At the beginning of December, Herminia wrote a post titled, “The Disadvantages of Buying Books.” Then we started talking in the comments and an idea sprouted.
One of the disadvantages of buying books that Herminia mentioned was the cost of books. Sure, $10 doesn’t seem like a lot, but when you add up your entire bookshelf?
I was going to look at the prices on all the books I own. Some may have been discounted, some may have been gifts, some might not even have the prices on them. Yet, I was curious to see how much money it was.
I didn’t do it because I have too many books and didn’t feel like spending the time to go through them all like that. Surprise, surprise.
So, for 2016, Herminia and I decided to keep track of how much money we spend on books.
When we buy a book we’ll jot down the price we paid written on the receipt. Not the actual price, because we might get a discount and/or pay tax. We want to write the exact amount we paid for.
I might post updates on my blog, I haven’t decided yet. I do know that December of next year I will write a post of the total amount of money I spent on books for the year.
Herminia and Kris said they’ll do this with me, though I don’t know if they’ll post updates on their blog about it at all.
If you’re a book lover and find yourself at the bookstore way too often, feel free to join us. I’m sure it’ll be an interesting experiment to see how much money one person can spend on books.
In one week I spent way too much… I fear what the end of the year will tell me haha!
At least it would be over the course of 366 (leap year!) days, not 7 days, lol.
Wow, I think this is a really great idea. I tend to buy in spurts, so when I do buy, it’s usually a good armful or so, but it’s only every couple of months. I may have to participate in this. I do love buying cheap used books, though, so hopefully it’s too much haha.
Depending on how much I start to spend, I may start going to the used bookstore too, lol.
But I think you should participate! The more the merrier!
I hardly ever buy books. I borrow almost all my books from the library, but lately the library doesn’t have the books I’ve been wanting to read, so I may start to go to the local used bookstore more often. And there’s always eBay.
That’s good, though.
I don’t go to the library nearly as often as I should. That’s something I want to do more in the new year.
Sadly I can’t buy book 😦 Not for a long time…
That’s no fun. 😦
No. It’s not, lol. But that’s okay, when I can… I will buy a few 😀
That’s all you can do.
😀
What a great idea! I shall do this too. Don’t know if I’d post updates on it, but it seems like fun. I think 2016 will be the year of books. 🙂
It will definitely be a fun thing to look at at the end of the year. 🙂
I may do this. XD As long as I can count text books. I rarely sell mine back so they just kinda’…fall into my collection.
I would include textbooks, sure. It’s a book you read, so there you go!
They may empty my purse, but they fill my soul!!
This is a really intriguing experiment. I love these kind of things. I may try it unofficially.
Go for it! I think it would be a fun thing for all bookworms to enjoy. 🙂
It’d be interesting to see how much I actually spend too.
Then, if you’re good at math, figure out what that money would have been worth if you bought coffee at Starbucks or other things like that, lol.
I’m terrible at maths, haha. Thank goodness I don’t like coffee!
I think I would still end up buying the books, but I’m definitely curious to see how much I spend.
I’m awful at math, but I’m still curious.
It’ll be a fun experiment. 🙂
Reblogged this on Memoir Notes.
Thanks for the reblog!
My pleasure Rachel!
I think because of this I’ve been buying a lot of books in December. 😛
Might as well if you want to “save money,” lol. 😉
When it comes to books, I can’t.
I can’t wait to get Barnes and Noble gift cards for Christmas, lol.
I think I will join this too and see how much I spend and then compare it to how many books actually get read.
Oh, yeah. That’s a whole other story, lol.
A bookmark I used to have had this written on it:
“When I get some money, I buy books. If I have any left over, I buy food.”
My husband is the same way. Our house is full of books. 🙂
That’s a great quote!
I don’t smoke, drink, or use drugs. My name is Andrea, and I am a bookoholic. I love to read, and I reread my favorite books every year or so. I have closets, boxes, and shelves full of books. In the past year, I have given away hundreds of books, because of the space they took up in my home. However, the price of a book is seldom a deterent to me. I will look online for the best deal. I will buy used books. If I can’t afford to buy a book, I’ll borrow from the library or a friend. And if I can’t get it any other way but pay full price, I’ll buy it from my local independent book store. I have never regretted spending money on a good book.
I don’t see any reason to regret buying books. 🙂
This is a neat idea I’m probably going to steal. I do monthly book hauls on my YouTube channel (I am behind as I haven’t posted November’s yet), and I can mention how much I spend there. 😉
That’d be a good idea. 🙂
I just have to remember to do it, lol.
Interesting. I’d hate to think what I’d spent. Be interested to know though. Will look forward to ur post
I don’t know whether I’ll end up buying more books because of this or buy less, lol.
I spend without thinking when it comes to books and so I kept a tab on the spending this year:
https://leverifiedbookworm.wordpress.com/2015/12/25/2015-the-price-of-books/
850? Wow, that’s a lot! Maybe you’ll surpass that next year. 😉
Yes, I reckon it’ll be so!