as a guy who is probably twice the age of the average booktokker, and as a book lover who enjoys seeing literary culture flourish in modern mediums. When I was young I read and consumed books and novels like a starving man, reading rapaciously. When you're young you want to consume and understand and experience life and books and stories and knowledge and feel emotions and the expansive imagination of literature. When you get older, you feel satiated, by that level of reading. And you realise reading slowly, and less prolifically, opens up these novels in ways that rapid reading doesnt. you meditate upon the works more, they resonate. But I say reading intensively to ground you in your personal canon that you create is NATURAL and GOOD and HEALTHY. you read in different gears at different times of life. Enjoy yourself, and swim in the sea of literary art
When you are young is the time to collect and acquire books, then later as your home fills up it is time to curate, re-read, or move to library or e-books. It is all reading. I am likewise delighted to see young people reading again, wanting to talk about books, acquire books, think about books, and most of all read books. If you are parents or thinking of having children please let your children roam libraries freely and let them read (within reason of course) adult books beyond their age level. My parents had used copies of most of the classics of English and world literature lying around the house when I was growing up and I had free access to them long before I could fully understand them. I lacked the emotional maturity. But I enjoyed them immensely. I read anything and everything if it was poetry or fiction. Being a child I had no fear of a long or difficult book. The parts I couldn't understand had a mystery and an allure that was part of the adventure and this adventure has continued my whole life. One of the best inventions of the modern age is headphones and ear buds. As a child of the 70s when TV, radio and stereo noise was unbiqitous finding a quiet place to read could be an adventure in itself.
At 57 I have become a more prolific reader than in my past. So although you do make a good point, there are those of us who are the opposite. I feel like there are so many books that I want to read and too little time. 🫤
When you think about it, printed books are the only medium you can still consume without being interrupted by someone trying to sell you something. Or being interrupted by someone who's trying to sell you a subscription that will keep the interruptions away. But only as long as you pay and as long as the sales pitch isn't part of the media itself. Of course we don't know what normal consumption is.
@@Aigra there's more to the quote than this, but I felt this one by Stephen King on tv was especially relevant: " On the other hand, if you’re just starting out as a writer, you could do worse than strip your television’s electric plug-wire, wrap a spike around it, and then stick it back into the wall. See what blows, and how far. Just an idea. "
I'm glad Ashley Tisdale was honest. If you only use them for decor that is fine, if you read them that is also fine. But don't pretend you read them if you want them as decor.
@@Cailyn_Amanda thank you! i also want to be buried in a library some day but for some reason I now can only read on a kindle (I blame it on fanfiction reading on my phone for years) so this is how I still have that library while also trying to be ethical.
I actually put myself on a book ban this year for my birthday. My husband loves the idea, lol. I challenged myself for a whole year to just read what I have, and that way on my birthday I could go on spree from all the money I saved up from the year from not buying books. So far, I've actually been reading more than I did before. It is a great challenge.
I'm on a semi ban. I'm only allowed to buy sequels in a series I'm actively reading. Was very surprised to see how many first books of a series I have. So i made it a point to buy no more books. And to finish the series I already have
I’m not doing anything that structured, but I have been making a concerted effort to read what I have. I’m also making craft projects out of materials I already have instead of buying more stuff, but that’s off topic.
Ban for me too. I can still receive new books as gifts on special occasions ofc, but I'm avoiding adding books to my christmas list. I almost never buy books brand new anyway, I get them at my local used bookstore, which has really good prices (you can easily find a hardcover for under $10), but I go through books really slowly (if I have to choose between spending time on reading or spending it on writing, I choose writing almost every time), and I want to catch up on what I already have. I was just looking into a reading challenge today, thinking it might help me get through some of these books faster, and I was quite annoyed with how often parts of the challenge would require buying new (often brand new) books, so I'm thinking I'll modify it to suit my needs.
I live in a "third world" country and the underconsumption just looks like regular consumption for me. Every two years there's a huge book fair here and I save money for two years so I can go and buy books (this year I bought home 9 books and thought it was a crazy amount, even though I just have 4 or 5 unread books sitting on my desk). I just think people who buy books and don't read are strange, why are you filling up your space with stories you don't know and/or don't like just to feel part of something? Go to your library or buy books that you're going to at least read. Invest in an e-reader. Read the books you already have.
I see it like wine collecting. Nobody would fault a wine collector for not drinking every single bottle of wine! To be fair there is a book shopping addiction some people have
I’m not disagreeing with you. I just want to point out that not all public libraries are created equal. I’m from a small and conservative town. When we got a movie gallery here back in the day, the pastors of our churches got together and our MG did not have a back room if you know what I mean. My county is also dry. No beer and certainly no liquor. So to say our book options are limited would be underselling it. If you want to read Nora Roberts or James Patterson then I’ve got the place for you. There is no indie books to speak of. Our YA selection is pitiful. I’m talking maybe 10 complete series and I’m probably being generous. And on the absolute high end we may get 50 of the traditionally published best seller books that are super mainstream in a calendar year. I’m pretty certain I’m being too generous with that number. Even the ebook or audiobooks we have to log into a library system that isn’t ours that’s over an hour away and that is much more populated than our small town so your wait times on those are insanely long. I just don’t think people realize when they say for others to just utilize their public library more, that it isn’t as simple as that for some.
@@whitneywest3538 Ha. I know what thats like. My town just got liquor about 5 years ago. We have 3 traffic lights and not even a walmart and a Christiam college in middle of our town.
@@ClaireGreen-wd2gmWe only had three stop lights until we got a fourth one. Of course they put it where we didn’t need one and didn’t put one in the intersection that is the most traveled and congested. Well, as congested as one can get in my town. We too have no Walmart for 30 miles in any direction you drive. No mall or theater for an hour in any way you go. But if you’re looking for a church to join your options are vast. We have a few that manage to get alcohol sales on the ballot every few years but it never passes.
A few years ago I was helping my family clear out my grandparents’ huge library when my grandma was moving into a nursing home. They were both English professors so they had a HUGE library of read books but there were several cases of “display” classics that came from my grandma’s high society dad and grandparents and almost all of them had uncut pages 😂 These people were for sure buying whole libraries of books just to look smart 100+ years ago
Another thing about the libraries of the wealthy in the 18th and 19th centuries is that they were very rarely the work of one person the way many of our personal collections/libraries are today. A conversation in Pride and Prejudice on the subject goes as follows: _“I am astonished,” said Miss Bingley, “that my father should have left so small a collection of books. What a delightful library you have at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy!”_ _“It ought to be good,” he replied: “it has been the work of many generations.”_ _“And then you have added so much to it yourself-you are always buying books.”_ _“I cannot comprehend the neglect of a family library in such days as these.”_ They were definitely read, but they were also part of the property passed down for generations like houses and land. The idea of "shelf wealth" made me think of this scene because Caroline Bingley isn't actually interested in books. In another scene, she is shown to only have picked up a book to try and get Darcy's attention. What she cares about is status and the appearance of being in the same social class as Darcy while the Bingleys' wealth was "new money" for the time and acquired through trade rather than inheritance of generations.
@@mallarielove Huh? It's an accessible example of a period book referencing a phenomenon from the era it was written. Something being mentioned in a "fictional book" doesn't make *that thing* fictional. If a character in a modern book mentions riding in a taxi will you claim that taxis are fictional? Jane Austen's works are social commentaries. She didn't create new worlds, she created stories taking place in the world she lived in.
Exactly! A real full book shelf only can be achieved by many years of work. Personality I'm really picky when it comes to buying books because I think if a book deserves to be in my bookshelf needs to be the perfect edition and cover. Today I have more than 200 books, however a lot of them belong to my late grandma and where gifts from my dad when he find an old edition from a book he used to read in his youth. I'm proud of my collection not because of the quantity, is because every single one what I own is the perfect book with the perfect memory in them and I hope someday I'm going to do the same as my grandma 😌 Also apologies if there's grammatical errors, English is my second language 😶
As some have mentioned, yes donate books that you don’t want to read (but thought you would) or didn’t like reading to your library or goodwill. But, while it’s good not to overconsume, I look at each book purchase, even if it’s a book I ultimately don’t like, as supporting an author that needs it. This is what I think separates buying books from say makeup or shoes. You’re supporting an author, when so many authors are struggling.
@@DoubleA-ou7pjmaybe, but those people tend to have a more secure full time job, whereas an author often has to write on the side and may not even earn out their advance depending on how many books get sold. Their future success in publishing can also depend on their previous sales figures.
Took me a long time to realise that influencer and I are not the same and we do not have the same amount in our bank accounts. And that their closets and libraries will never be mine. I'm slowly becomming okay with that. 😅😅
@@imagine_big9398 I get most of my books free online now. If I had to buy all the books I read in a year I would be broke, probably even second hand 😂😂 I do find wonderful second hand DVD's! Those are a great deal right now too.
I see people telling book influencers they shouldn’t haul so many books. But you wouldn’t tell a bank that they shouldn’t upgrade their cyber security when something better comes along. You wouldn’t tell the small business owner that they shouldn’t buy more copy paper to print their orders and invoices. You don’t tell a fashion designer that they shouldn’t buy more fabric. For some creators, books make their livelihoods. So to me, it makes sense that they would take in more inventory than just an everyday casual reader. I am in no way saying that’s what you meant. That’s just how I view it.
I am a (small fry) bookstagram influencer who doesn't have an in home library and buys mostly used books every couple months or so. There are influencers out there who spend less on books and don't have the beautiful floor to ceiling matching shelves. Another thing you have to remember is that the larger book community influencers are constantly receiving books for free from outside sources. So it's not just books they buy, it's also books they were asked or paid to promote.
@@alicehaslonghairYou just touched on something that’s a huge thing for me. I actually lose interest in influencers once they start hauling and reviewing books they were sent by publishers or indie authors. Starting a patreon also immediately turns me off from a creator. I’ve watched enough creators and loved their content only to see it limited or the quality of the “free” content stifled once they start charging for access to certain videos. I have an in home library that most would say is far too big. I use to read primarily contemporary romance and could read at much faster rate. I could never buy another book and I still could not finish every book I own before I part from this world. I also thrift a very large portion of my collection or I wait for sales or deals. Second and Charles is where I get the most bang for my buck. So since I put my own money on the line, I want to hear about what influencers think about books that intrigue them enough to purchase themselves and the reviews that aren’t skewed because they want to please authors/publishers so they continue to receive things in the future. And one thing that I will never understand or support are the ones that mainly only haul books that their “followers” send them. For me, it is so cringe and feels like people being taken advantage of. I don’t think I’ve ever used the phrase “gives me the ick” but that phrase fits the practice perfectly for me in this instance. As soon as a creator mentions their wish list is listed here or there, or mentions a huge new release and shouts out a publisher/main stream author to send them the arc, I’m just POOF, out of there so fast. I’ve been around the community for too long so I’ve seen these trends far too often and know what works and what doesn’t for me and my personal experience.
I’ve been watching the online bookish space for almost 10 years now, and the biggest change I have seen is the rampant want for special editions of every single book. From book box exclusive copies to target or Barnes and Nobel exclusive editions, people end up with 4 copies of the same book they’ve never read because they’re pretty on a shelf. I swear it used to be that people would buy special editions of books they love, but now it seems to be every book that people want multiple copies of
As a kid I really wanted this huge library of books I had read and loved to share with others and be cosy in. And I got quite a number of books, my grandma gifted me some more because she knew that I liked vintage books and so on. I still want that library, so underconsumption core won’t be on my bookshelves, but i got way more selective over the books I actually get because of wanting to consume less. And I don’t wanna dust a book I won’t read again for the rest of my life. Another aspect is that the whole merch culture feels really weird to me, special editions everything has to be cute (while the quality is going down) and so on.
