We are now nearing the end of July, so over the halfway mark for 2024! It's time for a check-in. I'll double-check and make sure that the rules I set for myself are still sound and are working for what I'm going for..
As a reminder, my personal set of rules for my Book No Buy Year are as follows:
Green Light: Book Purchases and Acquirements I Can Make
- Any books bought or pre-ordered prior to the start of 2024 are fair game (that being said, I did not treat this as permission to go wild). --> No problem. All pre-ordered, pre-purchased books have been accounted for at this point. There have been a few books that I've been bummed I can't purchase until next year though. I have lapsed just once in this area-- a bought a book that a friend of mine wrote and illustrated. That purchase happened recently. I'm not concerned that this will happen for the rest of the year though. I think in general, this rule is doing its job.
Yellow Light: Limits and Exceptions for Book Purchases and Acquirements
- Presents for others, thoughtfully gifted (thrifted books as much as possible). The only occasions where this can happen are birthdays and Christmas. I want to avoid "just because" gifts of books. --> No problem here!
- I can enter contests for books as long as I don't have to pay for them. The odds of me actually winning these drawings are very, very slim. I'm thinking particularly of GoodReads for this. --> All good here. I have entered contests through GoodReads and I haven't won a single one of them. So I think this is an okay exception still!
- I can buy a book if I need it for work or a class. First though, I must check the library to see if it's available within a week or two there. If it's not, I can opt for a digital copy. If a digital copy isn't available, then a hard copy can be acquired (secondhand as often as possible). --> I have taken advantage of this one, so I have acquired a few books because of this. I have acquired two writing instruction books and two books that college students were trying to teach to middle school students. I don't think I've gone too overboard in this area!
- Request books on NetGalley if I have immediate plans and desires to read that book. I don't want to create a new backlog just because I want to read brand new stories. --> I wouldn't call this out of control, but I have definitely gotten a NetGalley book or two have haven't finished all of them in a timely manner like I'm supposed to. With summer quickly nearing an end and school coming up, I should prioritize reading those books. We'll see what happens though!
- I can use the library to find a mode of a book that I don't already own (for example, if I own a physical copy of a book but I'd rather listen to the audiobook). --> You know, I haven't done this as much as I thought I would. I think this is a reasonable accommodation, so I'll keep it.
Red Light: Hard Boundaries Around Book Purchases and Acquirements
- I won't repurchase any books I used to own but previously gave up-- nostalgia is not a good enough reason to acquire or re-acquire books --> No problems here!
- Keep Audible account on pause so that I can keep listening to the books I already have but without acquiring more credits --> Okay, I had a very small issue here. I forgot that when you pause your Audible account, it only lasts for three months. So I believe I was accidentally charged for a month. As a result, I chose an audiobook because otherwise, I would lose that credit. I canceled my account since then so it hasn't been an issue.
- Sites like Chirp and BookBub can be used to inspire requests at the library and adding books to my GoodReads TBR, but I cannot take advantage of any of the steep discounts for the duration of 2024, including books that are free. --> You know, it's been easier to avoid these emails advertising cheap ebooks and audiobooks altogether. So this hasn't been an issue, really!
- No buying physical versions of digital books I fall in love with just to own a hard copy of that book. --> No problems here!