Shelf Love Challenge Year-End Wrap Up AND Shelf Love 2016 ~ I'm Doing It Again!

This month, I'm discussing how I've done with a Year of Budgeting my Book Buying. Yep, this was a no book buying challenge, but I *knew* realistically there was no way I wouldn't add at least a few books to my shelves. And I was right. Mostly, I've stuck to *freebies*, which I didn't count against myself even though I was adding books to my shelves. Gift cards also didn't count against me. But I also attempted to create ways in which to earn books. That didn't work out so well. And I can't tell you why. I think I ended up making the math too complicated for myself! *ha*

However, I *did* budget $10 a month for book buying. And when I didn't use that amount, I rolled it into the next month. (see, already getting complicated) I managed to stick to this budget. And I'm very proud of myself for doing so! It's a good feeling to know that I *can* exercise some restraint when it comes to buying books...something I've never really done before. When I wanted a book, I would take the time to think, "Am I going to be able to read this soon?" If the answer was no, I just added it to a wishlist for future purchase. I have a lengthy list! *ha* But I also have room on my shelves. :D As of this posting, I've read 75 books, y'all!


How did y'all do this year? Are you ending the year with fewer books that you started with? I'm sure I'm not, but I've loved the exercise!

I loved it so much, I'm doing it again next year! It's Shelf Love with a few differences...

I'm absolutely thrilled to be co-hosting the 2016 Shelf Love Challenge with the ladies @Chapter Break and Terri @Second Run Reviews (who hosted this year). And of course, I'm participating. :)

Things are changed up a bit for the 2016 version...here are the basics for the challenge. For full details, check out my Shelf Love Challenge post above.

Shelf Love 2016

Goal: To grow your TBR pile responsibly and read the books you already own. You have ‘em, now read ‘em!

Guidelines for the #ShelfLove Challenge 2016

• Read books that are in your personal library that were obtained before January 1, 2016.
• Responsibly obtain books for your personal library.
• You may wish to abstain from purchasing books or set a book budget for yourself.
• You decide the best way to get control of your TBR pile and read the books you already own.
• Library books (and textbooks) do not count for the challenge.
• You may use your library to obtain different formats of books you already own and count those towards your goal.
• Participate in the monthly discussion posts by linking up, visiting and commenting on the other participants’ blogs.
• Sign up for the mailing list (http://eepurl.com/bcjrT9) to get regular updates about the Challenge. We will not sell or give away your contact information. You are able to unsubscribe at any time.

Goals for the #ShelfLove Challenge 2016

• 1­-10 books: shake hands with your shelves
• 11-­20 books: pat your shelves on the back
• 21-­30 books: give your shelves a warm friendly hug
• 31-­40 books: regular date night with your shelves
• 41-­50 books: my shelves are now my bff
• 51+ books: my shelves and I are going steady

My Goal

I'm aiming for a goal of 51+ books, or my shelves and I are going steady. :) To help me achieve my goal, I'm restricting myself on new releases. Therefore, for every 8 books I read from my physical and digital shelves, I can read 1 new release. That should help! Also, I will set a budget of $10 a month for procuring books. If I don't use it, it won't carry over. I'm trying to keep it simple for myself in 2016.


So are your shelves in need of some love?? Join me in some shelf loving fun in 2016!