I purged, weeded, culled–whatever you want to call it–the shit out of my books earlier this year in an effort to make them more manageable for the move from the Midwest to New England. I am again overwhelmed as I unpack them and try to decide what goes where.
Many of the books that made the move are ones I’ve read, but so many of them I have not. I no longer want books overflowing in every room and want to take better care of those I do have. Buying more books when so many sit unread no longer works for me. Even before I worked at a bookstore my book buying habit had become unmanageable.
Ultimately, I want to curate a personal library that matters to me.
But how do I know which books truly matter to me unless I read them?
So, I’ve decided to take The TBR Triple Dog Dare challenge, which means that from January 1 to April 1, 2014 I’ll read only books that I own as of January 1, 2014 (the only exceptions are book club reads and review copies that may pop up).
 |
| The last purchase of the year, made 12/28/13 |
To help me resist temptation and to keep me more focused, I’ve been unsubscribing from the email newsletters of publishers and the like. I know I’ll hear chatter about books that I just have to have to read on other book blogs, Facebook, and Twitter, but I’m hoping that cutting out direct messaging will help a bit.
And you know what happens on April 1st? Nevada Barr’s next Anna Pigeon novel, Destroyer Angel, is scheduled for release that day. That will be my treat for accomplishing this challenge.
Wish me luck, and if you, too, are desperate to read the books that you already own CLICK HERE to sign up for The TBR Triple Dog Dare challenge.
p.s. Thanks (I think) to Thomas at My Porch for bringing this challenge to my attention.