I am very sad to have to write this, but I have to give up on trying to get my hands on books published in 2009. I really wanted to read some after realising at the end of last year that I didn't read a single book published in 2008. So I signed up for challenges like The Pub Challenge and the Countdown Challenge thinking I need to rectify this embarassing situation.
But... at the beginning of the year, all that was available was hardcovers... Now, I live in Belgium, where we have a couple of English bookstores, but they're not cheap. I tend to only buy books that are on their 3 for 2 offer and newly published novels never end up on that table. Amazon delivers here, of course, but those new books are still expensive... when you want to read around 10 of them, the prices will really add up.
Plus I tend to prefer paperbacks, but it looks like all the ones I really do want to read will only be out in paperback in 2010. And I don't want to spend loads of money on books I'm not sure I want to read.
We have a great library here, but they don't get the latest books right away.
Not even mentioning the fact that there are millions of books published before 2009 that I still depserately want to read, so it's not like I'll run out of ideas.
So there you have it. I'm abandoning this particular goal. Meaning that I'm bowing out of The Pub Challenge and the Countdown challenge - and I enjoyed the latter one very, very much.
Mind you, I won't be avoiding 2009 books if I see something interesting. I'm reading one now that is great and that I can't wait to tell you about. It's written by a local author too so it'll probably be new to you! :-)
I'll be waiting for all your reviews of this year's books and putting them on my list for next year!
5 comments:
That's a bummer that they're so hard to get a hold of without spending a ton of money. I can understand your decision. I'm so lucky to have the library to depend on for those!
Lezlie
I actually hardly ever buy books the year they come out anymore. There are a few exceptions, but generally if I read a book published this year, it will be an ARC. So, I can relate!
What a bummer but I don't blame you. I used to buy a lot of books when I went to Germany but over the years with the Euro being higher than the dollar and the fact that English books are more expensive anyway, I've bought fewer books on each visit.
Well, even here I don't buy a lot of new hardbacks. They are just so expensive. I don't mind the paperbacks but hardbacks have to be by an author I really love.
Lezlie - I sure do wish that my library got new books as they came out!
Kailana - yay, I'm not alone!
Iliana - yeah, the hardbacks are a killer... plus they take up more space and all that, so to me they're not worth it.
I'm not willing to spend the money on hardcover books either, but sorry they are so difficult for you to get your hands on! Hmm--maybe find a few international giveaways?? ;)
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