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Jenovia 🕸️'s avatar

😭😂😮‍💨 THIS WAS VERY LOUD. I loved every line. Adding to my TBR usually scratches the itch for me but when it comes to a stunning book cover, I lose my mind and immediately buy.

I think you’ll stick to the rules pero like…if you don’t, there are worse things than buying books. 🫂💘

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Natalie McGlocklin's avatar

this piece was all for m,e like I deeply needed to process this lol PERO I love being quietly loud. and you are right there are worse things...

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Marissa Gallerani's avatar

You know I appreciate this and I say this lovingly but I don't think you will be able to follow these any longer than I can hold off on my book buying ban 🤣 But nevertheless she persisted etc.

Also!!! we need books because as the wise John Waters once said, "If you go home with somebody, and they don't have books, don't fuck 'em!" I must prove my intelligence to the passerbys!!

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Natalie McGlocklin's avatar

hahahahah you are probably SO right but I still needed to therapize myself here on it . You should see my mug wishlist rn...... UGH hahah

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Marissa Gallerani's avatar

I WANT TO SEE THE MUG WISH LIST!!! I was very good and refrained from buying any when up in Maine last weekend. Gold star for me.

Gold star for you for therapizing yourself ⭐️

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Natalie McGlocklin's avatar

Oh i talked about this with my real therapist too 😆 the mug list is all my favorites on my Etsy!! I think you can see it from my profile https://www.etsy.com/people/4mro13hgfesuwc67

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Marissa Gallerani's avatar

wait I love this and I also have one of those mugs saved on my Etsy profile (the Black cat shiny one.) Don't give me more ideas to find mugs lol.

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Brittany Viklund's avatar

I've been thinking about this A LOT this year and agree-- Pango is my BFF and my budget on there is ONLY what I have in credit from what I've sold so if I want more book cash I have to sell more books. But isn't it funny that reading this makes me want to go book shopping? 😂😂 The other trick I have adopted is I completely avoid any new release content for the time being until I can get things under control a bit, and that's helping too!

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Natalie McGlocklin's avatar

So smart about Pango!!! The only thing I hate is the shipping costs ugh. Avoiding new releases is helpful except when it comes time for end of year wrap ups and I can’t name a fav book published that year. The life of a book writer!!!

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Brittany Viklund's avatar

I know the shipping costs are rough but I feel better about it when I remind myself that it’s a service too and that I’m supporting our USPS (I have so much unlearning to do about free shipping still 🤪).

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Michelle Martin's avatar

“Once that budget runs dry, you cannot find a new lake; they are all frozen over.” This visual is now going to live permanently in my brain when I think about budgets 😂

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Natalie McGlocklin's avatar

I will steal from my future to buy books so attempting whatever mind games are necessary 🫠

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Kuleigh Baker's avatar

Yep. I usually find adding it to a list satisfies the immediate need!

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Natalie McGlocklin's avatar

but now I have like ten lists scattered all over, I think i need to consolidate right 😂

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David Brown's avatar

Let’s also acknowledge the FOMO aspect of all of this. I suspect at this point in your life you’ve come to peace with it and accepted that the universe of books exceeds (#understatement) even your voracious reading appetite. I’m not there yet, but I’m a slow reader so I’ll lay the blame for misses right there.

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Natalie McGlocklin's avatar

Yes there is definitely a FOMO aspect - too many books too little time!!!

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Haylee's avatar

I clicked footnote #5 so ready for it

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Natalie McGlocklin's avatar

I should have just linked to the YouTube video of it, I’m glad it wasn’t just me 👀

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Lauren Flanagan's avatar

The timing of this post was perfect. My husband and I have rare kid-free time this weekend and all we're practically doing is going indie bookshop browsing. I'm going to try to be good but I make no promises...

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Natalie McGlocklin's avatar

Well a couple great books is a wonderful idea… just maybe not ten like past me would get 😑

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C ✨'s avatar

lately I've been asking myself "why do I feel that owning that physical copy in my hands will solve all my problems?". Yo couldn't have said it better

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Natalie McGlocklin's avatar

And it almost never does right!!! Humans are weird

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Steph's avatar

the hunter gatherer metaphor is killing me lolol and also re: unfriendly bookstores, it definitely works — I went in one this month where the owner was SMOKING A CIGARETTE INSIDE and even though he looked kind of cool doing it I left for fresh air so fast, no purchases in sight 😭

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Natalie McGlocklin's avatar

STOP lol I wouldn’t have been able to breathe so great tactic 🤣

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Willa McDonald's avatar

Yes I finally figured out that I could be more strategic about what I borrow from the library to read books/authors I am unsure of & then I’m buying used if I reallyyy liked it.

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Natalie McGlocklin's avatar

exactly!!! so far it has saved me on quite a few new releases

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Martha's avatar

Profound - we are merely connecting to our cave man ways. So it is in our DNA to hunt and gather books?

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Izzy | The Sunday Reads's avatar

If I’m going to consume, it might as well be books

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Tina Blacksmith's avatar

I don't buy new. Only used books or the library for me. If the library doesn't get something in that I want to read, I request it, wait and see if they get it, and either learn to be okay with not reading that specific book or wait until I see it used. I'm a picky mood reader so I cannot justify buying new books anymore.

As a whole, our society buys way too much stuff and I had to shift my thinking. I have mostly gotten off the overconsumption hamster wheel. No more fast fashion, no more trendy items. For me, this includes books. At one point I was following certain people on Instagram and I had to unfollow because they constantly push the narrative that it is okay to endlessly buy new books, as though it's just a cute quirky character trait or their personality, while totally ignoring the impact on the environment.

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MS Liner Notes's avatar

Now I just want to hear more stories about these unfriendly bookstores... :)

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haley larsen, phd's avatar

Oh god, I muttered, as I looked 'round my home at the walls of trophies. They do hit different.

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