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Monday, April 5, 2010

Readathon Activity #1: Clutter and Hording Rehab





As one of the hosts of activities going on in the Clear Away the Clutter Read-a-thon, I thought to myself - why not help myself while helping others?

So, welcome to therapy. The first step is admitting you have a problem...

Hi. My name is Kristen and I am a bookaholic, a compulsive bookbuyer, and horder of books. Welcome to rehab.
Now maybe you only fit in one of those categories, but I think at some time we find ourselves surrounded by our hobbies. For example... I went out and bought a new bookshelf because I simply ran out of room. Unfortunately, I already filled it:



Now, you may ask why I would say the word Unfortunately.. and here's the reason why:



Yes, that is a bin and a few stacks of books. These books have not found a home. I do have some shelf space but the reality is.. these will only get bigger. (BTW - I have 6 bookshelves and my entertainment center also holds some books...).

I know your problems may not be as big as mine.. maybe it's that you tend to leave a pile of finished books on your nightstand that should really be on a bookshelf. Or you go to the library and end up with more books than can fit in your fairly sized canvas bag (yes, this has happened to me). Or maybe.. you really only have a small portion of books (not sure how this is possible, but I'll go with it) and they're all unread. . .

Let's face it. We need a little more organization in our lives sometimes.

So, what is the point of all of this? What do you have to do to enter to win one of my favorite debut novels - A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee and get an extra point in the overall contest?

Let's break this down - if you're not a blogger, you can email me this information and I can 1. post it for you (if you so desire) or 2. just count it as an entry without posting it. If you ARE a blogger - I want a post of some sort on your blog. And here's what I want.

#1 I want a picture. Whether you want to prove to me that you truly are more organized and don't have a problem or want to face your reality and show me what's wrong. Maybe it's a stack of review books, an untidy bookshelf, or books lining the space next to your bed or couch.. or a really tidy bookshelf that will make me envious..

If you don't have a camera, you can describe it for me. :)

#2 Make a plan. How are you going to break through those 10 review books? How do you plan to move the books from the floor to... bins, bookshelves, etc.. or if you're a super organized person, share a tip!

#3 Implement the plan. Plan to work on this during the readathon - whether it's tackling a stack at a time, reading a review book every other book you read, etc. Start TODAY. :)

And if you're that irksome organized person - give some more advice to us that are not so fortunate.


Okay, contest ends Sunday night. Do the Mr. Linky below (if blogger) or email me at dragonzgoil at gmail dot com (if not blogger).

Open to US & Canada. If International person is selected, they will win a swag pack and I will reselect a winner for the book.

Please include the link directly to your post, thanks!

12 comments:

  1. Kristen, Had to laugh a bit when I saw your new bookcase. I bought a new one this weekend too, so I could get the pile I had off a table in my study, and I have plans to buy two more, so I can unpack my books that have been sadly sitting in my garage since I moved last year. Yes I am a bookaholic, and a compulsive book buyer, although I am lucky because most of the books I buy to eventually end up in my bookcases at school. Not sure what I will do when I retire, guess I will have to begin donating books at that point.

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  2. I definitely have a hoarding problem too. I am afraid my bookshelves are about to collapse. BUT - I did just carry a stack of read books (to donate) and a stack of old ARCs I won't get to in the next year (sadly) to the basement. So that's something!

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  3. Kristen, I forgot to leave the direct link to my post in Mr. Linky so here it is

    http://eatingyabooks.blogspot.com/2010/04/clean-away-clutterread-thon.html

    Sorry about that.

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  4. OH I will have to take a photo - LOL I am that irksome girl whom has everything OCD like in her life - books included - my books are orginized by size...and the higher the book is from the floor the lower it is on my "reading list" at the moment - I have 5 shelves devoted to "want" to read (with 1/2 of one of them housing books I want to keep) then I have 2 shelves devoted to the giveaways I am running now, and one's I want to host soonish...These 2 also house a few more books I want to keep - also orginized by size, and then the top of my desk which houses the books I have Loved so far this year.

    YEAH OCD is me! :)

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  5. I used to have a handle on my books--but since I started reviewing and blogging, my books are out of control. I would love to have one of those houses with a library, thats what I really need!:)

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  6. I fall into the more anal-retentive category, which somehow seems wrong.
    hanks for hosting this fun activity!

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  7. My problem is that I don't know what to do with myself when I have titles like ARCs that I would like to read and review before the release date, but then have library books that are due on certain dates. Some of these are easy to deal with if they've come from the library I work at, but if they are ILLs and come from states away I HAVE to send them back at a certain time. Which leaves me feeling (surprisingly) that I have to read the ILLs even before the ARCs because at least the ARCs I have as long as I want...

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  9. I have too much crap to do for school. Maybe next time though.

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  10. Nearly everything on my TBR pile are library books. I only have three ARCs on there and they are old, old. I haven't gone out looking for ARCs because I know they are just going to moulder on my shelf. Perhaps someday I'll get better. Maybe when my kids are grown... in the meantime, I'm enjoying this challenge already!

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  11. oh my gawd, wait till you see my horrible book storing system...I'm gonna have to find my camera (probably lost under the pile of books) so you can see my hoarding issues (books only) in living color

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  12. I really didn't think I was going to have time to participate in the Read-a-Thon much, but I really need to. So, you asked for it, you got it. In video, no less.
    It's bad.

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