let’s talk bookish | pages & purchasing problems

Hello again, dear friends, I hope all is well for you, and if not, then I hope brighter days head your way soon! Today I bring to you a belated Let’s Talk Bookish post. I meant to post this on Friday, but I ended up getting really sick and have been unable to do much since then. But now I’m feeling slightly better (even though I’m still sick and currently have completely lost my voice) I wanted to make sure I got this post out, as I think I have a bit of a different take than most people.

This post is part of the weekly bookish discussion meme Let’s Talk Bookish, which was created by Rukky at Eternity Books and is currently hosted by Aria at Book Nook Bits.

Is There Such a Thing as Buying Too Many Books?

This is an interesting topic because I think I have a different answer than most readers—or at least most “bookish influencers.” I think most reader’s immediate response to the question “Is there such a thing as buying too many books?” is probably “Absolutely not!” but for myself, my knee-jerk reaction is quite different. Why is that? It is because I have lived in poverty for the majority of my life and still live in poverty to this day. So, from my perspective, obviously if you can’t afford to buy books then yes, you absolutely can have a problem buying “too many” books.

Because of my financial reality, I definitely limit the number of books I purchase, especially since I primarily listen to audiobooks, which can get expensive. I limit myself to only having two audiobook subscription services—Audible (which affords me one audiobook purchasing credit per month) and Spotify (which has an open library of audiobooks, and which I also use for music and podcasts). Aside from using my monthly credits on Audible, I don’t purchase audiobooks otherwise, because it’s just not in my budget. Fortunately, I’m really lucky to be a member of five different library systems which all have astonishingly large digital audiobook collections through Libby and Hoopla. Because of having this plus Spotify, I basically have access to any audiobook that isn’t an Audible Exclusive, which is why I’m quite precious about using my Audible credits (I refuse to use them on audiobooks I can get through the library or which are available through Spotify).

As for if I only buy certain types of books…not really, although I generally only purchase a physical book after I’ve listened to the audiobook and decided it’s an all-time favorite. This keeps my purchasing of physical books low and ensures that my personal library is only filled with books that I really love. I also don’t typically purchase said physical books unless it’s a special occasion, like my birthday or Christmas—that way I can save up money and set it aside to purchase the books.

This brings us to the question of if I’m hoping to get any books this holiday season. Honestly, I don’t have any audiobooks I’m purchasing, but there are two physical books I’m hoping to get, those being: a physical copy of my current library audiobook read Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang (which is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite books), and this gorgeous copy of The Communist Manifesto (Karl Marx please forgive me as I can only find it available through Amazon here in the US!). Other than that, I’ve got other items on my Christmas list, but not too many books. This holiday will probably be a sparse one, though, as it looks like my laptop needs to be replaced and that must be done by mid-January when my college semester begins, so I have to save up for that.

spill the beans, friends!

What are your thoughts on buying books? Do you think it’s possible to buy too many? Do you limit the number of books you buy or go on book buying bans?

Learn more the author of this post:

Lila @ Hardcover Haven

Lila is a 30 year old anthropology student and lover of literature who's been book blogging for an eternity. Her hobbies include reading, singing, writing, arts and crafts, and snuggling her two cats, Snoopy and Clementine.