I made it to July 7th (37 days).
What made me give in? I received a 7-day shopping pass in the mail from Half Price Books.
Coupons include $5 off a purchase of $20 or more and $15 of a purchase of $50 or more for the week of July 11th - July 17th. But I only made it to July 7th. This is because I knew I wouldn't make it to August 1st (my 60 day mark). These coupons are just too good not to be used and, well, when I found myself at the mall yesterday to get a new Brewers shirt (big game tonight!) I walked by Barnes and Nobel and told myself there was no harm just looking. Needless to say looking turned into my walking up to the cash register, book in hand.
What did I chose?
them by Joyce Carol Oats, winner of the 1970 National Book Award.
Synopsis from the back of the book: Joyce Carol Oates’s Wonderland Quartet comprises four remarkable novels that explore social class in America and the inner lives of young Americans. As powerful and relevant today as it on its initial publication, them chronicles the tumultuous lives of a family living on the edge of ruin in the Detroit slums, from the 1930s to the 1967 race riots. Praised by The Nation for her “potent, life-gripping imagination,” Oates traces the aspirations and struggles of Loretta Wendall, a dreamy young mother who is filled with regret by the age of sixteen, and the subsequent destinies of her children, Maureen and Jules, who must fight to survive in a world of violence and danger. Winner of the National Book Award, them is an enthralling novel about love, class, race, and the inhumanity of urban life. It is, raves The New York Times, “a superbly accomplished vision.”
So, the book-buying ban is over. I did ok, but next time I'll set a more realistic goal. At least I know I can make it a month.
Hahaha! Well, I commend you on your 37-day restraint. You might need to build your own house of shelves if you keep going like this.
ReplyDeleteI fully support your book splurging. Plus, passing on Half Price Books sales/coupons would be sacrilege!
Charity, I know those coupons are just too good to waste.
ReplyDeleteBrenna! Hahaha. At least you were honest. My ban extends until my trip to Portland when I visit Powell's! So far, so good. My own boyfriend has already tried to drag me into book stores to look! He says the ban doesn't count if he gets them. I stuck to my guns. It's ok, though! A coupon from a favorite local is completely excusable.
ReplyDeleteWell, you bought a good book. No shame in that.
ReplyDeleteBeth, I thought about the fact that if I went book shopping with someone and they bought me books I could get away with it, but really it's still kind of cheating. I can't wait to hear about Powell's! I've never been.
ReplyDeleteBen, I'm pretty excited about it.
Oates is ALWAYS good idea! Congrats on making it as long as you did, and you're right, those coupons are excellent!
ReplyDeleteI got the exact same coupon and was trying to figure out how I could get away with using it and somehow not break my bookshelves from the sheer weight of new books.
ReplyDeleteAndi, I read my first Oates earlier this year and really enjoyed it. I'm excited for this one.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I am really excited about using it. If you use yours, let me know what you get!
JCO is one of my favorite authors. Them is on my TBR pile, along with the other three books that kind of go along with it -- Expensive People, A Garden of Earthly Delights, and Wonderland. Hopefully I'll get to them soon. JCO is definitely worth breaking a book-buying ban over.
ReplyDeleteGreat book to fold under ; positive you'll enjoy it .
ReplyDeleteBook Buying Ban is hard, but to abstain myself from buying new book, I used the library.
ReplyDeleteHeather, I had no idea there are three other books that go along with it. That's great!
ReplyDeleteCharlie, Good to hear!
eclectic, I really should use the library more...
I have been trying to stop buying books all year and I don't think I've ever made it a whole month! Congratulations on making it that long. Coupons are meant to be used.
ReplyDelete