Ten Reading Habits I Should Probably Quit

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week there is a new topic and this week’s topic is:

Ten Bookish Things I Want to Quit Or Have Quit

1. 

   Buying more than one book at a time – Unless I have a REALLY good reason for buying multiple books at once (ie. they might not be there when I come back, signed copies, I’ve been looking for a series for years, it’s an amazing sale, etc), I should probably stop buying so many at once. I can’t read them all, and most likely I can get them another time. I might even get them cheaper if I just wait or shop around a bit.

2. Not using the library – I used to be a regular at the library when I was a kid, but that was before I had the money to buy my own books. I don’t mind a pre-owned book, but there’s something about library books that grosses me out now. I should probably get over that, because it just isn’t possible for me to own ALL the books. Plus, it would give me somewhere to walk to and a reason to try to finish books in a certain time frame.

3. 

   Buying/collecting signed copies just because they are signed – I have a stack of signed books that I have no intention of reading. Most of these are ARCs or free copies that I got from the publisher events, but some are books that I bought just because someone scribbled their name in it. They are usually in genres that I would never normally buy from, but that signature has turned it into literary gold in my brain. It’s an addiction…

4. Not using my bookseller perks properly – Okay… bookseller confession time again! I can totally borrow books from the store. Since I have an issue with library books, you would think that I would use this perk more often. I used to borrow stuff all the time, but then there was a book with a white cover that I didn’t want to get dirty. I bought that one… and then I just started buying more and more. I get a discount, so it’s not as bad as it could be, but it’s still not free.

5. 

   Buying more than one version of a book – I am a sucker for a pretty cover, or a new and interesting edition of a book. I feel the need to own multiple versions of Pride and Prejudice because the publishers keep coming out with new, beautiful covers. I just bought the new illustrated edition of Harry Potter & the Philosopher’s Stone even though I have read the book multiple times now. Even though the words are (almost) always the same, I can’t help but throw my money at the publishers for the latest and greatest edition.

6. Keeping books I don’t like – I’m one of those bookworms that holds on to books even if I don’t like them. It takes a lot of mental preparation before I am able to let a book go. About a year ago I did a major purge of my bookshelf, but still managed to keep a bunch of books that I know I will never read again. Somewhere in the back of my brain is a little voice that says “it might be important some day!”

7. 

   Reading while walking – I used to be really good at this, and I can still do it pretty well, but I’m not nearly as observant these days. I have a huge fear that one of these days I’m going to walk into someone, or step in dog poo, or trip and fall on my face. That level of anxiety probably isn’t healthy and makes me miss parts of the book.

8. Saving textbooks – I don’t know why I feel the need to keep my textbooks. This is another case of me assuming that one day they will be useful, even though 90% of the time the information becomes outdated as soon as you graduate. I probably could have sold a bunch of them the year after I was done with them, but each time I was sure that it would be important for me to keep it “just in case”.

9. 

   Hoarding ARCs – I get a lot of ARCs as a bookseller, and I have no idea what to do with them once I have read them. Some of them haven’t even been read because they were just sent to me randomly. I have a stack of ARCs just languishing beside my bed because I can’t figure out what to do with them. (Any suggestions, readers? I’m at a loss on this one.)

10. Reading while watching TV – I like to have background noise while I read. It’s probably because I grew up in a house with people and dogs all over the place, so silence happened very infrequently. I could listen to music, but something about voices talking in the background makes me feel more comfortable. Of course, this means that I often get distracted by the things that are on TV and I end up putting my book down instead.

So what are your bookish bad habits? Any suggestions on what to do with all my ARCs?