I can keep it to a minimum but set a goal that is more realistic. In general I don't want to buy books in multiple formats. That's the big thing. I already have a few books that I'm getting a physical copy and an e-book because Tor has discounted versions through Amazon. I'm considering cancelling these because that's already two off this goal. And I recently had this huge internal conflict about canceling a preorder because I got a physical ARC and an e-ARC. I want a hardcover so badly but that would be half of my limit in the first couple months. I must stay strong!

2.) Only Buy Books You Know You're Going to Read

In 2015 - I thought at first that I did really good about this one as well. I could only think of a couple books that I bought that I didn't read. Okay so there was that pesky library book sale, but that doesn't count. I was supporting the library. In general I honestly can only think of a few physical books I bought that I didn't read. Then I looked at my Kindle. I bought 47 books for my Kindle in 2015 and only read 12 of them. That is terrible for someone on a book buying ban. I usually justified it because they were all on sale, $2-5 for a book isn't bad at all but wow that adds up after awhile. So that part of the ban I definitely failed.

In 2016 - I think this one is going to have to go on the list again just as is. I said last year when I wrote my discussion post that because I plan out my TBR with theme months it shouldn't be that hard to only buy what I plan on reading. That wasn't true I guess. And this year I'm deciding not to be so strict about the monthly TBR so I run the risk of just getting a book because I want to. But I'm also more likely to buy a book that I will read because it won't be on the TBR for forever. Although is that so bad? Yes... AH! See why I need this! The big thing too is that I need to not buy Kindle books just because they're on sale (more on this later).

3.) Stick With the Pre-Orders

In 2015 - I did well on this. I mean it's not a "don't do something" part of the ban so it's easier to
complete I think. But in general I would say of the physical books I bought this year all but three were pre-orders and I read every book I pre-ordered. I still think that it helps me prioritize the books that I really want to read. If I care enough to pre-order, I'm going to read it. This part of the ban really just exists to help me complete other parts of the ban.

In 2016 - Keep it up. Like I said, I did well with this one and I think it helps keep my general book buying down. I already have eight books pre-ordered for 2016 and that's only through March. Plus the thing I like about pre-orders is that usually they are like 20-30% cheaper if you get them in advance. That in and of itself makes me feel better about the spending. Even if I do have to wait a few extra days to get it (cough cough WHERE'S MY COPY OF PASSENGER cough). I'm actually considering making my book buying ban only allow preorders but that seems unrealistic so at this point I'll just keep it as a key component.

4.) Stay Off Book Outlet and Don't Use Coupons Just Because You Can

In 2015 - Surprisingly I did really well with this one as well. I used Book Outlet this year for
basically only gifts. I bought myself two books there the entire year. I didn't get anything during the Black Friday Sale or the Boxing Day Sale. Do I regret it? Maybe a little. NO! I don't regret it. I love Book Outlet, it's great but getting a stack of books I don't plan on reading I don't like.

In 2016 - Keep it up. I'm going to stay off Book Outlet again and not use coupons just because I have them. But I think the big addition to this part of the ban this year is that I won't buy a book just because it is on sale. Last year when I explained why I was including this as part of my ban I called Book Outlet a bunch of jerks but now I feel like it's Amazon for their Kindle deals. Like I said before, that adds up after awhile. If I have no plans to read it I'm not going to buy it. I need to avoid buying books just because they are on sale and be more responsible when it comes to these things.

5.) First Read the Books You Already Have

In 2015 - I said last year that this is easier said than done and I was right. This one is a hard one. I did the TBR Pile Challenge where I wanted to read backlist books that I already own. I ended up reading 21 books for this challenge which is pretty goof but only 17 of them were books I owned before. And considering that I read about 130 books in 2015 not counting rereads that's not even 15% of my total books read. That's not terrible but I'd like it to be better than that.

In 2016 - I need to be better. I am doing the Rock My TBR Challenge which I am hoping will help with this goal. What I like about this challenge is that it only counts books that you already own. The TBR Pile one was just backlist books so as the year went on I counted books that I was gifted or books that I got from the library. This year I can't do that. And you are supposed to make a list of books you are hoping to read which I think is cool. My goal is to read 25 books for that challenge which will be 20% of total reads not counting rereads. That I think is a better percentage. Plus I think not sticking super close to a reading schedule will help me be able to read more books that I own.