Belle was my favorite Disney Princess because we both liked to read. I DREAM of a library like the one in Beauty and the Beast. I don't like hardcover books, so I won't be getting special editions. They're pretty, but not $30 pretty. Between thrift stores, Half-Priced books, garage sales, etc. I will never buy a full priced book again
Do you borrow books from the library, so you don't have to be stuck with a book you dislike? That's what I'm doing, my future library is going to be selective, only 5 stars and 4.5 stars books.
@@San-li9ml that and borrowing from friends and family or I go to public bookshelves where you can take and put in books for free. Currently I’m into classics but take the time to find nice copies, with fabric covers and/or nice designs. Buddenbrooks, three musketeers and so on. Some time ago I found a old linen bound copy of don Quixote at a public bookshelf
i mean you can get your huge library , but a huge library of read books curated through a lifetime sound better than just a shit ton of mediocre or unread boojs
I might be seeing this a bit too optimistic, but this might motivate people to donate books they don't want anymore to their local libraries or fill up these open libraries that are everywhere across any town, so people who don't have the financial opportunities to read many books get to enjoy more of them.
This is exactly what I do. I have a bunch of laminated bookmarks that I made that say, “Please return this book to Amanda” on them. I lend books to family and friends with the bookmarks in them. When I get the book back, I take the bookmarks out of the books and donate them to our small community library. I don’t tend to donate them to thrift stores because they take up a lot of shelf space and they don’t tend to make much money from them. I figure that if I can support my library this way then more people can enjoy the book for free. My mom volunteers in a charity shop and she says that they are always getting loads of books dumped on them that eventually end up being tossed out. In our area, books can’t readily be recycled because of the glue in the spine, so they end up in the landfill. 😢
There is a little open library (a old telephone box which is now used for exchanging books) near me. Unfortenatly there are a few bad people who drive by and get all the new/nice books, load up their car and resell them :( We saw them twice and tried to talk to them, they don't see anything wrong with doing this because the books are free for all... So weare all stuck with old cookbooks and tourist guides from the 80ties and 90ties
Super bias cos I’m quite involved with my local library but just wanna advocate for borrowing books more. Like I actually don’t own that many books but and I find borrowing them helps me read more. I’ve never felt a need to own lots of books. It’s kind of like seeing a beautiful outfit but acknowledging that u don’t need to own all those items of clothes.
@@accordingtoalina I recently read the secret history in like 6 days (for me this is very fast) cos I saw 3 ppl had reserved it 😭 the pressure is real but helpful
I recently reborrowed a book for the third time in a row because it is taking me so long to read (life is busy right now). It is exactly as embarrassing as I thought it would be. Did the librarian care? No, no one has it reserved, so I can take as long as I want. Did I apologise profusely anyway? You bet I did!
I almost exclusively read from the library - I tell everyone I know to get a card and use it. I might buy a book if I re-read it again and again and want to reference it on demand, but that might be one or two a year max.
@@fuzzymurdermittens I have done that on ebooks I have rented through Libby. I was in a rut with reading but being stubborn and still saying "I can do this!" I'd reborrow the same book 3 times, and then it'd get passed along to the next people waiting in line for it. Sad thing is a couple times I didn't even finish the book even after reborrowing it multiple times, and I'd have to get back in the queue at the end again and wait another month or two before it was my turn again. I think I'm finally working on getting out of my rut again. I've been reading daily, though starting smaller in 15-30min batches instead of hours. Gotta pace myself back up.
I find book unhauls better than hauls because we all get swept up in the excitement of new stuff, like Christmas presents that never get touched again. Unhauls are more interesting because you have experienced it, have thoughts, and can be totally wrong about what you though it was going to be. It's also really satisfying when people declutter things. I could never be an influencer because I don't like pictures/video of myself and I don't want to turn a hobby into a job with deadlines. I read and sew when I'm in the mood. I don't need fancy special editions. It's nice when series match, but I will never buy a full priced book again because of second hand stores
regarding ashley tisdale, I feel like it's unfair because nowhere in her branding does she claim to love reading or being a culturally inclined person. she kinda just said outright that it was for decor and so her house wouldn't seem sparse. It'd be different if it was Dua Lipa for example, who frequently broadcasts herself reading and has a book club, ykwim
@@wearesatellites91 yeah of course, I just think the judgement feels harsh considering she herself has never claimed to be "into" literature as a public figure, so she has no "responsibility" to be particularly genuine about her shelves you know
I saw an episode of Hoarders where a lady collected books and they were breaking her house and falling down around her. I got rid of 90% of my books. 😅😅😅
I watched a compilation episode of book hoarders and wow. There was a couple who could barely walk anywhere, including the stairs. I think the husband was on the spectrum because of his mannerisms and he had a high IQ and was interested in literally everything. STEM, philosophy, nature, medicine, you name it he had books on it. It a lot of scolding by his wife because he had health issues so the books could be a problem if first responders needed to get him out.
An alternative view of the book collection might be Umberto Eco's idea of an "antilibrary" (I'm not sure he used this term himself, but someone who wrote about him did). He saw all his unread books (and he had thousands) as more valuable than the ones he had read, because they reminded him of what he had not yet learned, the things he did not know about. I'm on the older side of things, and have had many years to build a collection: many I've read, many others I haven't (yet), but they're all good friends and my home wouldn't feel the same about them. And now that my kids are older, they're starting to pick them off the shelves and leaf through them, which makes me happy.
I work my ass off at my job and I make a decent income! After I pay my bills I will be buying how ever much I want to because it’s my money and I love to collect books! It brings me joy so I don’t know why people are so bothered with people spending their own money however they want!
It’s not so much about controlling what people spend their money on, it’s about encouraging people to be mindful with their purchases. Books are probably the least problematic thing to collect tbh. They don’t have an expiration date, if you buy 3 books and decide not to read them until a year later nobody’s missing out on it, they’re still able to be read and enjoyed. You can lend books to friends, or trade them for a different book with friends once you’re done. It’s not the same as when influencers will buy hundreds of, let’s say, skin care products. They’ll expire before they have a chance to use them and then it’s just a ton of wasted product. At least with books you can donate them after reading. The problem is mass buying and letting them collect dust purely for the aesthetic. Enjoy the books and keep buying them, but if it’s not something you think you’ll read again maybe consider donating them to a library if they don’t have any sentimental value, or maybe even pick up a book at the library and then if you decide you really like it then go buy it :)
it’s mostly about people being treated differently for not having them and being wasteful. where will all those thousands of books go in 50 years or 80 years or 100 years??? they’ll just be trash rotting our earth. and just making content not about books but using them to gain attention. stop letting your own feelings cloud the nuance of the rest of this conversation. it’s like you only heard what you wanted and didn’t even watch the video.
Back in 2013 I started a booktube channel, and I remember thinking "I can't start until I have atleast 100 books". This overconsumpion core has been so rampant for years, I'm actually so extremely happy that there's been a shift, even if it is just a trend
I’m in my late 40s and have been an avid reader, ever since I can remember… I don’t display books, although I have a small collection. Most books I get second hand and pass them on again … sometimes people ask me now if I have a book they can read. Honestly that is real “book wealth “. Go the street library ❤
I recently put some books out in my neighbourhood street library and when I walked past it again the following day all the books were gone. Best feeling ever!
Idk if anyone is talking abt this, but there is a huge environmental impact this over-consumption of books has created. The paper necessary to print so many "esthetic only" books is made from farmed trees and processed inside industrial factories then, processed through more industrial factories to make the book itself. It's especially worse considering authors nowadays think they need to publish 600+ page books. And if these books don't sell, companies in America are earn tax incentives for dumping unsold products into a landfill.
Y'know, if someone has a huge collection of books I don't really care. The thing that bothers me is the way people bulk order books from Amazon, which sells books at a loss just because they can afford to and they want to push brick-and-mortar bookshops out of business, and is also just a fucked up company we shouldn't be giving our money to so casually. If you don't want to pay full price for a book, just borrow it from the library... I cannot think of one good reason to rely on amazon for one's access to books
I'm lucky to live in a city that has a great many of second hand/independent bookstores. So you can always find books for cheap, even new releases. Just wait a handful of months, and somebody will bring the book in, and you can get it for 50% off. There's so many websites that sell used books or reduced price new books that you don't have to rely on Amazon.
A couple of years ago, I would've agreed with you wholeheartedly. I'm privileged enough to live close to a library and bookstores. However, I recently learnt that there are a lot of communities where Amazon is the only way to buy books and even essentials especially post covid. There are also disabled persons and for them Amazon is a god send. Even personally, my Amazon shopping has increased recently due to the stores not having much stock and if they do, I still need to order it to ship and pay twice the amount compared to Amazon. I don't know what the solution is now that Amazon is the monopoly. But I think it's unfair to completely blame the people.
I feel super guilty for just buying second-hand and using the library. I sometimes save up and support specific people I’d like to see writing more. If everyone did what I do people couldn’t make a living. But also books are so expensive, especially when new - how are we supposed to pay for all of them 😔? I don’t know what is right. I always thought that folks earn more from Amazon shoppers than from people like me.
Authors get paid every time their book is checked out from a library, or a bigger onetime sum when the library buys royalties for e-books. I hope this helps you to borrow with a guilt free concience 😊 you are helping the planet, your community and your favourite authors without having to shell out any of your hard earned money - what could be better!
It's all about aesthetics now, not just to be. I think that's sad. My shelves are full of unread books: because after I read one (mostly once a month or when a book keeps replaying in my mind.) I give or even sell that book - there are just too many I want to read and less time to do so (I'd like to enjoy my time to read). At first I loved the idea of BookTok - till it changed to an aesthetic and the same ten authors in every tiktok - that's not enjoyment, it's consumerism. I'd like to think now about it like: "Okay, these teens read these 10 authors, but afterward maybe they find some other titels they enjoy!" So, I'd like to be optimistic.
@@amandak.4246 Hi! Because it takes a time before I read that one book. Some books are already 10 years on my shelf and I read them now... (and it's interesting how my interests shift.😆)
I have a large collection of books. I've realized I will always have a large collection but it's mainly made up of second hand books and my absolute favorites that I have had for years. I think the real trick is to be mindful of why you're purchasing. I favor physical books while reading so I either go to the library or find a better way of reading it be that borrowing from a friend or finding an online version and just tolerating digital.
The whole underconsumption debacle on booktok specifically made me realize why I could never get into it and the only book content I consume is on YT. I swear you cannot spend 5 minutes on booktok without someone making you feel weird for using e-books which is my preferred way of reading books. One day I saw subtle shades at e-reader users like 3 times in one hour and I literally just deleted tik tok off my phone lmao. Imagine being this pressed.
I dream of having a library like the one I remember my great grandfather or my great aunt had. I have a lot of books because I started reading really young, and those get added to what my siblings and my mom own. More recently, what I've inherited from my great aunt, which are more on the classics side, the typical red leather bounds that you think are only for show. I've read some, mostly because they overlapped with something I was reading for class. And there's definitely a lot of books I own I haven't read, but at least for me they're not usually impulse buys. A lot are gifts, or books I haven't gotten around to but are on my tbr that require more energy than I tend to have during the semester when I want to read lighter things. But also I definitely get wanting to buy physical copies of books I've read on KU so many times, and completing collections. I have a list, and I'll get those little by little, but I'm in absolutely no rush. It does bother me when its purely for show though with no intention whatsoever of reading.
In my youth I went overboard. I now have 8 ikea bookshelves full of books. I now only buy about 3 books a year. I am reading through them all and decluttering them by giving them to the second hand bookshop. The credit I get is used for my children. I do regret the amout I bought, but I do enjoy reading through them.
