Patreon Adventures is a monthly discussion series where the topic is decided by a poll over on Patreon. You can support Reader Voracious for as little as $2 a month.
This month’s discussion dives deep into the highly scientific and not-at-all impulsive book buying process for building the personal library of my dreams. I know I’m not the only book lover who’s dreamed about having their own Beauty and the Beast library. I know my formative years were spent watching my VHS copy until it broke and no matter how old I get, I can’t get floor-to-ceiling bookshelves with a sliding ladder out of my mind.
This discussion was inspired by Charvi’s discussion on how she’s building her personal library (yes, this has been in drafts for six months lol).
A Minimalist’s Approach to Books
Despite what my bookshelves would lead you to believe, I’m a minimalist. I don’t like clutter and prefer the items I own to serve a function, yet I most definitely imprinted on Belle On The Bookshelf Ladder as a child. (I contain multitudes.) The truth? Books are the one thing I love to collect! But that doesn’t mean that I want just any books on my shelves.
💬 Related Post: My Love/Hate Relationship with Book Subscription Boxes.
My Book Buying Process
I’m pretty picky when it comes to buying books for my collection, but my habits have definitely changed since I started book blogging. In the Before Times, I would almost exclusively buy books I’ve already read and loved. Truth be told, my former book snob ways had a lot to do with this: for some reason I wanted the books people saw to say something to people.
💬 Related Post: My Experience with Required Reading.
Nowadays I care more about how a book makes me feel rather than what people think about it when seeing it on my bookshelves. If I read an loved a book, chances are that I will seek out a copy for my collection, and I often buy secondhand to get the exact edition that I want. I’m fortunate to have access to a great library and a good track record with eARCs, so provided I find the time I can read books before buying them.
But I don’t only buy books that I already read. Part of this is due to the aforementioned lack of time, but I also like to pre-order books to support the authors – especially debuts and authors of color. I’ve gotten pretty good at identifying books I’m likely to enjoy so chances are good that I won’t wind up disappointed, but no track record is perfect and I do unhaul books. I also have a book boner for leatherbound classics, so I’ve been slowly building a collection of those over time… but I may opt for the Penguin Clothbounds instead? IDK anymore lol.
Questions I Ask Before Buying a Book
- Have I already read the book?
- For backlist titles, is there a specific edition I want? (I check Better World Books – affiliate link)
- Is the book by an author I’ve previously read and enjoyed?
- Is the book by a debut author or author of color?
- Is it a special or limited edition that will likely hold value if I wind up not liking it?
- Is there a pre-order incentive? (I’m a sucker for signed bookplates!)
My Book Unhauling Process
While full bookshelves definitely warm my heart, I prefer that the books I physically own be ones that I love. The best way to ensure this is to read books before buying them but that isn’t always possible (or fun). Would I even be me without an owned TBR shelf?
Just because I buy a book doesn’t mean that it will live forever on my shelves. For one thing, I live in a small apartment and I’d quickly run out of room. But also because sometimes my “book choosing skills” do me wrong and I wind up disliking a book that I thought I’d enjoy, or the author acts like a jerk that I don’t want to support any longer. (Looking at you, JKR.) Or in some instances: both (Emily Duncan).
When I decide to get rid of a book, I text a few friends to see if they’re interested in it as we pass around our books. If no one is interested, I usually will list them for sale on eBay whenever I get the energy to do so. Just because I don’t like a book doesn’t mean someone else won’t love it!
Questions I Ask Before Unhauling a Book
- Did I enjoy this book?
- Does seeing this book on my shelf spark joy or anger?
- Is this an author I want to support?
- Am I likely to re-read the book? (Not always a requirement, but if its presence sparks anger this is useful to consider.)
- Do I have a friend who’d enjoy the book? Is this something my Little Free Library could use?
- Will I regret selling the book later?
My Personal Library Dream
Ever since I was a child, I’ve wanted two things: Belle Bookshelves and a Secret Room. I’ve always been fascinated with stories of castles and old buildings with hidden corridors and secret rooms to hide all my precious treasures. So imagine my surprise when I found out that Home Depot sells hidden bookshelf walls (The Murphy Door… more than just beds now).
When I buy a house someday (lol I doubt that’ll happen if I stay in California), a bookshelf door is on my list so I can make a magical reading hideaway! I envision a room full of bookshelves, tattered and well-loved tomes interspersed with pristine first editions, a window seat, and windchimes. No internet will be allowed and it will be my special place to read and disconnect.
