Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Things I Want to Quit

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and this week the theme is the top ten bookish things that you want to quit. I've only got eight things on my list today, partially because I can't think of anymore and also because I have four essays to write right now (if anyone wants to write me an A grade essay about the Bolshevik takeover, I'll be forever grateful).

BUYING BOOKS THAT I DON'T REALLY NEED

My name's Emma and I'm a bookaholic. I have gotten a lot better in the past few months, but I do have a habit of buying books for the sake of it and not because I really, really want to read them. For example, if I'm in Waterstones and they have an offer on, I will buy extra books that I don't really want just so I can get money off (even though buying extra books makes it more expensive. Stupid, I know). I'm definitely much better at this than I used to be (probably because I can't afford to buy that many books), but it's still something I'm working on.

NOT FINISHING SERIES'

I do this all the time. It's not like I don't intend to finish a series, but more like it takes me ages to even get round to it. I do prefer a series to a standalone novel, but they are such a big commitment and I have so many books on my TBR as it is. Still, I'm determined to actually finish something soon.

READING TOO FAST

I read books very quickly, mostly because I set aside time to read it in one sitting. However, if I get really into a book I want to get through it and absorb the story as quickly as possible, causing me to not take in the words properly. I then have to go back and reread passages, or realise hundreds of pages later that I've missed something really important.

PUTTING BOOKS DOWN AFTER A COUPLE OF CHAPTERS

In the past year or so, I've developed an annoying inability to start something and commit to it. You don't know how many times in the last month I've read a few pages of a book only to put it down about ten minutes later. I hate doing this because it means I'm less likely to read the book when I'm in the mood for it, so I might have to force myself not to put a book down after at least a hundred pages.

USING RANDOM ITEMS AS BOOKMARKS

Right next to my bed I have a pot that contains at least fifteen bookmarks (and counting). Yet why do I often use the nearest object to me as a bookmark? I've used a leaf in the past (I still haven't finished that book, and last time I checked the leaf had dried in the pages), but more often than not I'll use my phone or a spoon. The reason why I want to stop doing this? Ramming massive objects in my book damages them, and it means all the pretty bookmarks I own go to waste.

GETTING TOO STRESSED ABOUT KEEPING MY BOOKS NEAT

In my Classics class I gave my copy of The Odyssey to a boy in my class so he could find a quote. He gave it back to me about a minute later and had completely broken the spine. As you can possibly imagine, I was furious. Whilst I don't want to ruin my books on purpose, I'm trying not to care so much about keeping them in perfect condition if an accident does happen.

SPENDING MORE MONEY ON NICER EDITIONS

I kid you not when I say that it's not unheard of for me to spend far more money on a beautiful edition of a book rather than buying the cheap, uglier one. Even though I don't mind buying used books (the Amazon Marketplace is my second home), I've wasted so much money just because I prefer the colour of one edition to another.

AMAZON

I'm not saying that I want to quit Amazon altogether, but rather that I want to support real bookshops more. It's no secret that bookshops are closing, and why fund the wonderfully cheap and convenient corporate devil when I could buy books from a company that actually needs the money?