Alina, I've watched a few of your videos and love how well thought-out and researched they are. I'm someone who has only recently started to love reading but has played video games as his primary form of entertainment and enrichment for his whole life. I see in video games the same attitude that you call being a "real reader" in these videos, where gamers feel the need to play as many games as possible as fast as possible to try and get more "gamer credibility." In truth, I think a lot of the desire for "gamer cred" is identical to the desire for people to want to be "real readers." I believe that people want to be knowledgeable, and also want others to know that they are knowledgeable, in whatever subject or hobby they love and spend their time & money. I believe this is because most individuals want to be well-learned in their hobby in order to have more meaningful discussions about an art-form they love. The unfortunate thing is that often times this desire can consume someone and warp into something that is completely antithetical to the original desire. It no longer becomes about actually having the credibility you originally sought, but by having the APPEARANCE of credibility. I noticed this in myself playing video games last year and this year, where instead of only playing games that I truly had a burning desire to play, I was playing a bunch of random smaller games to fill the space between. This ultimately lead to a diminished understanding, remembrance, and even enjoyment of everything that I played. To me, this desire to be knowledgeable isn't a bad thing, but being able to find a balance that works for you is key in being able to fully enjoy your hobby. Again, love the video and appreciate your insight into these topics!
YES! it’s always been really weird to me that booktok people make content about reading as many books as possible.I hope we move in the direction of indulging a novel and really being engaging in it rather than getting through a book as fast as possible just to have an excuse to buy more
I used to have extreme ocd and have genuine breakdowns when my books got damaged. I guess booksleeves have the one benefit of helping crazy people like me lol. Anyways i started taking my books to the pool/ beach so theyre a bit sandy now anyways
yes, someone commented that too, and I have to admit that as someone lucky enough not to deal with OCD it had not occurred to me before! even though I presented the whole thing as a joke in the video, I realise that different people have different needs - happy to hear you're not that bothered about them getting dirty though!
Jeff Vandermeer has been advertising his new book by throwing a copy into the ocean and letting it marinate. I've never seen anything like it, and it genuinely helps me let go of my neuroses (I also have OCD)
25:50 - Today I learned that dressing like a grandpa is now trendy. Am I finally fashionable for the first time in my entire life? It's been a running joke for nearly a decade that I dress like an eccentric old man.
I store all my unread books in my side table (not my shelf) so whenever I want to buy a new book I think of my large unread book pile. I also have a rule now that if I really want to buy a book it can’t be at a library!
i find it tiresome that so many youtubers feel the need to criticize underconsumption instead of just relaxing and appreciating it. book underconsumption is easy in many parts of the us bc of our great libraries. i read hundreds of books every year from my library systems, and they buy almost any book i ask for. when people stop feeling the need to buy the books they read, publishers will likely be upset, but we will all be better off.
In France we have a tradition of cheap pocket books, it costs around 7-9€. It makes reading very accessible. Buying the first edition (big book) is more expensive around 18-20€. I see more and more "americanised" edition that cost 29€ ?!?!!?! With pretty drawing, sure, but the edition itself screams bad quality. The pages stick out of the cover, the ink bleed... And i have few American editions in my own bookshelf and theie colors are fading faster than books i have had for 2 decades. It. Sucks.
I feel ya, French neighbour. I have a duology, Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom as that special edition in English, pretty sure American English. The spine and Cover feels and looks so fragile, I am afraid to actually read these books. Ah, I should have just gotten the standard edition from Britain. Was cheaper, too.
There is a strange dichotomy for me watching this video. I am a person who is very thrifty by necessity, but also has a lifelong love of reading. I live in a quite low consumption way, but own hundreds and hundreds of books, which have actually been collected over mine and my family's lives and most of them thrifted in one way or another. I would never downsize my library too much if I could help it, but it's because of the care, time and enjoyment it has brought me and continues to bring me. Not the social status ❤❤❤❤
It's crazy to me that people will buy books as decor but even crazier to expect someone to have read the majority of the books on your shelves. I love to read but I will only keep the books if I really liked it and would either re read it or if I thought it was something I was likely to recommend bc then I can just give them the book. I wouldn't keep every book I've read and most of my books are books I want to read. Then I'll make room for new books. I could go to the library but a lot of times I would check them out and not start them or not finish reading what I had checked out before it was due back
i feel like because of influencers, overconsumption and fast changing trends, reading as a hobby is not about reading anymore. it's about aesthetics, looking smarter and more well read than you actually are, having full-wall bookshelves. about having content opportunities, doing "50 new books haul" videos and 100 books per year challenges. some time ago i fell hard into that trap and caught myself thinking "i don't just want to read this book that X blogger recommended, i NEED to buy it, i NEED to have it on my shelves/i NEED to read as much books this years as possible/i NEED to buy all these new hot releases". that was very toxic. so i drastically limited book blogger content i consumed and focused more on READING itself and especially on what I wanted to read in the moment
95% of my reading comes from the library (borrowing ebooks to send to kindle) or kindle unlimited subscription. I only buy ebooks when on sale. I have zero physical books. I like to read ebooks and with the library I can read what I want without buying it.
I’ve been a minimalist for almost 20 years in every way, except for books. I have lost of books on my shelves that I’ve yet to read. I’ve no regrets and I’m not sorry. I love my books!
I will never understand the idea of shelf trophies. As I finish one of my physical books i ask myself "would i reread this or recommend it/lend it out?" If the answer is no i donate the book. I also buy second hand very often. I use my library card and my kindle unlimited subscription. I borrow from my best friend and I loan books to friends. I also am obsessed with beat up old books. I would very much prefer my books look well loved rather than look new and unopened.
I have many unread books because I only have so much time to read but find new interesting books basically every day. But I stopped buying books (mostly, I admit) until I read all of the ones I already own and instead put the new ones I find on a list to be bought once I finish the ones I have. I found that having so many books I still need to read made me very anxious and I felt like I had to read every book very fast as to not fall too far behind, which never worked. I think I didn't appreciate many books I read fast as much as I would have if I would have taken more time reading them, diving into them and picking them apart. And that's not something I want to do going forward. So I stopped bying new ones and I am slowly working my way through the ones I already own. At some point I just had to sit myself down and have a talk with myself about the fact, that I will never have enough time to read every book that might interest me but that I should take time to enjoy every book I have time to read during my lifetime.
re the tik tok with the girl talking about 'its ok not to buy the book', I get it, because there's a lotttt of people on booktok who read on a kindle, but will buy the physical copy so it 'counts' to have on their shelf, but they don't touch. So her saying this, is to those types of people. It comes across as sarcastic and trolling, but she's genuinely talking to these people lmao. Hate that I know this, I just see a lot of overconsumption stuff with some of the accounts I used to follow
underconsumption trend made me realise how much stuff i have and how much i really need it social media has made such an impact on how much we buy especially books
A few years ago I got a kindle and I switched from buying random books to read at the store to just reading them on the kindle and then buying a “trophy” book when I finished it. Since then, I’ve moved about 3 times and I’ve had to widdle down my collection a little each time, saving only my favorites to take with me. Now, I’m at the point where I will ONLY buy a physical copy if it’s something I will reread in the future. My physical TBR has been contained to books I receive as gifts. 10/10 for my wallet.
I buy most of my books from public library sales, the money goes back to the library and I rescue books that no one wants to check out anymore or books that people donate to the sale
@annea.4173 Not even just that, I have friends who steal books by downloading them illegally. Why not just borrow it? It confused me so much how borrowing books is something that avoids the minds of many.
@@San-li9ml Book thieves/pirates are the bane of my existence and there is no excuse for it. None. Period. They can try to justify it but it's theft, full stop.
@@San-li9ml People turn to that because any book of public interest in any library of note will have queues of weeks if not months. They don’t scale up stock like that as a rule. What you get from that is all of these idle readers who ultimately say “fuck it”
Not having hundred books at home doesnt even mean youre bot well read.. i read several books a week and yet i have only 20 ish books in my house because i get everything from the local library
Yeah I think we all have very different ideas of underconsumption. I resell every book I read on PangoBooks, unless it is both a favorite book and a favorite edition. There’s maybe 5 books I own that I haven’t put up to resell. I probably have like 30 books on hand but 25 are for sale and just haven’t sold yet. Even I feel like I overconsume, so when I see so many people doing book hauls with like 30 books, I do understand that it isn’t hurting anyone I guess but it does feel like it is simply for the content. Edit to add, I do understand the whole “can’t a girl have a little treat” idea. I felt that especially last week, so I bought two books. I think it becomes more than a little treat when you’re buying 50 at a time just to make a video off of it.
I'm a fairly heavy reader (around 50 books per year) and I get most of my books from the library. I actually recently stopped following a book-related account after she posted a bunch of photos where she had like 3-4 copies of the same books with different covers. This would be slightly less irritating if she were like 'this is my favorite author and I just want every edition', but it ... wasn't. No one needs 4 copies of the exact same novel with multiple covers for any reason *other* than posting photos/videos on an account for views.
Those book bags/belts look like book belts that my parents used to carry their books to school in deep communism in Poland because there was a shortage of clothes, shoes and eveything so there was no backpacks or satchels for kids. So yeah, they work, tested by thousands of poor children living under repressing system.
I was a little surprised by the overconsumption (and subsequent faux-underconsumption) of books because I spend so little money personally on books but I still have too many. I have inherited a lot of books, received them as gifts (because they aren’t seen as frivolous Christmas presents to ask for), and gotten a lot of books from yard sales and especially little free libraries. Books are so easy to find. Trust me, you do not need to spend money to have too many books.
About two years ago I separated my book from my husband's books and packed all of his up, and culled what were mine. After 13 crates and boxes of his and I don't know how many of mine, I determined that books are THINGS. And sometimes very junky things. Now I feel that books can indeed be a waste of money, and I don't need to keep a thing just because it happens to be a book.
I personally cannot live with one lip balm as they disappear into the ether of my life only to be rediscovered months later in the couch cushions. Having 20 Burt’s bee’s cucumber mint lip balms around me at all times is simply a fact of life.
It’s funny because what actually made me first want to really slow down and limit my book buying, and even ban myself entirely this year, was seeing booktubers talk about new releases and thinking “how the heck am I supposed to enjoy books at time of release if I’m always way behind on my tbr?” So I really buckled down this year on reading my physical tbr with the aim of catching up so that I can be buying books as I read them (:
about the last point. my sister was a little self conscious because our step dad went and made a bookshelf for her and she didn't have enough books to fill it. i told her: hey, think of all the books you're going to love eventually.
I agree that reading, like every other hobby tends to come hand in hand with overconsumption, but with all these discussions about it I do start to wonder why overconsumption is exclusively brought up in relation to female dominated hobbies
There a good things about this too! Booktok makes indie authors more popular such as Penn Cole and Callie Hart. It makes reading more popular which means more bookstores can stay open. Independent and even Barnes and Nobles were going out of business before booktok. Now at least where I live they’re thriving. Books being bought more isn’t the same as makeup and fashion. Makeup and fashion will ALWAYS be super popular. Reading? Books? I would say has never been super popular so it’s good that it’s more popular and authors are getting more support!
Zero-waste, minimalist living was a thing long before Tik Tok even existed. Also, overconsumption is consuming more than one needs... underconsumption, therefore, is consuming *less* than one needs. Unless a person is in dire poverty, they're not actually "underconsuming" so to call it that is stupid. And to add "core" to every single trend is also stupid. I'm old (mid-thirties, 😆) so I have no patience for stupidity.
