Hello and welcome to another kind of blog post series I am adding to my blog. Nearly a year ago I shared by Read 5, Buy 1 Challenge, you can find that here: Lets Talk | My Read 5, Buy 1 Challenge. In this post I explain how I challenge myself when I feel that my Owned TBR has gotten a bit out of hand. Well, This past month with Book Con I decided that having nearly 50 books at one point was way to high for me to be comfortable with. So, I decided to reinstate the Read 5, Buy 1 Challenge. In the linked post it goes into detail of what it is and what it entails, but I will give you a little summary.
Pretty much for every 5 books you read, you get to buy 1 book. No book buying bans needed with this, but it does help you cull your TBR and get it under control. I have used it quite a few times over the year. My last run of it I got my TBR down to the high teens, which is within my happy place of owned TBR. Anyway, each month I am going to give a little summary of how it is going and share the books I read and the book I bought.
Read
- The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
- Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki
- Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- The Woman in the Dark by Vanessa Savage
- Much Adu About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Buy
- Everything Under by Daisy Johnson
Since I started this in the middle of the month I only have one book hauled through this challenge. Now, I need to get reading so I can get my TBR down and buy some books! Any questions about this challenge I am happy to answer.
What does your TBR look like?
Have you ever done a book buying ban?
Classic Bhaer 
My book buying ban was kinda unintentional! I moved abroad, and was just not able to move books back home, so just decided to barely buy any! I think in the whole school year I bough 15 books, while I read way more!
Which means my physical TBR now consist of like 3 unread books haha (my ereader definitely contains more!)
(www.evelynreads.com)
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Wow, 3 books is amazing! I am looking to get to around 15-10 books as my end goal. I don’t even count the books on my ereader if I get them for free. Mainly because they are back up books and they are kinda random.
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Haha yes sometimes I look through the books on my ereader and I’m like huh did I have that?!
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Yes, I have done that more than once. 😂
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I had to force myself into a digital book buying ban; I was buying so many e-books just because they were cheap, that I probably could have spent buying 5 hardcovers from Book Depository! I will certainly try this method in the future
-Emma 🙂
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Oh, I am glad you find this to be interesting and might give it a go. Ebooks can certainly be tricky when you find them on sale or for free. I only add ebooks to my TBR count if I pay for them at all. I have downloaded free ones from Amazon First, mainly to have as an “emergency” read.
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This is such a good idea! My bookcase is full of books I really want to read but keep forgetting about because I just keep buying more!
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It certainly is a wonderful feeling when you buy a new book, it can be hard to stop. That is why I use this method I can still buy books, it just helps me cut it down.
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I’ve never really had a book ban. We definitely couldn’t afford books very often the first ten+ years of our marriage, so I’m making up for it now.
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I am really happy you are in a place where you can buy more as you please. When I was in Uni I know I was lucky if I could afford a book or so a month. I went to a lot of used bookstores.
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We did, too. But even then, I really didn’t have a place for them. I think we still have boxes of books in our garage. Now I have 6 full book cases with another to put up when I can find the room. It’s so nice.
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I have two shelves and I am nearly maxed out. I have to unhaul often. I dream of getting more one day.
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I hope you’re able to have more in the near future.
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Thanks, once day! 😊
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Book Buying Bans do not work for me at all but lately I have done a plan for myself to not buy any more books if it’s not a highly anticipated (and I mean HIGHLY) or a sequel for a series I love which is non at the moment and it works quite Well. I still have 61 unread books but it was 80 when I started
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That sounds like a really good plan, you always need to find what works for you. Down 19 books is great!
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Love seeing read 5 buy 1 updates! I’m currently trying to do this type of book ban but it isn’t working out as well right now because I just came back from vacation where I bought a few books lol. Can’t wait to see more updates!
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I am glad you enjoy seeing the updates! I figure it would be a fun way to keep me accountable, but also show the books that I end up buying. Oh, when I go on vacation I may pause this, but I don’t think I will be around a bookstore so we shall see. What books did you end up picking up?
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I picked up From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata! I heard really good things about her writing so I just went with it! I also picked up a physical copy of Waiting for Tom Hanks, which I really enjoyed.
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I keep seeing Waiting for Tom Hanks in my bookstore, glad to hear you liked it. I might have to look it up to find out more about it. I have not read anything by Mariana Zapata, what type of books does she write?
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This is such a good idea! I’ve never liked the term “book buying ban”. I think this is a great way to cut down on a tbr pile. I will definitely try this
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I hope it works well for you!
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