First, this week I finished my dissertation! It’s bound and all set to go tomorrow. Tomorrow I am also moving and taking a trip to Birmingham to get all the legal stuff surrounding our wedding wrapped up, so it’s going to be a busy day. Keith and I have been in a long distance relationship for so long – for our entire relationship barring a few fantastic summer months – that it’s hard to believe it’s over. Admittedly, it’s not totally guaranteed over until I have a visa saying I’m allowed to stay, but we have everything we need and we meet all the requirements (either comfortably so or barely depending on how the law is interpreted, but they are met), so I’m feeling optimistic about it. I won’t be completely relaxed until then, but we are getting there.
This week was also Book Blogger Appreciation Week. I had a fantastic time and I think it was an amazing week. I feel like everyone really came together and celebrated reading, books, and blogging, which is exactly the goal. It felt like the controversy over the awards just disappeared and we instead strengthened our community, celebrating both the shortlisted blogs, the winning blogs, and everyone else. I have discovered SO many new blogs, I can’t even tell you. I haven’t commented on all of them yet, but I’m really going to try. Amy deserves immense amounts of credit for all the time and love and creativity she’s put into this week. Thank you, Amy! And thanks to everyone else who dedicated even a little part of themselves to making this week awesome. You all did an amazing job.
Now, the bandwagon. Lately it seems that everyone has been announcing a TBR ban. Well, now it’s my turn. As of this posting, I have 369 unread books and six more on the way, my little gift to myself for having completed my MA. As I am now entering that nebulous state of unemployment which could last longer than I’d like in this economy, and I have a boatload of student debt to start paying back in April so I can’t really spend the money that I have, I am officially banning myself from buying more books until I have a job. Besides that, I don’t really need to have more than a year and a half of reading stowed away. So I want to work on getting the pile down some.
What am I not banning? I’m not banning review copies, library books, or gifts. My birthday is just after Christmas and so December and January are my main book acquisition time, I’m not passing up on that! I’m not going to stop myself from entering contests either. And the truth is that I don’t mind having so many unread books. Maybe that’s crazy because really, everywhere I go they’ve taken over, but I like having such a huge selection and knowing that I am totally spoiled for choice. If I had the money, I’d keep on buying. But I don’t, so I might as well try to make my fiance and my floor happier by reading the books I do have. At least then I can give away the stinkers, which I’ve started doing with some frequency. Anyway, my general rule is now that if the book is free, I can have it. If the book costs money, I can’t. I figure that if I still receive a few books, it will prevent me from pining over books I can’t have.
Do you mind having a huge TBR pile? Is there such thing as too many books?
For those who have started a ban, any advice for me?
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