Yesss I’m so tired of underconsumption core as someone who hasn’t bought new clothes for myself in 2 years out of not being able to afford it, I’m tired of being lectured about this by rich people who actually should be saying all this to themselves. Living a frugal lifestyle is a necessity for me and for many other people, the message is just lost on me
As a teacher I would love to use one of those fancy board apps with smooth layout and an opportunity to combine multiple media types. But once you get used to the specific app it mah become unavailable for multiple reasons! Desktop apps are more reliable.
Amazing how what was once just mainly for affluent, now it is for home décor -- façade books even. However, though people may be consuming books at a fast rate for poor reasons, it very well may turn out to be beneficial in regards to power outages and no access to information electronically. I prefer myself to get classics, and certain self improvement as needed. I purchase them with the same intent as I would films. It needs to be something I can read/watch over and over again and enjoy it.
I feel like there's your regular normal reader who buys books they love, use the library etc and then the online content creator reader who have physical TBRs that are 50+ books big but continue to buy more and more books. With those creators I always think about my mom, my mother used to pride herself on her personal library, we had so many bookshelves filled with books and an insane amount of books in boxes, we had more books than anyone could read in a lifetime but she would continue to buy more knowing she wouldn't read them but she had to have them. And she lost her house, all of those thousands of books she prided herself on and loved are now all in a landfill.
My beef with the trend is that a lot of people who are still posting content where they are overconsuming are choosing one area of their life where they don't spend a ton and saying "see! I'm on board too!" They might have a minimal skin care routine, but they do clothing hauls nonstop, or they have 2 pairs of shoes but books all over their floor because there's no room on their giant shelf. You're still overconsuming, your own overconsumption just looks a little different from someone else.
It's funny, it looks like I've been book underconsumer whole my life before it was cool 😂 I'm reading books from library and buying only books that I already read and liked and want to reread. In my country everyone has a bookshelves as a part of furnitire and a lot of books on them that they mostly haven't read, they probably bought book editions long time ago just for having full shelves, because if you collect books over time, your shelves aren't that pretty, since your books are necessarily in different shapes. I also think that absolutely noone should bother themselves with books and reading if they don't enjoy it. There are plenty of other hobbies, leave it to the bookworms 😊
edit: I think you actually cover some of this in the video, but still!! I still haven't found the exact way I want to express this, but there's something still consumerist about 'underconsumption-core' because it still centers consumerism in your life. Just instead of documenting how much you own you document how 'little' you use (but it's clear that in some cases this 'undeconsumption' is probably just...average? Or maybe even a little more than average?). It's great that more people are realizing the benefits and importance of a local library, but I'm not impressed or interested in content that acts like it's a new discovery for the entire population. I'd rather just see a video where someone says 'this is what I got from the library this week' and moves on!
We once had many more books but that's over 10 years ago. Due to many moves we sorted through them more and more. When they were read and we were sure we would not read them again or loved em so much that we want to keep them, they went to the many free libraries. Getting older is also recognizing that the font in a Kindle can be sized bigger and easier to read. 😂😂😂
Something that might be helpful for any aspiring book influencers watching is to remember that PR os classed as a taxable income. So all those influencers receiving "free" books and other PR dp actually end up paying for it. And just imagine watching your tax return stacking up as more and more unsolicited parcels get pushed through your mailbox. Each parcel costs you more money and you have almost no contril over it. No thank you!
I'm over here with four different bookshelves... But I've been reading since I could read, long before I even had access to Internet.. it took my dad (who doesn't even like technology) a year to talk me into getting a nook. Because I'm a bookworm, I like to worm my way through the pages. It kind of makes me sad that people are buying books for social media attention with no actual intention to read them. When they could go to people that actually are going to read them.
I'm in my mid 20s, and I'm so tired with the internet nowadays despite the fact that I've always been a consumer of all sorts of media. The amount of trends and what I feel like is intentionally made "controversial" content just to spark a debate or discussion about problems that realistically don't even exist overwhelms me. Your videos perfectly encapsulate that, with a focus on such a specific community as booktok it seems to be enough to get a cross-section of what surrounds us online nowadays.
As someone who lives in a non English country, when I mainly read in English. It’s hard for me to get books from the library and kindle unlimited is not available in my country. Buying the books is one of the only options I have
Me and my partner both enjoy collecting books, but the majority of them are used ones from charity shops and such places. not sure if they have them in other countries like the US, i believe they are like thrift stores but they raise funds for charity organisations through selling donated items. You can get a book for about a £1 and there are hidden gems to be found.
@@accordingtoalina My book overconsumption guilty pleasure is buying beautiful old books from such shops, and admittedly being unlikely to actually read them cover to cover. To be fair I've never paid a significant sum for one and I am slowly making my way through the shorter ones in that section of my bookshelves
When my grandma died some of my older relatives were getting her stuff sorted...they wanted to give me hundreds of trashy romance booklets, because "I read" - I said this is not what I like to read and they were like "so what, these are books as well"... These are the same older relatives who still comment on Facebook "today's youth don't have bookshelves, how sad, they're glued to their phones" while not reading at all but owning entire collections of classics unread... I do read, I do collect books, because I love collecting them (new or second hand - I don't care), but those books are "not normal books" because apparently books are only "normal" if they're classics...or thrashy romance they don't want to throw out themselves... 1. E-book readers do exist... 2. Classics can be found in library - new books not really where I live... 3. If I really need to own a classic for whatever reason, I'm going to get it in e-book, because it's cheaper than a scoop of ice cream - sad but true. 4. I have lots of unread books because I often pass the read ones on, but at least I read the unread ones as well, not just display them. 🤷🏻♀️ 5. No way I could suffer through any of those trashy romance booklets - I don't even like finely written romance books and I have way more books already than time to read...😅
I want to add something to your conclusion : I think these "well-lived" aesthetics are also trending because spending too much time on social media keeps us away from organically accumulating interesting life experiences and the things that come with them. I have read less in the past five/eight years being addicted to social media than ever before. Not only people buy books and knick-knacks as social status items, to appear well-read, but because we want to be people who actually love to finish a novel every week even if they are not that person at the moment.
I have an acquaintance who's a solid generation above me, least chronically online person I know, hasn't read anything published after the year 2000. The topic of things we "hoard" came up, my partner mentioned books, another friend said socks, and my acquaintance said hats. When asked, I said I didn't really collect anything, and he said "Oh you're one of /those/ people." He was mostly joking, but capitalism has truly rotted our brains so that "underconsumption" (when viewed through a first-world lens) is seen as an intentional lifestyle choice.
Authors earning from their books being borrowed at (physical) libraries is called Public Lending Right. There are only 30-40 countries that do this, most of them in Europe.
Thanks for reminding me about how every politician would try to look smart during covid by doing all their Zoom interviews in front of their bookshelf lmao
My great-aunt has a complete leather bound hardback collection of all the Dostojevski books and has never read a single one. I am allowed to think this is stupid but anyone who claims this hasn't always been a thing is being silly.
I agree that booksleeves are great, but so are bookmarks or other 'bookish' things. The issue comes in when you buy one for like every book you own 😅 I have one booksleeve, I made it myself, and I made it big enough for it to fit every standard book size there is. The reason I have it is: I put my books in my backpack which in turn I throw around like a maniac and it protects the books inside. But one is enough. I don't need 100 just because there are so many cute ones out there.
i feel kinda called out in this. Although I do use a kindle, I do buy pre owned books and sell some of my books, I do often buy a few books at the time just to feel a little kick of happiness and show my friends I've bought them. i do often by book branded things too. this video was very good for me to watch. thank you
22:06 but that is EXACTLY what influencers and influencer marketing is supposed to do. Since monetary interests are deeply intertwined with social media as a whole, it’s basically inevitable. Because both influencers and companies that use influencers for marketing are making more money if more people buy more stuff. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature. On TH-cam you get money for the ads connected to your video that people watch and the more people watch your video the more money you get. But to make money on social media you have to sell something. It might be things you make yourself or it might be a link in your bio. But in the end you only make money if people spend money. So it’s absolutely impossible to make money on tiktok by telling people not to consume anything. ❤
The "under consumption" trend simply seems like a rebranding of the minimalism movement and people realizing that living within their means is a much better choice than racking up debt.
As a writer, it does seem kinda scary that people are praising others for not buying a new book... because at the end of the day, there are authors who do need to be paid
What I really have a problem with is not the amount of books these people are buying (i'm an art historian and I do have a home library, it's around 2/3 science books I need for work and the rest is a very curated list of classics, overall a bit over 2.000 books, so I'm in no position of saying anything about book collecting), but the quality of the products themselves and the quality (or much rather: lack thereof) of content in them. Being smut is the least of their problem, many high ranking classics contain sex scenes, but these stories are extremely shallow and schematic, and most often the quality of writing is just awful. Reading hundreds and hundreds of YA crap telling the same "enemies to lovers" or some other overused trope over and over again from 20-something year old "authors" who had just got the funds to escape Wattpad DOES NOT make you well read. In twenty years most likely nobody is going to remember Iron Flame or Colleen Hoover. Most of these stories get forgotten the minute the book is closed. And most of these copies are in fact going to end up on a landfill, just as the vast majority of smut and all the weightless flicks did from the 80s and earlier. I know the dynamics of antiquariums well enough to see that literally nobody is going to be interested in this type of books, because they only have worth as long as they are FRESH. This genre has existed for almost a hundred years now. But you only see them going crazy for the absolute newest releases... So buying a copy, reading it once (at best) and then either storing it until you get clogged or trying to get rid of it at a low price is indeed a stupid thing to do and if I see your bookshelf and it's filled with this crap, I will have some thoughts about it but you being educated and well read is not going to be among them.
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as a guy who is probably twice the age of the average booktokker, and as a book lover who enjoys seeing literary culture flourish in modern mediums. When I was young I read and consumed books and novels like a starving man, reading rapaciously. When you're young you want to consume and understand and experience life and books and stories and knowledge and feel emotions and the expansive imagination of literature. When you get older, you feel satiated, by that level of reading. And you realise reading slowly, and less prolifically, opens up these novels in ways that rapid reading doesnt. you meditate upon the works more, they resonate. But I say reading intensively to ground you in your personal canon that you create is NATURAL and GOOD and HEALTHY. you read in different gears at different times of life. Enjoy yourself, and swim in the sea of literary art
I love this comment
So beautifully said
When you are young is the time to collect and acquire books, then later as your home fills up it is time to curate, re-read, or move to library or e-books. It is all reading. I am likewise delighted to see young people reading again, wanting to talk about books, acquire books, think about books, and most of all read books. If you are parents or thinking of having children please let your children roam libraries freely and let them read (within reason of course) adult books beyond their age level. My parents had used copies of most of the classics of English and world literature lying around the house when I was growing up and I had free access to them long before I could fully understand them. I lacked the emotional maturity. But I enjoyed them immensely. I read anything and everything if it was poetry or fiction. Being a child I had no fear of a long or difficult book. The parts I couldn't understand had a mystery and an allure that was part of the adventure and this adventure has continued my whole life. One of the best inventions of the modern age is headphones and ear buds. As a child of the 70s when TV, radio and stereo noise was unbiqitous finding a quiet place to read could be an adventure in itself.
@@qamarqammar7629 marvellous. thank you. i think we are on the same wavelength
At 57 I have become a more prolific reader than in my past. So although you do make a good point, there are those of us who are the opposite. I feel like there are so many books that I want to read and too little time. 🫤
my God the underconsumptioncore concept its so funny, the 1st world dont even know what are healthy consumption habits anymore
When you think about it, printed books are the only medium you can still consume without being interrupted by someone trying to sell you something. Or being interrupted by someone who's trying to sell you a subscription that will keep the interruptions away. But only as long as you pay and as long as the sales pitch isn't part of the media itself.
