FebFast for books

I have a problem. The problem could end in either two scenarios. The first would be starvation, or being thrown out of home due to spending all of my money on books. The second is being crushed from above by my ever-growing 'to read' pile. In all seriousness, it's a real issue. I am going to have absolutely no savings, and in the advent of an emergency that requires a lump sum? Well, 'screwed' is putting it mildly. I do enjoy reading, in some ways to the detriment of my social life. And I am not exaggerating much about the piles of books I have yet to read. There's piles alright. At least 20 books I have meant to read, or am mid-way reading. And these are recent acquisitions, not books I've have for 5 years. I know, bad Candace.

I guess I went a bit crazy last year, got a bit excited about books. And you know, books are exciting. Pat me on the back. But there's a line. I think I crossed it. Call it scary consumerism, because that's surely a part of it. Another problem is the fact that I work in a bookshop, so temptation is never very far away. But there are only so many books a person can read at once, and when you continually add books to that towering mess of literature in my room it becomes a bit of a cycle that needs to be broken. The solution? Feb Fast! I don't drink, at least not very much. I can go half a year without remembering to drink alcohol. But I am using the month of February to slow down the book consumption. It's about treating books with a little more care, and not just as objects to keep consuming and adding to my pile. It's about reading the ones I have. It's about not acting like the consumer equivalent of a jack russel.

Rules: I have to have rules, because otherwise this is not going to last long. I am not allowed to buy any books for myself in the moth of February. But if it is someone's birthday or whatever, I am allowed to buy them any present I like. This includes a book. I am not allowed to buy a book and pretend it is a present, read it and then give it. That is bad. I am allowed to borrow books. Borrowing won't be a problem, because I tend to think fearfully of my book pile when I add something to it that I have to return within a time-frame, so I only tend to borrow when I know its going to jump the queue and be returned soon. And thus, I don't borrow books very often.

So. It is the 1st of February. Wish me luck.