Fine, I admit it, I have bought a LOT of books in the last month or so since my no-buy at the start of 2026. Since my birthday, I’ve splurged! Firstly, intentionally, and then, it sort of just happened. Let me explain!
I’ve visited charity shops a lot in April, due to my birthday, my husband’s marathon in Manchester and my sister’s Half Marathon in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Due to being in new cities, I thought I would check out the local second-hand shops (major cities tend to have gems!). It makes sense, right? And lucky me, I found a LOT of gems.
I came to my mom’s house with just my book trolley with some varied picks and my e-reader, while the rest of my books were in storage until our house is ready. Since, I’ve accidentally accumulated around 44 more books…whoops! This is a mixture of new buys and pre-orders, but mostly second-hand finds in charity shops.
Because I am self-aware and worry about money sometimes, I know this is a lot. I’m not ignorant of that. It’s not ideal. But I wanted to examine this a little closer. Why does it feel…more okay? Why does book buying feel so different to any other kind?
Not like other reckless spending?!
I know people in my life who spend a lot of their money on alcohol, various memberships, takeaways, clothing, nails, eyebrows, hair, cosmetic surgery/enhancers, Amazon parcels of random things, and more. I’m not going to lie, and I’m sorry that this sounds snooty, but buying books isn’t as bad! Fast-fashion is a booming, toxic industry contributing to pressure on our environment. Alcohol and fast-food contributes to ill health. Amazon is a monster though horrifyingly unavoidable sometimes (by design). And aesthetics/beauty & cosmetics, well, they are also a booming industry that thrives on telling us (mostly women) that we need to fix something about ourselves.
Books don’t do that.
The publishing industry is no angel, but at least it isn’t trying to fix me or kill me from the inside to engage in the hobby.
The rise in BookTok books and industry copy-paste tropes and trends means that there’s a lot of slop out there now. This isn’t cool, but reading now is. Reading is an aesthetic. Some argue it’s performative. Vlogs of shopping in bookstores, reading vlogs, book hauls, “read it or unhaul it” videos, monthly reading wrap-ups, favourite books of the year videos, physical TBR videos, “rearrange my bookshelf with me” videos, the list goes on. Books are back.
Is this a bad thing?
Hell no! It’s important because bookshops were dying. These trends, however warped and problematic they may get, have saved physical books and bookshops. Europe’s Largest Romance Bookstore opened up near me and this is a huge win for the industry and book-lovers alike.
Let’s not forget
There are many ways to buy or acquire books that are kind to the environment or to others:
- Shop at independent bookstores locally
- Buy from Bookshop.org which gives parts of its earnings to support independent bookstores
- World of Books and Awesome Books selling second-hand books (kinder on the planet and your pocket)
- Libraries (authors still get royalties from this)
What I’m getting at here is, there are many problems in the industry that need looking at, but book buying and reading is a healthy, useful, non-toxic hobby/habit.
Here’s why…
Community & identity
Books bring people together. I’ve made friends simply by talking about books! I now share books with colleagues and discuss what we are currently reading. Books are a way for introverts like me to communicate indirectly! To bond over a shared read, favourite character, trope or trend, or genre.
I’ve found myself in reading, and found my people.
Owning physical books means you can share them
As I said, I share my books with others. When you own a physical book, you can lend it out! You can even gift one if you don’t want to keep it any longer and know someone else will appreciate it. I find that book gift giving in very special, sweet, and inexpensive. It’s quite wholesome and encourages community to share your books with others and have them share theirs with you.
Pass them on to charity shops = win win
If you don’t like it in the end or don’t read it for years and want to gain space by getting rid of it, you can give your books to charity shops. Then they can make money for a good cause using your donation. It’s a win-win. Plus, this methodology works almost karmically! I give to charity shops, and I buy books from them!
Cyclical, romantic, wholesome!
Investment in education & empathy
Reading books is a great way to self-educate. Books are a lesson in empathy. They help us travel around the world and embody different lifestyles. Books are transformative and beautiful acts of creation, communication, and unity. They bring us together as people. I can read a book by a Japanese woman and learn about her culture, language, food, and beliefs. I can buy a book here and pay for someone’s lifestyle in another country. That’s quite incredible, no?
Supports authors (like myself and my friends!)
As aforementioned, book-buying is paying someone’s salary. Authors deserve so much more credit and financial gain from their hard work. I might not always like paying full price for a book, but when I remember who it’s going to, I feel happy. Authors deserve to be financially stable.
So yes, I have started pre-ordering books lately, and this is a little more expensive sometimes, but it’s for a good cause. Pre-orders help publishers to predict how well a book will do. If there are more pre-orders before official publication, then that author’s work will be given more shelf space in shops and marketing behind it. This is crucial for a successful career as an author.
Honing my craft
Understanding the industry is part of being an author. I need to know the people, books, big sellers, trends, tropes and so on that I will be working in. In order to be a successful author myself one day, I need books. I need to read them, study them, own them, know them, and use them to market my own. Agents and publishers are looking for their knowledge in their potential authors.
Reading is in breathing in, writing is breathing out.
Decoration
Bookshelves full of books are a beautiful aesthetic! I want my home to feel cosy and warm because of my books everywhere. I want people to come over and peruse my shelves. Books are good insulators. Books are a conversation starter. Books can change the room by simply moving them around and arranging them differently on the shelves. Books are versatile and gorgeous (no wonder they have become popular!)
All in all, I think my money is spent on something quite healthy. As long as I’m not going crazy, or making myself struggle financially to do this, it’s not so bad. Books are wonderful! How lucky are we to have them?
Sincerely,
S. xx
S. R. Crawford 