Show Your Shelves Some Love: A No Book Buying Challenge! #ShelfLove

Posted December 1, 2014 by Rose C. in Challenges, Featured Posts, Shelf Love 2015 / 64 Comments

Show Your Shelves Some Love: No Book Buying Challenge

Show Your Shelves Some Love, No Book Buying Challenge 2015. You got ‘em, now read ‘em!

Hosts: Terri from Second Run Reviews and all of us here at Chapter Break! Social Media: #ShelfLove The goal of this challenge is simple — for one year abstain from buying books (or set a monthly book budget) — and focus on clearing physical and virtual to-be-read book shelves. This challenge begins Jan 1, 2015 and ends Dec 31, 2015.

The Guidelines

  • Abstain from spending money on books for one calendar year (or follow a monthly book budget).
  • Gift cards OK,  audible account OK, but no buying extra credits (Rose!!!)
  • Encourage other challenge participants via comments, social media and emails.
  • Participate in the monthly posts. (The link up post will go live on the first of each month and be open for 30 days.)
  • Library books do not count for this challenge. This challenge is mainly for books you already own.
  • Netgalley books can count for this because you have the book, so read it!

 

No Book Buying Challenge Step 1: Select your goal

Yellow Belt —-> 1-10 books: shake hands with your shelves

Blue Belt    —->11-20 books: pat your shelves on the back

Green Belt  —->21-30 books: give your shelves a warm friendly hug

Purple Belt  —->31-40 books: regular date night with your shelves

Brown Belt —-> 41-50 books: my shelves are now my bff

Black Belt —->51+ books: my shelves and I are going steady

No Book Buying Challenge Step 2: Join the mailing list

No Book Buying Challenge Step 3: Share the love and spread the word

Create a blog post saying you’re participating in this challenge and link up your post below. Share on social media using the hashtag #ShelfLove.

Link up your participation post:

No Book Buying Challenge Step 4: Link to the challenge

You can use either of the images below. showyourshelves_zps8f6e8b06.png~320x480   Show Your Shelves Some Love: No Book Buying Challenge  

No Book Buying Challenge Step 5: Plan your reading, and participate in the monthly challenge post topics:

  • December 2014 — Initial “I’m Joining the Challenge” Post. Spread the Word about the Challenge.
  • January — Post/share a picture or list of your TBR pile(s).
  • February — Finances!!! Share your book buying budgets (if you have one, or plan to spend nothing!) Your Plans for the Money You Save.
  • March –Share Your Sources for Free Books
  • April — Avoiding Relapse- How are you sticking to your book buying budget and refraining from full-on bookaholic relapse?
  • May — It’s almost the middle of the year, you haven’t bought a book yet and you are dying for the latest release. Give us your best sales pitch to convince the world you deserve that book.
  • June — Mid-Year Check in Post. How are you doing with the challenge, updated picture or list of your TBR pile(s)
  • July — Give us a review of the best book, that’s a part of this challenge, that you’ve read so far.
  • August — What’s are some of the best bookish gifts that you’ve received and/or given!
  • September — The perils of book hoarding.
  • October — How to manage your library/ebook shelves
  • November — Are you thankful you did this challenge? How have your habits changed and will you continue with any changes you’ve made in your book buying routine?
  • December — End of the Year Check in Post. How are you doing with the challenge, updated picture or list of your TBR pile(s). Would you do the challenge again in 2016?

Giveaway:

Of course there’s a giveaway! One participant will win a $20 Amazon gift card – so link up your monthly participation and update posts to enter. a Rafflecopter giveaway


Note: Some posts may contain affiliate links. Should you choose to purchase a product, we will receive a small commission for the sale at no additional cost to you. Chapter Break is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Subscribe to Chapter Break posts.

Never miss a post on Chapter Break. Subscribe today for all the bookish awesome in your inbox.