Once again, I need your help. Writing this post is helping to keep me honest. I need to be better about my book buying ban. Although if I'm being entirely honest I don't want to call it a ban. Bans are hardcore, bans make you think that it's all or nothing. So I think instead I'm going to call this a book buying diet. I'm just trying to cut back, be more responsible, get healthy. Who's with me? Who will help me make it happen?

Are you on a book buying ban? What does your ban entail. Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Discussion Post: My Book Buying Ban(ish goal)

I'm not sure if you knew this, but I love books. Like a lot! Like even if I'm saving money to do things like move and buy a new car I really can't help but buy books. I also really love sales. And coupons. (I mean I'm not like extreme couponing level but still). So if I get a coupon or see a book sale, even if I don't want anything in particular I will buy something, or too many things.

It's gotten out of control! If you follow me on Instagram you've seen the photo of my YA shelf buckling under the weight of the books. Did I mention that I can't even fit all the books I want on that shelf? It's overflowing onto other shelves now. Plus there's the two large boxes of books that "don't fit on my shelves" and a few other shelves are starting to get double stacked. I don't even want to think about counting how many books on my shelves I haven't read!

So after two Book Outlet hauls where I didn't even get books I really wanted I decided that something needs to change. That's why starting on January 1st I put myself on a pretty specific "book-buying ban." I thought I would share with you all my goals for my "book buying ban."

1.) Don't Buy Books You've Already Read 
This sounds silly but it has actually proved the most difficult. There are a handful of books that I have read either from audiobooks, borrowed from the library, or even have e-ARCs but bot finished copies. I also have series that I've completed where I don't own one book and feel sad about the incomplete set. I really want physical copies of the book but I feel like my book budget could be spent a little more wisely. So I'm trying really hard to only buy books that I haven't read but also...

2.) Only Buy Books You Know You're Going to Read 
You guys probably know that I do themed months here on the blog. Therefore I plan out what I'm going to read in advance. It wouldn't be all that hard to only buy I know I'm going to read. Plus this will cut down on needlessly buying books and then not reading them. It will really cut my TBR pile down, which is the goal, because I won't be adding new books to that stack. Plus if I slowly buy the books if I feel the urge to go into a bookstore I'll be able to satiate that desire buy grabbing the next book in my TBR.

3.) Stick With the Pre-Orders 
I don't pre-order a lot of books. But have you seen all the spring releases and debuts coming out this year? Some great books are coming out in the next couple months and I want to read so many of them! I want to read them so much that I have already pre-order a handful of them. This only getting pre-orders will me prioritize the books I really want to read. If I have the urge to pre-order it then it is one of the top books in my TBR and I will definitely read it. Not to mention you can often get some deals if you're pre-ordering. Half off Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver, yes please!

But with books. (and also cats)

4.) Stay off Book Outlet and Don't Use Coupons Just Because You Can 
Those jerks at Book Outlet are the absolute worst (by that I mean best) at convincing me to buy books I don't really need. They're constantly sending me emails telling me about the new books they have, and coupons, and blah blah blah! The books are so cheap that I convince myself I'd be losing money not to buy a completed series I had no intention of reading beforehand. I just need to avoid them unless they have books that I know I'm going to read, and then I'm not breaking the ban I'm just getting good deals.

5.) First Read the Books You Already Have
Easier said than don, amiright? But seriously, I need to prioritize the books I already own. I used to be so good at this. I loved buying books but I would still read the ones I had. Then I started blogging and being a part of this community and I learned about all the amazing new books coming out. I want all the cool new books and my sad old books began collecting dust. I think once I read the books on my shelf and in my Kindle I will feel better about buying books. I have tons of unread ARCs from BEA and backlist books sitting on my shelf to read. They deserve my attention as well. I'm taking part in the TBR Pile Challenge and taking it a step further and only reading books I already own so that should help even more!

But I'm not just telling you this for no reason or just because I want to explain myself. I need your help. If you follow me on Twitter you know I broke my ban a few days ago and I don't want to do it again. I've heard it said that the best way to keep your goals is to make them public. So here I am telling you my plan. But it's more than the pressure of disappointing you all. This is seriously hard. And I know if it's hard I shouldn't do it, but I was being so good and I don't want to let one mistake cause me to backslide. I think this is totally doable for this year and then it will be a real behavioral change.

But I need your help. So tell me, who is going to be my sponsor? I need somebody to yell at me when I'm buying books I don't need! Leave me a comment with your thoughts on book buying ban, especially if you will help keep me from buying not breaking my ban!