One day I also hope to expand on my leatherbound classics collection. No matter how much of a genre loving reader I become, part of my soul will always belong to its classics-loving origins and I love the way leatherbound editions look. Can we just skip the whole dustjacket thing and go back to imprinting on the hardcovers please?
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Allison • Cassie • Rea • Meeghan • Vicki • Bex • Haley • Michelle • Sam • Lauren • Maria • Michele • Courtney • Lay
Let’s Chat!
💬 What is your book buying process? Do you prefer to own or borrow your books?
💬 How do you decide which books to unhaul?
💬 What tips do you have for mindfully cultivating a personal library?
I am a little bit obsessed with this post, not gonna lie. One of my dreams is to buy an old Victorian mansion and just turn it into a library for me and my cats 😌 I’m a mood reader and also unfortunately a mood buyer (which is worsened by the fact that my local library has an abysmal selection of English books so I can’t just borrow everything I want to read). But one of my goals for 2021 was to catalogue my owned books and get an overview of what I actually have and still want to read! I’ve pretty much reached the capacity of the shelves in my tiny dorm room so I either need to take some books back to my family home or do a little unhaul soon. I feel like your process for unhauling is going to be both inspiring and useful for when the time comes that I need to create some shelf real estate again 😂
Oh my gosh YES to a Victorian mansion, that honestly would be the DREAM. I love the architecture from 1880s-1940s so much, which is why I’ll probably never leave my 100+ year old studio flat lol. too much charm!
Mood buyer here — and I can only request my library buys 5 books a month. Which is nice but not enough for me lol. I got my owned books into a spreadsheet earlier this year (and then haven’t updated it in months)… I am due for an unhaul: I have a stack of books waiting to be listed on ebay. Thanks for reading and good luck catqaloguing & unhauling!
I’m more like Charvi. I don’t pre-order or buy new books as I can’t afford them. I wait till prices go down to half or affordable and I’m absolutely sure I would like the book.
There’s nothing wrong with waiting for prices to drop – I have been known to have books sit in my b&n cart until a sale haha! I also buy secondhand quite often. But I totally get wanting to be sure you’ll enjoy the book, there’s no worse feeling than buying a book and hating it. (I’m STILL angry about Wicked Saints like 2+ years later.)
I love this post! My personal library started with the original hardcover edition of The Stand (a girl never forgets her first hardcover purchase!) and since then, I’ve been buying books pretty steadily. I have nearly 4,000 books but that is spread out over about 30+ years of accumulation. My husband deserves an award for putting up with a house with bookshelves on almost every available surface! I love buying small press books and limited editions😁
I love that you remember your first hardcover!!! I used to hate hardcovers until like… 8 years ago and preferred paperbacks. 4,000 books is impressive and your husband is TRULY the mvp.
I think my kryptonite is small press & special editions. Sprayed edges make my heart soar!
My BFF’s daughter has a bookcase/door and I love it so much. She has her room in the basement and it opens into a big storage room. So jealous.
Your BFF’s daughter is SO LUCKY omg. Literally living my dream and I cannot wait to be able to afford to do this for myself haha
I definitely have way too many books, but even so I have no problem getting rid of books I don’t like. The only time I tend to get on the fence is with a special edition from one of the book boxes I get. Usually keeping them works out for me until someone has a book I want and will trade for it XD which I get mixed results
I have gotten a lot better at letting go of books, particularly after I finally made the decision to no longer support JKR and unhaul the HP books. But it was easy to overcome the sentimentality when the sight of my slytherin editions incited a burning hot rage in me lol.
Trading is a good idea and I honestly should try that! But it’s too much effort to even list my books on ebay these days so I have a giant stack waiting to be unhauled lol
I would love to have an awesome library! And I’m kind of the same way- I love collecting books but not just ANY books. I’m kind of picky about it. If we’re gonna have a library it has to be well curated, right? 🙂 And then there’s reading copies. Sometimes I’ll get the hardcover of a book I really ant, and then have to get another copy for “reading” purposes haha. Lest the “good” copy get damaged! Ah, book habits…
Huzzah to another picky collector of books! I get super into which editions specifically I want and hunt them down online; there’s no better feeling than finding a book you’ve been looking for. I also have reading copies!!!
Wow! You have a beautiful bookshelf! 😍
I love your approach to buying books; I’m the same way, I need to analyze it (as I don’t have a lot of space either) so it has to be really worth it for me! Great post!
Aww thank you so much, Meghan! (My bookshelves bring me an immense amount of joy!)
It’s definitely hard sometimes for me to be “picky” because I want to support authors, so I do go through phases of buying books that sound cool that I will likely never get around to reading. Oops.
Thanks for stopping by!
