Opening Day (and Some Ground Rules)
Currently reading:
Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson
So. I own a lot of books. And I buy a lot of books. Perhaps you see where this is going.
I absolutely love purchasing and collecting books. I love filling shelves and making stacks of books to be read. I love starting a book and then deciding I actually want to read something else, so I have a stack of half-finished books by my bedside. (Looking at you, The Mirror and the Light——guess I have to reread the other Mantel books again before jumping back into that.)
But I also want to make a concerted effort to read the books I already own. I’ve spent so much money (and gift card balances) on these titles, and I want to recapture whatever spark drew me to the book in the first place. I also hope to later donate or give away titles that either don’t speak to me the way I’d hoped or simply no longer fit my wants and needs. (Keep an eye out for a future post about that!) I like to read books and I like to own books, but I’ve learned to love sharing books, as well, in recent years.
So. Here we are.
I’m calling this project the Moratorium Library, and it sprang from a silly little idea that I sent out as a silly little tweet a few weeks ago. Though I have not (yet) given notice at my job and though I’m not sure I’ll ever have the confidence to turn my back on capitalism and turn to a life——or at least a year——of leisure, I liked the idea of pausing my book-buying and focusing on my book-reading for at least one year. Thus the name——because I’m putting a moratorium on adding to my library. Get it??
For the next year(ish), beginning this day, Sunday, May 1, 2022, I pledge to read only the books (and comics) already on my shelves. I will not purchase a new book to add to my collection until I’ve read every single title I currently own.
For the purposes of this experiment, I’m defining “books on my shelves” as anything currently in my apartment or that I decide to pick up from the collection still on the shelves in my childhood bedroom or my parents’ garage. (Listen, those Nancy Drew books aren’t going to reread themselves.) I’m also counting physical books only. I’m not a big e-reader, but I do have a few books and a metric ton of comics on my iPad. I might dip into the comics, but I’ll try to stick to the physical world for everything else.
And, of course, some caveats:
I’m trying to become a person who does book clubs, in order to expand my social circle and do right by my mental health. So I’m going to allow myself to purchase book club books, if I feel so inclined. If I need to spend $15–$30 bucks a month to make myself feel like less of a hermit, then, by god, I will do it.
If I have a friend visiting or if I travel to a new place with a really, really excellent indie bookstore, I’ll allow myself to make a purchase, as a souvenir. Support indie bookstores!!
I’m planning to only read owned books that I have not previously read. At the start of the pandemic, when I started working from home, I did a decent job of reading through a bunch of hardcovers I’d bought but then hadn’t wanted to lug around on my commute to work, so I’m hoping to recreate that same gung-ho energy. That said, I’ve reread Dracula for the last five or six Halloweens, so I’ll probably do that again. I also occasionally find myself faced with the overwhelming urge to reread Susan Choi’s American Woman, so that might crop back up, too. Basically, rereads aren’t off-limits, but they aren’t the focus of this project.
I own a few travel guides, coffee table books, and other titles of that ilk. For the purposes of this project, those don’t count. I’ve at least flipped through most of them (and many of the travel guides are out of date, anyway).
Look, I’m only human. I’ll give myself——hm——let’s say three passes to purchase books. If I have a bad day, or if it’s my birthday or some national holiday, or if there’s a book coming out from an author I love or on a topic I can’t ignore, or if a trusted friend recommends a book they absolutely know I’ll love, I’ll let myself get three books (not to make three orders——to buy just three books) over the next year. I’ll do my best to add interesting titles to my Goodreads to-read shelf for future reference instead of buying them, but . . . no promises.
I’m going to try to just read what I have, but if I do feel the need to go outside the home, borrowed or library books don’t count, because I’m not spending any money on them. I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t actually been to my local library branch, which I plan to rectify this year. I’ll do my best not to borrow too many new reads. I also have a habit of entering Goodreads giveaways, so if I win or am gifted a book, I’ll just quietly add it to the library and read it like I would any other title.
I’ll be tracking my progress in this blog, likely with weekly round-ups on Sundays to tell you what I read, what else I have going on, and what my plans are for the coming week. I might also occasionally just share some writings and ramblings on assorted topics, either on Sundays or just whenever the mood strikes.
I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself to do in-depth reviews of every book I read, because then it will feel too much like work and I’ll stop doing it. (I have a couple of dead blogs to prove that.) But I’m hoping to share at least one nice, Instagram-worthy photo and a brief write-up of everything I read. Please also feel free to follow along on Goodreads.
At the end of all this, maybe I’ll be so famous from this silly little blog that I’ll be able to quit my day job. Maybe I’ll be writing a book about what I’ve learned, if I learn anything at all. Maybe I’ll just be a person who has read a bunch of books, cleared out some shelf space, and (hopefully) enjoyed the stories I got to experience.
Regardless, I’m excited to see where I end up!
