This weekend I am not going to buy a book.

That doesn’t seem like a big deal, does it? But to me it is. This is a conscious decision I’ve made, almost a resolution and there are reasons (yes, reasons plural) for it. 

 I can’t tell you the last time a weekend passed where I didn’t end up at a bookstore. I feel like my book-buying has almost become compulsive, like if I don’t buy a book then what do I do with myself? Part of my Saturday usually consists of me wandering around, a book or four (or five) clutched in my arms as I try to choose which to take home with me. It’s like Sophie’s Choice. My Barnes & Noble wishlist (I think we all know why I don’t have an Amazon wishlist) has 482 items currently on it. That’s a lot to choose from. How do I pick a favorite? The answer is that I usually don’t. It’s so hard to pick just one that I normally end up buying two or three. I limit myself to no more than three per visit because, really, but my TBR pile is a little ridiculous. Also, I recently thought about looking at my bank statement and seeing how much money I spend on books a month and I realize I’m too chicken to do it. I don’t want to know. I think I’m better off not knowing. I buy books more often than I buy food. Or clothes. 

These weekly bookstore treks are on top of buying books on-line. This doesn’t happen very often, but there are times when I know the store doesn’t have what I want so I let on-line take care of it for me. Occasionally I get a coupon that is only good on-line and I feel that if I don’t use a book coupon then somehow I’ve failed. I don’t let these internet purchases get in the way of my weekend buying. Oh no. They’re two separate things. 

I made a mid-week trip to the bookstore on Wednesday. I had read an interview with Cheryl Strayed on-line and I suddenly knew I had to go out and buy Wild. Never mind that it’s been out for over a year now and I’ve often times picked it up and then set it down. I’ve known that I was going to eventually buy it and read it, but for whatever on Wednesday I felt like now was the time. Except, I’m in the middle of Life of Pi. And I have stacks of other books to read as well. There’s no guarantee that Wild will be next. There was no logical, legitimate reason I couldn’t wait to buy it, I just felt that I had to go and get it. 

So. This weekend I’m not going to buy a book. Not only am I not going to buy a book, I’m not going anywhere near a bookstore. I can’t. There’s no way for me to resist the temptation. 

My name is Elise and I’m a bookaholic.