Of course we don't know what normal consumption is.
@@Aigra you're so right!
@@Aigra there's more to the quote than this, but I felt this one by Stephen King on tv was especially relevant:
"
On the other hand, if you’re just starting out as a writer, you could do worse than strip your television’s electric plug-wire, wrap a spike around it, and then stick it back into the wall. See what blows, and how far. Just an idea.
"
I'm glad Ashley Tisdale was honest. If you only use them for decor that is fine, if you read them that is also fine. But don't pretend you read them if you want them as decor.
I defo use them for display/trophy but I also 100% read the book. I only read it on my kindle then I buy a pretty version for my trophy shelf 😂
@@georgia2156 That's genius.
@@Cailyn_Amanda thank you! i also want to be buried in a library some day but for some reason I now can only read on a kindle (I blame it on fanfiction reading on my phone for years) so this is how I still have that library while also trying to be ethical.
I actually put myself on a book ban this year for my birthday. My husband loves the idea, lol. I challenged myself for a whole year to just read what I have, and that way on my birthday I could go on spree from all the money I saved up from the year from not buying books. So far, I've actually been reading more than I did before. It is a great challenge.
I'm on a semi ban. I'm only allowed to buy sequels in a series I'm actively reading. Was very surprised to see how many first books of a series I have. So i made it a point to buy no more books. And to finish the series I already have
Going to try this too!
oh wow, good for you and thanks for sharing the idea!
I’m not doing anything that structured, but I have been making a concerted effort to read what I have. I’m also making craft projects out of materials I already have instead of buying more stuff, but that’s off topic.
Ban for me too. I can still receive new books as gifts on special occasions ofc, but I'm avoiding adding books to my christmas list. I almost never buy books brand new anyway, I get them at my local used bookstore, which has really good prices (you can easily find a hardcover for under $10), but I go through books really slowly (if I have to choose between spending time on reading or spending it on writing, I choose writing almost every time), and I want to catch up on what I already have.
I was just looking into a reading challenge today, thinking it might help me get through some of these books faster, and I was quite annoyed with how often parts of the challenge would require buying new (often brand new) books, so I'm thinking I'll modify it to suit my needs.
I live in a "third world" country and the underconsumption just looks like regular consumption for me. Every two years there's a huge book fair here and I save money for two years so I can go and buy books (this year I bought home 9 books and thought it was a crazy amount, even though I just have 4 or 5 unread books sitting on my desk). I just think people who buy books and don't read are strange, why are you filling up your space with stories you don't know and/or don't like just to feel part of something? Go to your library or buy books that you're going to at least read. Invest in an e-reader. Read the books you already have.
I see it like wine collecting. Nobody would fault a wine collector for not drinking every single bottle of wine!
To be fair there is a book shopping addiction some people have
I’m not disagreeing with you. I just want to point out that not all public libraries are created equal. I’m from a small and conservative town. When we got a movie gallery here back in the day, the pastors of our churches got together and our MG did not have a back room if you know what I mean. My county is also dry. No beer and certainly no liquor. So to say our book options are limited would be underselling it. If you want to read Nora Roberts or James Patterson then I’ve got the place for you. There is no indie books to speak of. Our YA selection is pitiful. I’m talking maybe 10 complete series and I’m probably being generous. And on the absolute high end we may get 50 of the traditionally published best seller books that are super mainstream in a calendar year. I’m pretty certain I’m being too generous with that number. Even the ebook or audiobooks we have to log into a library system that isn’t ours that’s over an hour away and that is much more populated than our small town so your wait times on those are insanely long. I just don’t think people realize when they say for others to just utilize their public library more, that it isn’t as simple as that for some.
@@whitneywest3538have you tried the Libby app for your ebooks and audiobooks??
@@whitneywest3538 Ha. I know what thats like. My town just got liquor about 5 years ago. We have 3 traffic lights and not even a walmart and a Christiam college in middle of our town.
@@ClaireGreen-wd2gmWe only had three stop lights until we got a fourth one. Of course they put it where we didn’t need one and didn’t put one in the intersection that is the most traveled and congested. Well, as congested as one can get in my town. We too have no Walmart for 30 miles in any direction you drive. No mall or theater for an hour in any way you go. But if you’re looking for a church to join your options are vast. We have a few that manage to get alcohol sales on the ballot every few years but it never passes.
A few years ago I was helping my family clear out my grandparents’ huge library when my grandma was moving into a nursing home. They were both English professors so they had a HUGE library of read books but there were several cases of “display” classics that came from my grandma’s high society dad and grandparents and almost all of them had uncut pages 😂 These people were for sure buying whole libraries of books just to look smart 100+ years ago
Another thing about the libraries of the wealthy in the 18th and 19th centuries is that they were very rarely the work of one person the way many of our personal collections/libraries are today.
A conversation in Pride and Prejudice on the subject goes as follows:
_“I am astonished,” said Miss Bingley, “that my father should have left so small a collection of books. What a delightful library you have at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy!”_
_“It ought to be good,” he replied: “it has been the work of many generations.”_
_“And then you have added so much to it yourself-you are always buying books.”_
_“I cannot comprehend the neglect of a family library in such days as these.”_
They were definitely read, but they were also part of the property passed down for generations like houses and land.
The idea of "shelf wealth" made me think of this scene because Caroline Bingley isn't actually interested in books. In another scene, she is shown to only have picked up a book to try and get Darcy's attention. What she cares about is status and the appearance of being in the same social class as Darcy while the Bingleys' wealth was "new money" for the time and acquired through trade rather than inheritance of generations.
Yes I thought of the same thing!!!
that’s one example from one fictional book lol
@@mallarielove Huh? It's an accessible example of a period book referencing a phenomenon from the era it was written. Something being mentioned in a "fictional book" doesn't make *that thing* fictional. If a character in a modern book mentions riding in a taxi will you claim that taxis are fictional? Jane Austen's works are social commentaries. She didn't create new worlds, she created stories taking place in the world she lived in.
Exactly! A real full book shelf only can be achieved by many years of work. Personality I'm really picky when it comes to buying books because I think if a book deserves to be in my bookshelf needs to be the perfect edition and cover. Today I have more than 200 books, however a lot of them belong to my late grandma and where gifts from my dad when he find an old edition from a book he used to read in his youth. I'm proud of my collection not because of the quantity, is because every single one what I own is the perfect book with the perfect memory in them and I hope someday I'm going to do the same as my grandma 😌
Also apologies if there's grammatical errors, English is my second language 😶
As some have mentioned, yes donate books that you don’t want to read (but thought you would) or didn’t like reading to your library or goodwill. But, while it’s good not to overconsume, I look at each book purchase, even if it’s a book I ultimately don’t like, as supporting an author that needs it. This is what I think separates buying books from say makeup or shoes. You’re supporting an author, when so many authors are struggling.
Wouldn’t you also be supporting the people who work for makeup and fashion companies who need it???
@@DoubleA-ou7pjmaybe, but those people tend to have a more secure full time job, whereas an author often has to write on the side and may not even earn out their advance depending on how many books get sold. Their future success in publishing can also depend on their previous sales figures.
Took me a long time to realise that influencer and I are not the same and we do not have the same amount in our bank accounts. And that their closets and libraries will never be mine. I'm slowly becomming okay with that. 😅😅
Have you tried buying books second hand? I bought the handmaid's tale for 1.5€, for example
@@imagine_big9398 I get most of my books free online now. If I had to buy all the books I read in a year I would be broke, probably even second hand 😂😂 I do find wonderful second hand DVD's! Those are a great deal right now too.
I see people telling book influencers they shouldn’t haul so many books. But you wouldn’t tell a bank that they shouldn’t upgrade their cyber security when something better comes along. You wouldn’t tell the small business owner that they shouldn’t buy more copy paper to print their orders and invoices. You don’t tell a fashion designer that they shouldn’t buy more fabric. For some creators, books make their livelihoods. So to me, it makes sense that they would take in more inventory than just an everyday casual reader.
I am in no way saying that’s what you meant. That’s just how I view it.
I am a (small fry) bookstagram influencer who doesn't have an in home library and buys mostly used books every couple months or so. There are influencers out there who spend less on books and don't have the beautiful floor to ceiling matching shelves. Another thing you have to remember is that the larger book community influencers are constantly receiving books for free from outside sources. So it's not just books they buy, it's also books they were asked or paid to promote.
@@alicehaslonghairYou just touched on something that’s a huge thing for me. I actually lose interest in influencers once they start hauling and reviewing books they were sent by publishers or indie authors. Starting a patreon also immediately turns me off from a creator. I’ve watched enough creators and loved their content only to see it limited or the quality of the “free” content stifled once they start charging for access to certain videos. I have an in home library that most would say is far too big. I use to read primarily contemporary romance and could read at much faster rate. I could never buy another book and I still could not finish every book I own before I part from this world. I also thrift a very large portion of my collection or I wait for sales or deals. Second and Charles is where I get the most bang for my buck. So since I put my own money on the line, I want to hear about what influencers think about books that intrigue them enough to purchase themselves and the reviews that aren’t skewed because they want to please authors/publishers so they continue to receive things in the future. And one thing that I will never understand or support are the ones that mainly only haul books that their “followers” send them. For me, it is so cringe and feels like people being taken advantage of. I don’t think I’ve ever used the phrase “gives me the ick” but that phrase fits the practice perfectly for me in this instance. As soon as a creator mentions their wish list is listed here or there, or mentions a huge new release and shouts out a publisher/main stream author to send them the arc, I’m just POOF, out of there so fast. I’ve been around the community for too long so I’ve seen these trends far too often and know what works and what doesn’t for me and my personal experience.
I’ve been watching the online bookish space for almost 10 years now, and the biggest change I have seen is the rampant want for special editions of every single book. From book box exclusive copies to target or Barnes and Nobel exclusive editions, people end up with 4 copies of the same book they’ve never read because they’re pretty on a shelf. I swear it used to be that people would buy special editions of books they love, but now it seems to be every book that people want multiple copies of
As a kid I really wanted this huge library of books I had read and loved to share with others and be cosy in. And I got quite a number of books, my grandma gifted me some more because she knew that I liked vintage books and so on. I still want that library, so underconsumption core won’t be on my bookshelves, but i got way more selective over the books I actually get because of wanting to consume less. And I don’t wanna dust a book I won’t read again for the rest of my life.
Another aspect is that the whole merch culture feels really weird to me, special editions everything has to be cute (while the quality is going down) and so on.
Belle was my favorite Disney Princess because we both liked to read. I DREAM of a library like the one in Beauty and the Beast. I don't like hardcover books, so I won't be getting special editions. They're pretty, but not $30 pretty. Between thrift stores, Half-Priced books, garage sales, etc. I will never buy a full priced book again
Do you borrow books from the library, so you don't have to be stuck with a book you dislike? That's what I'm doing, my future library is going to be selective, only 5 stars and 4.5 stars books.
@@San-li9ml that and borrowing from friends and family or I go to public bookshelves where you can take and put in books for free. Currently I’m into classics but take the time to find nice copies, with fabric covers and/or nice designs. Buddenbrooks, three musketeers and so on. Some time ago I found a old linen bound copy of don Quixote at a public bookshelf
i mean you can get your huge library , but a huge library of read books curated through a lifetime sound better than just a shit ton of mediocre or unread boojs
what’s the point in this comment besides asking people to not judge you lmao
I might be seeing this a bit too optimistic, but this might motivate people to donate books they don't want anymore to their local libraries or fill up these open libraries that are everywhere across any town, so people who don't have the financial opportunities to read many books get to enjoy more of them.
yes yes yes I would love to see more in-person community growing around books
This is exactly what I do. I have a bunch of laminated bookmarks that I made that say, “Please return this book to Amanda” on them. I lend books to family and friends with the bookmarks in them. When I get the book back, I take the bookmarks out of the books and donate them to our small community library.
