In 2017, I challenged myself to read 52 books in 52 weeks and I made it! This year I have a different kind of book challenge in mind.
I'm calling it my "minimalist book challenge."
I have been on a journey to incorporate more minimalism into my life for well over a year now, but books are my favorite things, and getting rid of them is incredibly difficult for me. So, despite my best efforts, and a couple purging sessions, my book collection continues to grow (and grow). That's where this challenge comes in.
I was looking at my bookshelf the other day thinking about how many of the books on my shelves I would actually read again or reference for some reason. And then I thought, if I'm not going to do either of those things, then why am I keeping them?
So, for the first six months of 2018 (I'm going to try to go the whole year, but after the first six months I can make no promises) I'm only going to read books that are already on my shelves. AND, I'm only going to read one book at a time.
Here are my rules & a couple exceptions:
Rules
*I can read anything that is on any of the bookshelves in my house, including my husband's and children's shelves.
*I can only read one book at a time, even if the books I want to read are from different genres.
*If I don't want to reread a book that is on my shelf, I have to remove it from my shelf and donate it to the library or Goodwill.
*If I get beyond the first six months (say a prayer for me y'all) for every 3 books I donate I can get 1 new book.
Exceptions
*I can, but do not have to, reread the books by Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler for this challenge, as I have already done that a few times (you will have to pry those books from my cold dead hands).
*If I need to read a book for the bookclub I'm in with my bestie-sister, I can request it from the library OR get it through iBooks or Kindle. If I really love the book after reading it, I can add it to a list to consider purchasing at the close of the six months (or the year).
*If someone buys me a book as a gift (without me asking for it) I can keep the book, but I have to wait a month before reading it.
What do you think? Anyone interested in joining me? Let me know in the comments below.