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The crucial element for me was internalizing, at long last, the reality that I'll never read all the books I'd like to read.
So, that said, my TBR is only books I own, but it's not all the unread books I own, hence it's a somewhat nebulous figure. I'm not going to force myself to read something just because I bought it. At the same time, all those always-to-be-unread books do serve as an object lesson about buying ahead.
When I think about it, my ebook buying wasn't a carryover from the pbook days, when it was necessary to have books on hand. Instead, it was a glutton's response to perceived bargains. (Kobo, I'm looking at you. And to a lesser extent, Amazon's daily deals.) Which of course have turned into not at all a bargain, at least for the never-will-read. At long last, I'm finally over it.
I do maintain a short wishlist which I cull frequently and limit strictly. And here, the object lesson for once was not my own behavior, but that of some of my Goodreads friends, some of whose wishlists are in the several thousands. Really, what's the point? Lists that long are entirely unrealistic and utterly useless. If I don't get around to reading/buying a book on my wishlist in a reasonable amount of time, I take it as a sign I'll never be in the mood for it and strike it. There are a few exceptions for pricey books waiting on a price drop, but even then, eventually many of them stale.
These days, I mostly shop in my own library or the actual virtual library. I try to restrict myself only to purchases that are exploding bargains and that I'll read in the near-term. I'm being pretty successful, knock wood.
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