I don’t tend to donate them to thrift stores because they take up a lot of shelf space and they don’t tend to make much money from them. I figure that if I can support my library this way then more people can enjoy the book for free.
My mom volunteers in a charity shop and she says that they are always getting loads of books dumped on them that eventually end up being tossed out. In our area, books can’t readily be recycled because of the glue in the spine, so they end up in the landfill. 😢
@@amandahodgin9316yikes! this is my wake up call to donate books to the library instead of goodwill
There is a little open library (a old telephone box which is now used for exchanging books) near me. Unfortenatly there are a few bad people who drive by and get all the new/nice books, load up their car and resell them :( We saw them twice and tried to talk to them, they don't see anything wrong with doing this because the books are free for all... So weare all stuck with old cookbooks and tourist guides from the 80ties and 90ties
@@Aniracia that’s the pits. I will never understand why people are so selfish. I donate my books to an actual library that way they are tracked.
Super bias cos I’m quite involved with my local library but just wanna advocate for borrowing books more. Like I actually don’t own that many books but and I find borrowing them helps me read more. I’ve never felt a need to own lots of books. It’s kind of like seeing a beautiful outfit but acknowledging that u don’t need to own all those items of clothes.
I feel the same re borrowing makes me read more because I feel the pressure of not renewing my loan and making the people behind me wait 😭
@@accordingtoalina I recently read the secret history in like 6 days (for me this is very fast) cos I saw 3 ppl had reserved it 😭 the pressure is real but helpful
I recently reborrowed a book for the third time in a row because it is taking me so long to read (life is busy right now). It is exactly as embarrassing as I thought it would be. Did the librarian care? No, no one has it reserved, so I can take as long as I want. Did I apologise profusely anyway? You bet I did!
I almost exclusively read from the library - I tell everyone I know to get a card and use it. I might buy a book if I re-read it again and again and want to reference it on demand, but that might be one or two a year max.
@@fuzzymurdermittens I have done that on ebooks I have rented through Libby. I was in a rut with reading but being stubborn and still saying "I can do this!" I'd reborrow the same book 3 times, and then it'd get passed along to the next people waiting in line for it. Sad thing is a couple times I didn't even finish the book even after reborrowing it multiple times, and I'd have to get back in the queue at the end again and wait another month or two before it was my turn again. I think I'm finally working on getting out of my rut again. I've been reading daily, though starting smaller in 15-30min batches instead of hours. Gotta pace myself back up.
I find book unhauls better than hauls because we all get swept up in the excitement of new stuff, like Christmas presents that never get touched again. Unhauls are more interesting because you have experienced it, have thoughts, and can be totally wrong about what you though it was going to be. It's also really satisfying when people declutter things.
I could never be an influencer because I don't like pictures/video of myself and I don't want to turn a hobby into a job with deadlines. I read and sew when I'm in the mood. I don't need fancy special editions. It's nice when series match, but I will never buy a full priced book again because of second hand stores
Ultimately you should buy things that you genuinely want, changing your habits to fit an internet trend is a bit silly.
regarding ashley tisdale, I feel like it's unfair because nowhere in her branding does she claim to love reading or being a culturally inclined person. she kinda just said outright that it was for decor and so her house wouldn't seem sparse. It'd be different if it was Dua Lipa for example, who frequently broadcasts herself reading and has a book club, ykwim
Yesss this is part of my thinking too, people were far too harsh on her when that came out
@@wearesatellites91 yeah of course, I just think the judgement feels harsh considering she herself has never claimed to be "into" literature as a public figure, so she has no "responsibility" to be particularly genuine about her shelves you know
The BookTok overconsumption vid is a year old? Man, time flies
Not quite a year yet but I’m pretty sure I posted that in October last year
I saw an episode of Hoarders where a lady collected books and they were breaking her house and falling down around her. I got rid of 90% of my books. 😅😅😅
I watched a compilation episode of book hoarders and wow. There was a couple who could barely walk anywhere, including the stairs. I think the husband was on the spectrum because of his mannerisms and he had a high IQ and was interested in literally everything. STEM, philosophy, nature, medicine, you name it he had books on it. It a lot of scolding by his wife because he had health issues so the books could be a problem if first responders needed to get him out.
I saw that one too! It was something like 10,000 pounds in books that were literally breaking her foundation of her home.
An alternative view of the book collection might be Umberto Eco's idea of an "antilibrary" (I'm not sure he used this term himself, but someone who wrote about him did). He saw all his unread books (and he had thousands) as more valuable than the ones he had read, because they reminded him of what he had not yet learned, the things he did not know about. I'm on the older side of things, and have had many years to build a collection: many I've read, many others I haven't (yet), but they're all good friends and my home wouldn't feel the same about them. And now that my kids are older, they're starting to pick them off the shelves and leaf through them, which makes me happy.
@@BlueArcher198 Yes. Books are not perishables like food. A book that calls to me I will buy. And it waits for me until its time arrives.
I've read about a similar concept expressed through the metaphor of a wine cellar - you don't keep a wine cellar of empty bottles, etc
I work my ass off at my job and I make a decent income! After I pay my bills I will be buying how ever much I want to because it’s my money and I love to collect books! It brings me joy so I don’t know why people are so bothered with people spending their own money however they want!
It’s not so much about controlling what people spend their money on, it’s about encouraging people to be mindful with their purchases. Books are probably the least problematic thing to collect tbh. They don’t have an expiration date, if you buy 3 books and decide not to read them until a year later nobody’s missing out on it, they’re still able to be read and enjoyed. You can lend books to friends, or trade them for a different book with friends once you’re done. It’s not the same as when influencers will buy hundreds of, let’s say, skin care products. They’ll expire before they have a chance to use them and then it’s just a ton of wasted product. At least with books you can donate them after reading. The problem is mass buying and letting them collect dust purely for the aesthetic. Enjoy the books and keep buying them, but if it’s not something you think you’ll read again maybe consider donating them to a library if they don’t have any sentimental value, or maybe even pick up a book at the library and then if you decide you really like it then go buy it :)
it’s mostly about people being treated differently for not having them and being wasteful. where will all those thousands of books go in 50 years or 80 years or 100 years??? they’ll just be trash rotting our earth. and just making content not about books but using them to gain attention. stop letting your own feelings cloud the nuance of the rest of this conversation. it’s like you only heard what you wanted and didn’t even watch the video.
Back in 2013 I started a booktube channel, and I remember thinking "I can't start until I have atleast 100 books". This overconsumpion core has been so rampant for years, I'm actually so extremely happy that there's been a shift, even if it is just a trend
I’m in my late 40s and have been an avid reader, ever since I can remember… I don’t display books, although I have a small collection. Most books I get second hand and pass them on again … sometimes people ask me now if I have a book they can read.
Honestly that is real “book wealth “. Go the street library ❤
I recently put some books out in my neighbourhood street library and when I walked past it again the following day all the books were gone. Best feeling ever!
Idk if anyone is talking abt this, but there is a huge environmental impact this over-consumption of books has created. The paper necessary to print so many "esthetic only" books is made from farmed trees and processed inside industrial factories then, processed through more industrial factories to make the book itself. It's especially worse considering authors nowadays think they need to publish 600+ page books. And if these books don't sell, companies in America are earn tax incentives for dumping unsold products into a landfill.
You are actually right don't buy books if you don't read them
Y'know, if someone has a huge collection of books I don't really care. The thing that bothers me is the way people bulk order books from Amazon, which sells books at a loss just because they can afford to and they want to push brick-and-mortar bookshops out of business, and is also just a fucked up company we shouldn't be giving our money to so casually. If you don't want to pay full price for a book, just borrow it from the library... I cannot think of one good reason to rely on amazon for one's access to books
Louder 😭
I'm lucky to live in a city that has a great many of second hand/independent bookstores. So you can always find books for cheap, even new releases. Just wait a handful of months, and somebody will bring the book in, and you can get it for 50% off. There's so many websites that sell used books or reduced price new books that you don't have to rely on Amazon.
A couple of years ago, I would've agreed with you wholeheartedly. I'm privileged enough to live close to a library and bookstores. However, I recently learnt that there are a lot of communities where Amazon is the only way to buy books and even essentials especially post covid.
There are also disabled persons and for them Amazon is a god send.
Even personally, my Amazon shopping has increased recently due to the stores not having much stock and if they do, I still need to order it to ship and pay twice the amount compared to Amazon.
I don't know what the solution is now that Amazon is the monopoly. But I think it's unfair to completely blame the people.
I feel super guilty for just buying second-hand and using the library. I sometimes save up and support specific people I’d like to see writing more. If everyone did what I do people couldn’t make a living. But also books are so expensive, especially when new - how are we supposed to pay for all of them 😔? I don’t know what is right. I always thought that folks earn more from Amazon shoppers than from people like me.
Authors get paid every time their book is checked out from a library, or a bigger onetime sum when the library buys royalties for e-books. I hope this helps you to borrow with a guilt free concience 😊 you are helping the planet, your community and your favourite authors without having to shell out any of your hard earned money - what could be better!
It's all about aesthetics now, not just to be. I think that's sad. My shelves are full of unread books: because after I read one (mostly once a month or when a book keeps replaying in my mind.) I give or even sell that book - there are just too many I want to read and less time to do so (I'd like to enjoy my time to read). At first I loved the idea of BookTok - till it changed to an aesthetic and the same ten authors in every tiktok - that's not enjoyment, it's consumerism. I'd like to think now about it like: "Okay, these teens read these 10 authors, but afterward maybe they find some other titels they enjoy!" So, I'd like to be optimistic.
why pay for things you know you'll never keep instead of getting them from the library....just a complete inability to wait a little bit?
@@amandak.4246 Hi! Because it takes a time before I read that one book. Some books are already 10 years on my shelf and I read them now... (and it's interesting how my interests shift.😆)
I have a large collection of books. I've realized I will always have a large collection but it's mainly made up of second hand books and my absolute favorites that I have had for years. I think the real trick is to be mindful of why you're purchasing. I favor physical books while reading so I either go to the library or find a better way of reading it be that borrowing from a friend or finding an online version and just tolerating digital.
The whole underconsumption debacle on booktok specifically made me realize why I could never get into it and the only book content I consume is on YT. I swear you cannot spend 5 minutes on booktok without someone making you feel weird for using e-books which is my preferred way of reading books. One day I saw subtle shades at e-reader users like 3 times in one hour and I literally just deleted tik tok off my phone lmao. Imagine being this pressed.
I dream of having a library like the one I remember my great grandfather or my great aunt had. I have a lot of books because I started reading really young, and those get added to what my siblings and my mom own. More recently, what I've inherited from my great aunt, which are more on the classics side, the typical red leather bounds that you think are only for show. I've read some, mostly because they overlapped with something I was reading for class. And there's definitely a lot of books I own I haven't read, but at least for me they're not usually impulse buys. A lot are gifts, or books I haven't gotten around to but are on my tbr that require more energy than I tend to have during the semester when I want to read lighter things. But also I definitely get wanting to buy physical copies of books I've read on KU so many times, and completing collections. I have a list, and I'll get those little by little, but I'm in absolutely no rush.
It does bother me when its purely for show though with no intention whatsoever of reading.
I scoffed at the idea that I would need permission or forgiveness for borrowing a book from my library.
wtf are u even talking about lmao
In my youth I went overboard. I now have 8 ikea bookshelves full of books. I now only buy about 3 books a year. I am reading through them all and decluttering them by giving them to the second hand bookshop. The credit I get is used for my children. I do regret the amout I bought, but I do enjoy reading through them.
