Library Hiatus

As I touched on in a recent post, I have a little bit of a library problem. I have been a library lover since I was a small child and participated in the summer reading challenges. It also doesn’t help that my library is one of the best in the state! (No lie) I do not typically purchase books unless it’s a book I’ve already read and know I will want to re-read in the future, which also contributes to my library addiction. However, recently I have either purchased or acquired a lot of books and I haven’t touched them.

I think that because library books have a deadline before they have to go back I always find myself putting them before the other books I own, even if I want to read those more than the library books. Most recently, I started reading Shadow of Night, the second book of the All Souls Trilogy, back in December. I am still only about half way through because I put it down at the beginning of January to read the stack of library books I received.

Shortly after that, I purchased the illustrated version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone, Remembrance (Mediator book 7 by Meg Cabot), How I Met You, and a few other books at the library book sale. I now have a stack of books that I am excited to read, but feel like I don’t have the time to do so because I have my library books that I have to read.

This is when I realized I might have a problem. I have been putting off books that I had wanted to read so badly, that I had actually purchased them, for books that were more current and that I maybe didn’t even want to read as badly. Granted, if I didn’t want to read the book, I wouldn’t have checked it out from the library to begin with, but now I am at a high level of books that I want to read and have sitting in my house untouched.

That led me to the decision this weekend that for the next month (maybe more, depending on how many books I get through) I will be taking a hiatus from the library. Now, this does break my heart as I absolutely love my library, but I think that purchasing books and then not reading them is ridiculous. The exceptions to my hiatus are books that I already have on hold at the library that come in (I’m only currently at 3, one of which falls into the next exception), the book club books that I am asked to read, and a book for my Debut Author Challenge.

The reason that I am still allowing myself the rental of the book club book and the Debut Author book is because, as mentioned above, my standard for purchasing books is for books I know I will re-read. I think it would be a waste of money to purchase these book, so in order to keep up with my challenge and book club, I am allowing myself these rentals.

I will definitely update you all at the end of the month and let you know how it goes! I’ll let you know how many of my purchased books I have gotten through, without being tempted by library books. Hopefully I will make it through a decent amount and I won’t have to continue my hiatus into March!