One) your bookshelves look so lovely and amazing!! Two) I also was inspired by Belle at a young age and now all I want is her library! And three) YES on a secret room!! I want that as a my writing haven so badly!!! Manifesting that this happens for both of us whenever we buy houses.
🥰🥰🥰 Thank you, Nicole! My shelves make me pretty happy to look at, which is nice considering I’ve been trapped in my apt for over a year lol. YES TO BELLE INSPIRATIONS and I hope one day we can afford the writing / reading nooks of our dreams!
Ah I agree on them needing to start imprinting on the covers again. I loathe dust jackets – they’re prone to getting damaged and I just dislike them. I went through a phase of wanting to own like all the books mostly because books filled this void in my heart for something I think. They made me happy to look at but after starting a blog and everything, my entire stance on how I plan to buy and read books has shifted. I want to own books that truly make my happy to see in my room, the way I stacked my shelves actually allows me to hide some books from authors I don’t wish to promote on my shelves. Even if those books still have a special place in my heart…there are more deserving books that should be at the front of my shelves. (it’s mostly SJM books I hide and CC books though I’ve only kept The Infernal Devices from her….)
As for deciding what to unhaul, there’s a load of books I have that haven’t been boxed to be unhauled just yet. Some are pending to be unhauled dependant on if/when I read them. Others will likely get unhauled after I finish the series (*stares at the lunar chronicles*) As for tips I’d say just being really honest with yourself on the books that do spark joy on your shelves. What feeling do you get when seeing those books? For me seeing the books on my shelf enables me to remember the time I read the book, the feelings and I can usually remember snippets of the plot if not the general story and what happened. This was a big indicator for the books I knew I’d be unhauling and it also helps me when deciding what books I want to buy. I’m trying not to buy any physical books unless I really, really have to or its by a favourite authors/ I know I’ll probably love the book and want it on my shelves.
Dust jackets are honestly so frustrating – they make me feel like I have to keep a book in pristine condition for some reason and that the book is uber fragile. I always remove it for reading but still. I just love it when there’s a secret printing on the case under the jacket!
It’s interesting how your approach to collecting books changed in the opposite way than it did for me when you started blogging. I used to be VERY DISCERNING about what I buy and now I am like “well I wanna support the author and it sounds cool so…”
I legit have a tower of books for unhauling next to my bookshelves. I need to list them online and hopefully get them outta the house. But I definitely agree with you on being honest with yourself. Like if a cover is REALLY PRETTY but I know I won’t ever read the book, I will probably still keep it because I’m a simple lady lol.
Thanks so much for your thoughts!
i also ask myself if i’ve read the book, have already read & liked books from the author, and check that it’s a genre that i’m confident i’ll enjoy. generally speaking, i buy second-hand, and i love all the different editions that’s provided me with! i’ve even found continuity for book editions or publications across several used bookstores, and i love that. this was super interesting to read, thanks for sharing! and your dream library sounds so ideal!! x
Asking those three questions really help both curb impulse buying and getting books you’re likely to enjoy! I used to buy a lot more secondhand than I do now, but I def love the online hunt for specific editions of books. Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts, Macey!
I had to laugh when you said you’re quite picky about the books you read, because so am I. Its gotten a little better since I became a blogger, but I’m still really picky and can be quite critical of books that I don’t like. Though, now I’ve tried to be much more open minded and i try to give books at least two chances before I un-haul them.
Sometimes I don’t know if its just the headspace I’m in, or if I really just don’t get along with the book. I do have a bit of a book buying addiction, but I do try to stick either with books that I’ve seen enough off Twitter and Instagram to KNOW that I’m going to like the book, or, like right now, I’m currently in the process of rebuilding my manga collection after I went through a self-hate phase and tried to change my entire mentality and personality because of other people. Thus, I ended up donating all my manga and now I am very sad about it. So, now I am slowly rebuilding my collection.
Some may say we are picky, but I like to think of it is as know what we are most likely to enjoy and choose our reads accordingly. I’ve learned to listen to my gut and it’s helped me a bunch. But yea, I can usually tell if it is a “not now” or “never” kind of read – I have a shelf for books I needed to set aside for mood reasons. The problem is I almost never revisit them?
Awww I’m sorry you have to rebuild your manga collection but I hope it’s bigger and better than ever!
What a fun post! You certainly do have a very specific buying process :p
Foreign titles are quite expensive where I live, so I end up being VERY picky about the physical copies that I want to purchase. Usually, I end up waiting for sales events, or if it is by an auto-buy author, I’ll just end up buying as soon as I have saved enough.
