I Only Buy Used Books

Buying used books increases your intentionality in what you bring into the home.

I will admit: I am a hoe for the bookshelf aesthetic. I’m also a hoe for book stacks; I think book stacks are one of the best types of decor one can bring to the home.

But, as I worked in the home and interior industry for a bit, I realized how this was just an aesthetic. A lot of people buy these books and then they never touch them. And, in pursuit of my own aesthetic, I was starting to do the same. I’ve always had a problem with collecting things; I attribute it to my slightly obsessive personality. But once I started getting more into intentional living, I started looking around me.

Aesthetics, in my opinion, and adhering to dark academia and whatnot stems from the need to fit in. And I don’t really care about fitting in anymore, so once I looked around and realized I wasn’t reading the books I was buying, then I started getting rid of them. That was a lot of money I dumped into those books, which saddened me, because we spend so much of our lives working to buy mundane things.

Once I swore off buying new books and only thrifting them, I actually started to find the books I wanted originally to read and had forgotten about during my quest to fulfill an aesthetic. It took some time to find them, but when I found their dusty covers on the shelves of Goodwill, it felt like I had found a treasure. No longer was I surrounded by books I didn’t read; I had bought ones that I knew I was going to love and cherish.

I also find something so spiritual in thrift stores, to buy something that was once owned by someone else. It reminds of being human, of having possessions passed down from us from a distant past. A book with dog-eared pages once was loved and worshipped by someone who may no longer be here. And those dog-eared pages are the examples that they, too, were once here and holding the same book you are now holding.

I think I’m a bit of a weirdo, but I love it. I love this deep appreciation for our personal histories, and it’s a big reason why I thrift my books. Give it a chance! Once you open your mind, everything seems beautiful.