De-influencing Your Book-Buying Habits
In a world of Tik-Toks and Boostagrams, it’s hard not to feel like a loser without a room of bookshelves stacked to the rafters with every new release. You see people busting through their 2025 reading goals in February, they buy all the merch, attend all the conventions, and seemingly spend all day curled up in their perfect reading nook reading. They’ve influenced us into the ground. But I have a secret for you: you’re not a loser because you don’t do these things, too! On the contrary, you and me, we’re normal people. We (like normal people) have jobs, limited budgets, one bookshelf, and library cards. This is me de-influencing your book-buying habits.
Book Buying Out of Control
Have you looked at book prices lately?! They’re nuts. The price of everything is nuts. And authors deserve every dime. However, I’m not made of money. Nor do I think every book will be my jam. So when it comes to buying books, I’m a cautious spender to begin with.
But the shiny covers, the cool art, the interesting stories all draw you in. And then the influencers on social media make you feel bad for not having the latest and greatest. So you whip out the wallet and shrug and hope it doesn’t come back to bite you.
I’ve had enough book-buying regret to tell you now – it’s not always worth it! Don’t buy it just to buy it!
Think of your TBR languishing in the corner or the back of a shelf. Think of them every time you feel pressure to buy another book.
PC: Elaine Atherholt, austen, etc.
Your Home Isn’t Perfect!
And that’s okay. Listen, no one has a perfectly curated and decorated house. Even the perfectly curated houses have junk drawers, messy closets, and bathrooms that go uncleaned for a smidge too long. Your books are best served and preserved wherever you have space for them.
I always think of my book storage as being along the lines of a mad professor. There’s a shelf, sure, but there’s also piles on every flat surface, including the floor, and books stuck in wherever they fit. We decorate with our books as much as we read them, so don’t feel the need to buy thousands of shelves and create your own library.
Speaking of the Library
Get books from the library! A bastion of knowledge, the library is hands down one of the best inventions ever. Your tax dollars pay for FREE books, almost whenever you want them. Take advantage of the library so save some money, support a community resource, and browse books you might not find on Tik-Tok or Bookstagram. Some of the best books I’ve read have been random picks at the library.
De-Influence Yourself
In the end, keep in mind that influencers are here to talk you into things you may or may not need. That’s their job description. We love our Bookstagram and Booktok kin, but social media has a nasty way of making us feel bad about ourselves. And if there’s one thing books were not made for, it’s feeling bad about ourselves.
So grab the books you love, read what you want, nestle in amongst the stacks, and just read more without the pressure and guilt.