Show Your Shelves Some Love ~ A No Book Buying Challenge is being hosted by the ladies at Chapter Break and Second Run Reviews. For complete details and rules, and to sign up, click the banner.
The goal of this challenge is simple - refrain from buying any books (*gasp* OR set a budget) and work on removing the hoards (is that just me??) of books from your physical and digital shelves. This is a year-long challenge, January 1 - December 31, 2015.
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Okay, I don't think it's any secret that I have an addiction...a book buying addiction. ;) I mean, y'all see my BB&B posts, right? Just look at my physical TBR shelves...and the bottom row got cut off!
So when Julie and Rose @Chapter Break mentioned doing a "read what you own" challenge, I was all over it! I was momentarily taken aback at the thought of not being able to buy *ANY* books but then quickly found the part in the rules that says I can as long as I set a budget. Phew! I can do that. (I think ;)
You don't have to decide which books you're gonna read ahead of time, but you do have to pick a level. So here is the level I'm aiming at and how I plan to get there:
- I'm shooting for a Purple Belt ~ 31-40 books, meaning I have regular date nights with my shelves. ;) And honestly, I could probably do this challenge for 2 or 3 years and still not have read everything I own. *sigh*
As for a budget, I was trying to figure out a $ amount I felt I could limit myself to but I also liked Chapter Break's idea of earning books. I'm going to do a hybrid. Here's how it'll work...
- I'm going to allow myself $10 a month for books. If I don't use that amount, it rolls over to the next month. If there is a new release I've been waiting on, I'll make sure I've saved enough $ from previous months to afford it.
- Gift cards don't count - I hope I get at least ONE for Christmas *hint* so I can purchase KMM's Burned on January 20th!
- Freebies don't count - so I can one-click those to my heart's content.
- Audible credits don't count - so I can get my one audio book a month
- Any signings or book conventions I attend don't count - I can buy or collect free books while there (I'm attending two conventions/conferences as of right now)
Earning:
- For every 3 books from my shelves I read, I earn a book under $3.
- For every week with 5 days of exercise, I earn a book under $3.
- For every 5000 words on my book, I earn a book under $3.
I think these are boundaries I can live within. I'll keep y'all posted monthly, though.
