Why do people buy a lot of books and not read them?
Just like many book lovers, collecting titles and devouring the words inside are just a normal thing to do. There’s this satisfying feeling in being able to caress a book cover and browse through its pages.
People find books as medium for enhancing their vocabulary or gaining new knowledge. Others reason that it takes them places to meet different people without having to spend too much on a plane ticket or going back in time.
Books are also seen as a guilty pleasure by some people and they relish in every minute of going through the aisles of bookstores to assess every copy they can.
This drives a number of people to splurge as much as they can on books especially when there’s the four-letter word they can use as an excuse — a sale.
The calming effect they experience while browsing and eventually buying is called retail therapy. This is when a person indulges in buying the things he or she wants, but not necessarily need, to feel happy. While others see it as an impulsive act, the blissful feeling after buying the whole book series is actually a psychological reward and there are also useful benefits from retail therapy.
“Shopping can be a rich source of mental preparation. As people shop, they’re naturally visualizing how they’ll use the products they’re considering,” Kit Yarrow, Ph.D., said in an article published in Psychology Today.
Yarrow added that this visualization helps as a performance booster and a means to reduce anxiety. Retail therapy, in its own way, is also a form of escape. It acts as a mini mental vacation which is a relatively mindless, relaxing activity.
These short breaks are proven to improve performance and decision making. Studies show that the unconscious mind continues to solve problems even though it’s engaged in a different activity.
In addition, purchasing books with genuine curiosity or necessity, according to psychologist Sara Levin, serves a higher purpose because it inspires selfconfidence and a sense of mastery.
The time to stop
Although retail therapy has its own benefits, too much of something proves to be dangerous. With unread books piling high in a corner, maybe it’s time to consider a change of shopping pace.
Once the feeling of guilt or regret manifests after a purchase, then maybe the “therapy” through shopping has a gone a bit too far and can slowly develop into an addiction.
It may come as an impulse at certain times but books, just like other things a person might need or want, should be acquired at a certain pace to avoid being overwhelmed by the number of unread books piling high on a shelf or that growing uncontrollable urge to splurge.
Book shopping, when done in moderation, can ease the mind of the shopper as well as excite the voracious reader in them. Choose books that pique your interest and one worth rereading time and time again.