Join 2,821 other subscribers

Posted December 1, 2014 by Rose C. in Challenges, Featured Posts, Shelf Love 2015 / 64 Comments

Divider

64 responses to “Show Your Shelves Some Love: A No Book Buying Challenge! #ShelfLove”

  19. Kat Morrisey

    Is it too late to join the challenge? I just found it and I really, really need to join as many TBR crushing challenges I can so I can make a dent in these piles! (I have way too many books on my shelves, my kindle and my nook. :\ )

  28. Donna

    My only exception is to buy a book I might need for a class I’m taking. This could only happen in mid-June or late-September. Maybe I’ll only take classes for which I already have the book. LOL (Note: these are continuing ed great books discussion classes — not anything for grades or credit).
    Donna recently posted…The Hardest Challenge I’ve Ever Undertaken

    • Julie

      Well, books for class definitely don’t count since you have to have those 🙂 This is more meant for a pleasure reading list.

  33. Yuko86

    Hello, I have two (silly) questions:
    – Can I join the challenge deciding to buy a maximum of 2 books a month? Or 1 book every 4 books read?
    – I haven’t understood the goals: are they the number of books read from my TBR during 2015 or the number of books bought?

    Thank you very much, I seriously need to calm down on buying books:)

    • Julie

      Hi Yuko, yes you can set up your own monthly budget, or a way to earn books by reading x amount of already purchased books, or exercise, or anything that motivates you. The books that count for this challenge are ones you have already purchased. So if the book is already sitting on your bookshelf or on your kindle, it counts. Hope that helps 🙂

    • Julie

      Well, you can make your budget or rules however makes sense to you, but I’m sure it will help even a little to get through some of those books 🙂

  37. Victoria @ Creative Home Keeper

    I need to commit to something like this because I have soooo many unread books on my shelves and on my Kindle! I have a serious book buying problem 🙂 My husband would greatly support me doing this. I have to seriously think about this, it would be so hard for me not to buy books since there are so many books that I still want to get my hands on 🙂
    Victoria @ Creative Home Keeper recently posted…Luke 2:11-14 {Bible to Brain to Heart Scripture Memory Challenge}

    • Julie

      Yea I think you have to be fair to yourself. It should be a challenge, but it should also be something you would want to stick with.

  41. Allie

    So… Say I read a book at the library a year or so ago. And I find it on sale somewhere… Does that count because technically I’ve already read it, I’m just adding it to my collection?

    • Julie

      Ooh what a great question. Hmm.. well, technically it isn’t an unread and unloved book on your shelf, so I think it is OK since part of the idea is to not spend more money on books you haven’t read. So I think your scenario is safe on a technicality. Lawyered (I’m not a lawyer).

  44. Lola

    Just joined this challenge, what a great idea! I did really well this year with not buying too many books, so I am pretty sure I can keep it up next year and hopefully this challenge will be the extra push I need. I’ll make my pots later this month and link-up. btw what about books you receive for review, it’s not buying, so does that count or not?
    Lola recently posted…Book Blitz: Slip by David Estes

    • Julie

      Books received for review are fine too since you’re not buying them. But I think for the challenge it makes more sense to count the books you already received, not new books received after the challenge begins.

  45. Berls @ Fantasy is More Fun

    I’m so in! To be clear – if I add books from Audible credits that I have already, NetGalley, Gifts/Gift Cards that’s okay – but I can’t purchase any other books, right? Now I have a yearly subscription to audible that renews in March – does that count as adding credits or just maintaining? So excited!
    Berls @ Fantasy is More Fun recently posted…My 2015 Reading Assignment List

    • Julie

      The monthly Audible subscriptions are OK because let’s consider those previously spoken for. But Rose says we are not allowed to buy additional credits lol. I’m thinking when writing up the participating post, we can all list exceptions and rules we plan to stick to. For example, pre-orders can be ok if you want them to be, so include that in your post if you have a lot of pre-orders. Also, an exception must be made for book club books. Otherwise all 3 of us are in trouble lol.

      • Berls @ Fantasy is More Fun

        Oh yeah, book club books for sure because I can’t make sure I have them in advance. I’ll probably get books from the library too, but I’m keeping my budget at a LOW number for sure. I think I’m going for a black belt since I really want to read what I have this year! Yikes, I’m already nervous! LOL!
        Berls @ Fantasy is More Fun recently posted…The Bride Says No by Cathy Maxwell

    • Julie

      Thanks Carmel 🙂 Yea this will definitely be difficult, but even doing it for a month would make your bookshelf happy.