Yea… I am pretty particular about my process, which I think is why people wanted me to talk about it haha. I definitely am picky about books when they are expensive so I understand your method. Thanks for stopping by!
I’ve been a lot more particular about the books I buy too – all the books on my shelf should matter and mean something to me and so, I’ve started buying physical copies of books I’ve read and loved or ones I am very very sure I will!
It’s so true about wanting to support AOC and debut authors but well, the only ways to preorder books for me often in just Amazon and I don’t want to do that – in fact, the only books I’ve preordered for this year were Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating, Ace of Spades and Rule of Wolves.
I’m really bad with unhauling books though I’ve been meaning to start doing that more.
YES! I just love the warm feeling I get whenever looking at my bookshelves. Sometimes when I am sad I just look at my faves and it brings me joy.
Ugh I wish you had a better option for preorders but it’s probably good on your bank account to not have ALL THE RETAIL OPTIONS at your fingertips. Thanks for your comment, Jayati!
I love this post, Kal! I used to impulse buy books especially during book sales, but earlier this year I decided to reduce the books I buy. I’ve unhauled and donated a lot of books, most of them the ones I’ve lost interest in reading.
Now I only buy books that I really REALLY want to read, and want a physical copy of. Or it it’s from a favorite author.
AHHH, thanks so much Inah! Book sales honestly are the WORST for me and impulse. I wound up having to block Book Outlet on my computer because while I did nab a couple of great deals… I typically just filled my cart with anything that sounded interesting and those books are still sitting unread on my shelves 2 years later.
Oooh this is such a great process! Also lmao totally relatable that this post has been y months in the making 😂 Also yesss don’t we all dream of having a Beauty and the Beast library? When I’m unhauling I always imagine the books to be in a future home library!
Glad to not be the only person who sits on inspired ideas for months hahaha. I think Disney didn’t anticipate the Impact Belle on the Sliding Book Ladder would have on a generation of people
Ahhh I love that you think about the book finding a new home.
I would honestly love to one day have a huge collection of paperbacks at my home, but right now I am a broke college student that can’t see the end of the academia life lmao, but I love your collection!!! Your decision process gives so much insight for when I have enough funds to go book hauling ^.^
Yea the book collecting life is so expensive but the good thing is you can start your own library slowly! But I feel you on not being able to see the end of academia life — I still have 1.5 shelves of my academia books — and I wasn’t even lucky enough to read for pleasure when still studying. Thanks so much for reading and I’m glad my process gave you food for thought!
i love this discussion so much kal! i’m just like you in that i prefer the books i own to be the ones that i’ve loved — usually i buy books i’ve already read & loved too, or books that i have a feeling i’ll love. i’ve been planning to do a big unhaul to get rid of the books i didn’t like since it really does not spark joy to see them on my shelves lol
ahhh thanks so much for reading, and I am glad to not be the only picky one when it comes to the books I buy for my shelves! I really need to do something with the tower of books next to my shelves I am unhauling soon… it’s annoying and my cat knocked it over last night
This is such a great post! The concept of unhauls has always fascinated me, but I haven’t exactly done it. I mean, I gave away a few duplicate copies, but I’ve never unhauled in the same scale as other bookish influencers. I think it’s partly because of nostalgia and partly because I’m too lazy to sell them anywhere. Maybe I’ll get around to letting go some of the books I own — but not today. 😄
Thank you so much for your comment, Allesandra! I don’t unhaul quite as much as other people either, but I did recently do a decently large purge of 20 books I no longer want or am no longer interested in reading… mostly because I am running low on shelf space. Nostalgia DEFINITELY makes it difficult to let go of books — I have an entire shelf of mass market pbs I don’t really want but can’t let go of because of the nostalgia factor.
I just recently unhauled a good chunk of my collection for my cross continent move 😀
Most of the books I buy are books I actually want, the impulse buying only happens for cheap used books hahaha
In Indonesia it is way harder to find English books especially hardcovers so I prefer paperbacks, the price is very steep between hardcovers and paperbacks as well unless you buy it from BookDepository. And bookstores here aren’t very diverse the common authors I find are usually Baldacci, Daniel Steel, John Grisham,etc.. It’s double the difficulty trying to find fantasy books hahaha
I’m obsessed with this post and I love to see other reader’s buying habits.. it’s so fun <3
There’s honestly nothing like a move that makes you unhaul a bunch of stuff that you’ve been hanging onto for ages. I feel you on the cheap books though — my biggest impulse buys have been because of Book Outlet — things have been much better for me since I stopped shopping there.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience too — I used to HATE hardcovers (they are so annoying to read!) but they just look so nice on the shelf. Good luck with your move!