Alina, I've watched a few of your videos and love how well thought-out and researched they are. I'm someone who has only recently started to love reading but has played video games as his primary form of entertainment and enrichment for his whole life. I see in video games the same attitude that you call being a "real reader" in these videos, where gamers feel the need to play as many games as possible as fast as possible to try and get more "gamer credibility." In truth, I think a lot of the desire for "gamer cred" is identical to the desire for people to want to be "real readers."
I believe that people want to be knowledgeable, and also want others to know that they are knowledgeable, in whatever subject or hobby they love and spend their time & money. I believe this is because most individuals want to be well-learned in their hobby in order to have more meaningful discussions about an art-form they love.
The unfortunate thing is that often times this desire can consume someone and warp into something that is completely antithetical to the original desire. It no longer becomes about actually having the credibility you originally sought, but by having the APPEARANCE of credibility. I noticed this in myself playing video games last year and this year, where instead of only playing games that I truly had a burning desire to play, I was playing a bunch of random smaller games to fill the space between. This ultimately lead to a diminished understanding, remembrance, and even enjoyment of everything that I played.
To me, this desire to be knowledgeable isn't a bad thing, but being able to find a balance that works for you is key in being able to fully enjoy your hobby. Again, love the video and appreciate your insight into these topics!
YES! it’s always been really weird to me that booktok people make content about reading as many books as possible.I hope we move in the direction of indulging a novel and really being engaging in it rather than getting through a book as fast as possible just to have an excuse to buy more
One thing that I love to do as a book collector is to find almost all the books that I want and to buy them second hand.
I used to have extreme ocd and have genuine breakdowns when my books got damaged. I guess booksleeves have the one benefit of helping crazy people like me lol. Anyways i started taking my books to the pool/ beach so theyre a bit sandy now anyways
yes, someone commented that too, and I have to admit that as someone lucky enough not to deal with OCD it had not occurred to me before! even though I presented the whole thing as a joke in the video, I realise that different people have different needs - happy to hear you're not that bothered about them getting dirty though!
Jeff Vandermeer has been advertising his new book by throwing a copy into the ocean and letting it marinate. I've never seen anything like it, and it genuinely helps me let go of my neuroses (I also have OCD)
25:50 - Today I learned that dressing like a grandpa is now trendy. Am I finally fashionable for the first time in my entire life? It's been a running joke for nearly a decade that I dress like an eccentric old man.
I dont feel good if i dont read stuff I buy. Out of 200 books i have I might have 5-7 unread ones and I do plan to read them soon
I store all my unread books in my side table (not my shelf) so whenever I want to buy a new book I think of my large unread book pile. I also have a rule now that if I really want to buy a book it can’t be at a library!
Ok so the booksleeve girlies are going to come for me but currently to protect my book in my rucksack I put it in a paper bag...
@@drjenburgess that's honestly a great solution. I put mine in a Ziploc bag, it's very rainy where I live so I just want to keep it dry lol
Reminds me of the first days of a new school year when we made book covers out of paper bags loll
A paper bag is the OG booksleeve.
lmao
I crotcheted my own book sleeve and I am so proud myself
i find it tiresome that so many youtubers feel the need to criticize underconsumption instead of just relaxing and appreciating it. book underconsumption is easy in many parts of the us bc of our great libraries. i read hundreds of books every year from my library systems, and they buy almost any book i ask for. when people stop feeling the need to buy the books they read, publishers will likely be upset, but we will all be better off.
In France we have a tradition of cheap pocket books, it costs around 7-9€. It makes reading very accessible. Buying the first edition (big book) is more expensive around 18-20€. I see more and more "americanised" edition that cost 29€ ?!?!!?! With pretty drawing, sure, but the edition itself screams bad quality. The pages stick out of the cover, the ink bleed... And i have few American editions in my own bookshelf and theie colors are fading faster than books i have had for 2 decades.
It. Sucks.
I feel ya, French neighbour. I have a duology, Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom as that special edition in English, pretty sure American English. The spine and Cover feels and looks so fragile, I am afraid to actually read these books.
Ah, I should have just gotten the standard edition from Britain. Was cheaper, too.
Yep, those premium versions are ironically extremely low quality. But then again they aren’t marketed to readers in the first place.
There is a strange dichotomy for me watching this video. I am a person who is very thrifty by necessity, but also has a lifelong love of reading. I live in a quite low consumption way, but own hundreds and hundreds of books, which have actually been collected over mine and my family's lives and most of them thrifted in one way or another. I would never downsize my library too much if I could help it, but it's because of the care, time and enjoyment it has brought me and continues to bring me. Not the social status ❤❤❤❤
It's crazy to me that people will buy books as decor but even crazier to expect someone to have read the majority of the books on your shelves. I love to read but I will only keep the books if I really liked it and would either re read it or if I thought it was something I was likely to recommend bc then I can just give them the book.
I wouldn't keep every book I've read and most of my books are books I want to read. Then I'll make room for new books. I could go to the library but a lot of times I would check them out and not start them or not finish reading what I had checked out before it was due back
i feel like because of influencers, overconsumption and fast changing trends, reading as a hobby is not about reading anymore. it's about aesthetics, looking smarter and more well read than you actually are, having full-wall bookshelves. about having content opportunities, doing "50 new books haul" videos and 100 books per year challenges. some time ago i fell hard into that trap and caught myself thinking "i don't just want to read this book that X blogger recommended, i NEED to buy it, i NEED to have it on my shelves/i NEED to read as much books this years as possible/i NEED to buy all these new hot releases". that was very toxic. so i drastically limited book blogger content i consumed and focused more on READING itself and especially on what I wanted to read in the moment
95% of my reading comes from the library (borrowing ebooks to send to kindle) or kindle unlimited subscription. I only buy ebooks when on sale. I have zero physical books. I like to read ebooks and with the library I can read what I want without buying it.
I’ve been a minimalist for almost 20 years in every way, except for books. I have lost of books on my shelves that I’ve yet to read. I’ve no regrets and I’m not sorry. I love my books!
I will never understand the idea of shelf trophies. As I finish one of my physical books i ask myself "would i reread this or recommend it/lend it out?" If the answer is no i donate the book. I also buy second hand very often. I use my library card and my kindle unlimited subscription. I borrow from my best friend and I loan books to friends. I also am obsessed with beat up old books. I would very much prefer my books look well loved rather than look new and unopened.
I have many unread books because I only have so much time to read but find new interesting books basically every day. But I stopped buying books (mostly, I admit) until I read all of the ones I already own and instead put the new ones I find on a list to be bought once I finish the ones I have. I found that having so many books I still need to read made me very anxious and I felt like I had to read every book very fast as to not fall too far behind, which never worked. I think I didn't appreciate many books I read fast as much as I would have if I would have taken more time reading them, diving into them and picking them apart. And that's not something I want to do going forward. So I stopped bying new ones and I am slowly working my way through the ones I already own. At some point I just had to sit myself down and have a talk with myself about the fact, that I will never have enough time to read every book that might interest me but that I should take time to enjoy every book I have time to read during my lifetime.
re the tik tok with the girl talking about 'its ok not to buy the book', I get it, because there's a lotttt of people on booktok who read on a kindle, but will buy the physical copy so it 'counts' to have on their shelf, but they don't touch. So her saying this, is to those types of people. It comes across as sarcastic and trolling, but she's genuinely talking to these people lmao. Hate that I know this, I just see a lot of overconsumption stuff with some of the accounts I used to follow
ilysm alina pls do not stop making videos
omg I won't ❤❤❤❤
underconsumption trend made me realise how much stuff i have and how much i really need it social media has made such an impact on how much we buy especially books
A few years ago I got a kindle and I switched from buying random books to read at the store to just reading them on the kindle and then buying a “trophy” book when I finished it. Since then, I’ve moved about 3 times and I’ve had to widdle down my collection a little each time, saving only my favorites to take with me. Now, I’m at the point where I will ONLY buy a physical copy if it’s something I will reread in the future. My physical TBR has been contained to books I receive as gifts. 10/10 for my wallet.
anytime i click on one of your videos it feels so refreshing to watch, thank you for being so down to earth
Has no one ever heard of a public library?
I buy most of my books from public library sales, the money goes back to the library and I rescue books that no one wants to check out anymore or books that people donate to the sale
Libraries don't fit the "Here's My $500 Book Haul!" aesthetic TikTokkers thrive on. 😑
@annea.4173 Not even just that, I have friends who steal books by downloading them illegally. Why not just borrow it? It confused me so much how borrowing books is something that avoids the minds of many.
@@San-li9ml Book thieves/pirates are the bane of my existence and there is no excuse for it. None. Period. They can try to justify it but it's theft, full stop.
@@San-li9ml People turn to that because any book of public interest in any library of note will have queues of weeks if not months. They don’t scale up stock like that as a rule. What you get from that is all of these idle readers who ultimately say “fuck it”
Not having hundred books at home doesnt even mean youre bot well read.. i read several books a week and yet i have only 20 ish books in my house because i get everything from the local library
“Bookmark that page and listen up” !
Yeah I think we all have very different ideas of underconsumption. I resell every book I read on PangoBooks, unless it is both a favorite book and a favorite edition. There’s maybe 5 books I own that I haven’t put up to resell. I probably have like 30 books on hand but 25 are for sale and just haven’t sold yet. Even I feel like I overconsume, so when I see so many people doing book hauls with like 30 books, I do understand that it isn’t hurting anyone I guess but it does feel like it is simply for the content.
Edit to add, I do understand the whole “can’t a girl have a little treat” idea. I felt that especially last week, so I bought two books. I think it becomes more than a little treat when you’re buying 50 at a time just to make a video off of it.
I'm a fairly heavy reader (around 50 books per year) and I get most of my books from the library. I actually recently stopped following a book-related account after she posted a bunch of photos where she had like 3-4 copies of the same books with different covers. This would be slightly less irritating if she were like 'this is my favorite author and I just want every edition', but it ... wasn't. No one needs 4 copies of the exact same novel with multiple covers for any reason *other* than posting photos/videos on an account for views.
Those book bags/belts look like book belts that my parents used to carry their books to school in deep communism in Poland because there was a shortage of clothes, shoes and eveything so there was no backpacks or satchels for kids. So yeah, they work, tested by thousands of poor children living under repressing system.
I was a little surprised by the overconsumption (and subsequent faux-underconsumption) of books because I spend so little money personally on books but I still have too many. I have inherited a lot of books, received them as gifts (because they aren’t seen as frivolous Christmas presents to ask for), and gotten a lot of books from yard sales and especially little free libraries. Books are so easy to find. Trust me, you do not need to spend money to have too many books.
I'll have to think of what creator it was on booktube, but someone said, "Booksleeve? Isn't that what the dust jacket is for?"🤣 I'm on that side!!!🤣🤣🤣
that what I said in my initial video and I got roasted in the comments :(
@@accordingtoalina well that's exactly what I think they're for!
About two years ago I separated my book from my husband's books and packed all of his up, and culled what were mine. After 13 crates and boxes of his and I don't know how many of mine, I determined that books are THINGS. And sometimes very junky things. Now I feel that books can indeed be a waste of money, and I don't need to keep a thing just because it happens to be a book.
Reading books and buying books are two different hobbies 🩵
I personally cannot live with one lip balm as they disappear into the ether of my life only to be rediscovered months later in the couch cushions. Having 20 Burt’s bee’s cucumber mint lip balms around me at all times is simply a fact of life.
