One of the problems we book readers face is that sometimes we buy too many books, and this habit of buying new books every now and then becomes problematic when we keep on buying, and keep on increasing our ‘to be read’ list but could not catch up with the books we have. But we still look at a bookstore or a shop, go there and buy new books. We will already have 40 unread books, but unable to stop ourselves we buy 5 more. And that is where the, in my opinion, the problem starts.

If you are one of those book readers whose number of ‘To be read’ books in your bookshelf is increasing day by day, then this post is for you, as in this post I will tell you 5 questions you need to ask yourself before buying new books. So without getting any delayed, let’s get started

1. Why do you want to buy this book? – The first question you need to ask yourself while buying a book is to know ‘why.’ Why do you want to buy this book, is it related to your course book, or is it a book which you always wanted to have, or you just liked the synopsis and decided to buy it, or the friend accompanying you suggested it to you, or you just liked the cover? Think about your ‘why’ and then decide if buying it right now will be worth it or not.
2. Do you need it or do you want it? – After getting clarification on why you want to purchase the book, ask yourself, ‘Do I need this book or I just want it?’ We all know the difference between ‘our needs’ and ‘wants’ so ask yourself if the book you are about to buy is your need right now, for example, it could be related to your course, or it’s a self-help book which might help you in your present situation then I would say buy the book. But if it is something you want, then reconsider your decision of buying the book.
3. When will you read this book? – The next question to ask yourself is ‘when will you read this book?’ Will you read it immediately? Or will you read it later? By immediately, I mean, you will finish your current read, and then pick this up, and later means, you do not know when you will read it, because you already have 30-40 books at your home. Also, if you are willing to read it right now, then think about the books you already have on your bookshelf, when will you read them? Common don’t cheat on them 😉

Be clear about the timing of reading the book before purchasing it, if it is a book which you ‘need’ then you might read it immediately, so I would say go for it, but if you are thinking that you will read it someday, whenever you will feel like, then I would suggest you to not buy the book right now.

4. Are you getting a good discount on it? – Now you can say ‘common Komal, I really want to buy this book, I loved the synopsis and I will definitely read this book soon, and moreover I am getting a great discount on it which I might not get again’, so let me tell you, I am not that bad guys 😉 If you are getting a good discount on the book, and you think that it will be really difficult to get such a great book on this much discount then go for it, and buy the book.
5. Have you read the synopsis and checked the reviews? – Last but not the least, have you read the synopsis and reviews? You can always check the reviews on Goodreads. Sometimes, we buy a book just because we loved the cover, or a friend suggested it to you, or you have been seeing its photograph trending on Instagram lately. But all these reasons are not enough to know that you will enjoy reading it. So do check the synopsis, if it is something which interests you, then only buy the book.

I have a few books which I bought, just because I found the covers too pretty, and when I started reading them I could not read. So don’t waste your money like that, ask yourself these 5 questions, before buying books, and then make a wise decision.

And that’s it for today guys, these are the questions I ask myself while buying new books when I already have many books to be read in my bookshelf. I hope you will find this post helpful.

I understand the urge to buy new books, but I really don’t think that it is appropriate to keep on buying and then not being able to finish reading them, it’s unfair with the books. With this, I will end this post here, will see you in the next post, till then, happy reading.

Also, read my Unique gift ideas for book readers post here.

Tangled Tourista

Tangled Tourista is an online diary, which is about travel, food and books. Here you will read about book reviews and suggestions, tested travelling tips and about new cafes and restaurants around and their reviews.