It’s funny because what actually made me first want to really slow down and limit my book buying, and even ban myself entirely this year, was seeing booktubers talk about new releases and thinking “how the heck am I supposed to enjoy books at time of release if I’m always way behind on my tbr?” So I really buckled down this year on reading my physical tbr with the aim of catching up so that I can be buying books as I read them (:
Im all about people buying new and not using! It means good deals for me when they sell their stuff or donate to a library or thrift shop.
about the last point. my sister was a little self conscious because our step dad went and made a bookshelf for her and she didn't have enough books to fill it. i told her: hey, think of all the books you're going to love eventually.
That’s so sweet of you 😭
I agree that reading, like every other hobby tends to come hand in hand with overconsumption, but with all these discussions about it I do start to wonder why overconsumption is exclusively brought up in relation to female dominated hobbies
off topic but your hair looks great, alina
thank you ☺️
There a good things about this too! Booktok makes indie authors more popular such as Penn Cole and Callie Hart. It makes reading more popular which means more bookstores can stay open. Independent and even Barnes and Nobles were going out of business before booktok. Now at least where I live they’re thriving. Books being bought more isn’t the same as makeup and fashion. Makeup and fashion will ALWAYS be super popular. Reading? Books? I would say has never been super popular so it’s good that it’s more popular and authors are getting more support!
Zero-waste, minimalist living was a thing long before Tik Tok even existed. Also, overconsumption is consuming more than one needs... underconsumption, therefore, is consuming *less* than one needs. Unless a person is in dire poverty, they're not actually "underconsuming" so to call it that is stupid. And to add "core" to every single trend is also stupid. I'm old (mid-thirties, 😆) so I have no patience for stupidity.
Yesss I’m so tired of underconsumption core as someone who hasn’t bought new clothes for myself in 2 years out of not being able to afford it, I’m tired of being lectured about this by rich people who actually should be saying all this to themselves. Living a frugal lifestyle is a necessity for me and for many other people, the message is just lost on me
As a teacher I would love to use one of those fancy board apps with smooth layout and an opportunity to combine multiple media types. But once you get used to the specific app it mah become unavailable for multiple reasons! Desktop apps are more reliable.
Amazing how what was once just mainly for affluent, now it is for home décor -- façade books even. However, though people may be consuming books at a fast rate for poor reasons, it very well may turn out to be beneficial in regards to power outages and no access to information electronically. I prefer myself to get classics, and certain self improvement as needed. I purchase them with the same intent as I would films. It needs to be something I can read/watch over and over again and enjoy it.
I feel like there's your regular normal reader who buys books they love, use the library etc and then the online content creator reader who have physical TBRs that are 50+ books big but continue to buy more and more books.
With those creators I always think about my mom, my mother used to pride herself on her personal library, we had so many bookshelves filled with books and an insane amount of books in boxes, we had more books than anyone could read in a lifetime but she would continue to buy more knowing she wouldn't read them but she had to have them. And she lost her house, all of those thousands of books she prided herself on and loved are now all in a landfill.
My beef with the trend is that a lot of people who are still posting content where they are overconsuming are choosing one area of their life where they don't spend a ton and saying "see! I'm on board too!" They might have a minimal skin care routine, but they do clothing hauls nonstop, or they have 2 pairs of shoes but books all over their floor because there's no room on their giant shelf. You're still overconsuming, your own overconsumption just looks a little different from someone else.
It's funny, it looks like I've been book underconsumer whole my life before it was cool 😂 I'm reading books from library and buying only books that I already read and liked and want to reread. In my country everyone has a bookshelves as a part of furnitire and a lot of books on them that they mostly haven't read, they probably bought book editions long time ago just for having full shelves, because if you collect books over time, your shelves aren't that pretty, since your books are necessarily in different shapes. I also think that absolutely noone should bother themselves with books and reading if they don't enjoy it. There are plenty of other hobbies, leave it to the bookworms 😊
edit: I think you actually cover some of this in the video, but still!!
I still haven't found the exact way I want to express this, but there's something still consumerist about 'underconsumption-core' because it still centers consumerism in your life. Just instead of documenting how much you own you document how 'little' you use (but it's clear that in some cases this 'undeconsumption' is probably just...average? Or maybe even a little more than average?). It's great that more people are realizing the benefits and importance of a local library, but I'm not impressed or interested in content that acts like it's a new discovery for the entire population. I'd rather just see a video where someone says 'this is what I got from the library this week' and moves on!
We once had many more books but that's over 10 years ago. Due to many moves we sorted through them more and more. When they were read and we were sure we would not read them again or loved em so much that we want to keep them, they went to the many free libraries.
Getting older is also recognizing that the font in a Kindle can be sized bigger and easier to read. 😂😂😂
The Ashley Tisdale video makes me eyeroll at most and at least informs us that celebs might do this, just as normal people might.
Something that might be helpful for any aspiring book influencers watching is to remember that PR os classed as a taxable income. So all those influencers receiving "free" books and other PR dp actually end up paying for it. And just imagine watching your tax return stacking up as more and more unsolicited parcels get pushed through your mailbox. Each parcel costs you more money and you have almost no contril over it. No thank you!
Couple months ago I started buying only books that I can’t get as an ebook and I’m actually proud of it✨
I'm over here with four different bookshelves... But I've been reading since I could read, long before I even had access to Internet.. it took my dad (who doesn't even like technology) a year to talk me into getting a nook. Because I'm a bookworm, I like to worm my way through the pages. It kind of makes me sad that people are buying books for social media attention with no actual intention to read them. When they could go to people that actually are going to read them.
I'm in my mid 20s, and I'm so tired with the internet nowadays despite the fact that I've always been a consumer of all sorts of media. The amount of trends and what I feel like is intentionally made "controversial" content just to spark a debate or discussion about problems that realistically don't even exist overwhelms me. Your videos perfectly encapsulate that, with a focus on such a specific community as booktok it seems to be enough to get a cross-section of what surrounds us online nowadays.
As someone who lives in a non English country, when I mainly read in English. It’s hard for me to get books from the library and kindle unlimited is not available in my country. Buying the books is one of the only options I have
Me and my partner both enjoy collecting books, but the majority of them are used ones from charity shops and such places. not sure if they have them in other countries like the US, i believe they are like thrift stores but they raise funds for charity organisations through selling donated items. You can get a book for about a £1 and there are hidden gems to be found.
I love a good Oxfam book shop!!
@@accordingtoalina My book overconsumption guilty pleasure is buying beautiful old books from such shops, and admittedly being unlikely to actually read them cover to cover. To be fair I've never paid a significant sum for one and I am slowly making my way through the shorter ones in that section of my bookshelves
When my grandma died some of my older relatives were getting her stuff sorted...they wanted to give me hundreds of trashy romance booklets, because "I read" - I said this is not what I like to read and they were like "so what, these are books as well"...
These are the same older relatives who still comment on Facebook "today's youth don't have bookshelves, how sad, they're glued to their phones" while not reading at all but owning entire collections of classics unread...
I do read, I do collect books, because I love collecting them (new or second hand - I don't care), but those books are "not normal books" because apparently books are only "normal" if they're classics...or thrashy romance they don't want to throw out themselves...
1. E-book readers do exist...
2. Classics can be found in library - new books not really where I live...
3. If I really need to own a classic for whatever reason, I'm going to get it in e-book, because it's cheaper than a scoop of ice cream - sad but true.
4. I have lots of unread books because I often pass the read ones on, but at least I read the unread ones as well, not just display them. 🤷🏻♀️
5. No way I could suffer through any of those trashy romance booklets - I don't even like finely written romance books and I have way more books already than time to read...😅
I want to add something to your conclusion : I think these "well-lived" aesthetics are also trending because spending too much time on social media keeps us away from organically accumulating interesting life experiences and the things that come with them. I have read less in the past five/eight years being addicted to social media than ever before. Not only people buy books and knick-knacks as social status items, to appear well-read, but because we want to be people who actually love to finish a novel every week even if they are not that person at the moment.
I have an acquaintance who's a solid generation above me, least chronically online person I know, hasn't read anything published after the year 2000. The topic of things we "hoard" came up, my partner mentioned books, another friend said socks, and my acquaintance said hats. When asked, I said I didn't really collect anything, and he said "Oh you're one of /those/ people." He was mostly joking, but capitalism has truly rotted our brains so that "underconsumption" (when viewed through a first-world lens) is seen as an intentional lifestyle choice.
Authors earning from their books being borrowed at (physical) libraries is called Public Lending Right. There are only 30-40 countries that do this, most of them in Europe.
Thanks for reminding me about how every politician would try to look smart during covid by doing all their Zoom interviews in front of their bookshelf lmao
My great-aunt has a complete leather bound hardback collection of all the Dostojevski books and has never read a single one. I am allowed to think this is stupid but anyone who claims this hasn't always been a thing is being silly.
I agree that booksleeves are great, but so are bookmarks or other 'bookish' things. The issue comes in when you buy one for like every book you own 😅 I have one booksleeve, I made it myself, and I made it big enough for it to fit every standard book size there is. The reason I have it is: I put my books in my backpack which in turn I throw around like a maniac and it protects the books inside. But one is enough. I don't need 100 just because there are so many cute ones out there.
i feel kinda called out in this. Although I do use a kindle, I do buy pre owned books and sell some of my books, I do often buy a few books at the time just to feel a little kick of happiness and show my friends I've bought them. i do often by book branded things too. this video was very good for me to watch. thank you
22:06 but that is EXACTLY what influencers and influencer marketing is supposed to do. Since monetary interests are deeply intertwined with social media as a whole, it’s basically inevitable. Because both influencers and companies that use influencers for marketing are making more money if more people buy more stuff. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature. On TH-cam you get money for the ads connected to your video that people watch and the more people watch your video the more money you get. But to make money on social media you have to sell something. It might be things you make yourself or it might be a link in your bio. But in the end you only make money if people spend money. So it’s absolutely impossible to make money on tiktok by telling people not to consume anything. ❤
The "under consumption" trend simply seems like a rebranding of the minimalism movement and people realizing that living within their means is a much better choice than racking up debt.
As a writer, it does seem kinda scary that people are praising others for not buying a new book... because at the end of the day, there are authors who do need to be paid
Don’t you still get wby the library
I personally think special edition of my fav books are ok and having books I love .theres nothing wrong with that
What I really have a problem with is not the amount of books these people are buying (i'm an art historian and I do have a home library, it's around 2/3 science books I need for work and the rest is a very curated list of classics, overall a bit over 2.000 books, so I'm in no position of saying anything about book collecting), but the quality of the products themselves and the quality (or much rather: lack thereof) of content in them. Being smut is the least of their problem, many high ranking classics contain sex scenes, but these stories are extremely shallow and schematic, and most often the quality of writing is just awful. Reading hundreds and hundreds of YA crap telling the same "enemies to lovers" or some other overused trope over and over again from 20-something year old "authors" who had just got the funds to escape Wattpad DOES NOT make you well read. In twenty years most likely nobody is going to remember Iron Flame or Colleen Hoover. Most of these stories get forgotten the minute the book is closed. And most of these copies are in fact going to end up on a landfill, just as the vast majority of smut and all the weightless flicks did from the 80s and earlier. I know the dynamics of antiquariums well enough to see that literally nobody is going to be interested in this type of books, because they only have worth as long as they are FRESH. This genre has existed for almost a hundred years now. But you only see them going crazy for the absolute newest releases... So buying a copy, reading it once (at best) and then either storing it until you get clogged or trying to get rid of it at a low price is indeed a stupid thing to do and if I see your bookshelf and it's filled with this crap, I will have some thoughts about it but you being educated and well read is not going to be among them.
i tend to hoard books since i've written a draft book and want to be an author but it was interesting seeing those book bags and stuff