'Ooh, Shiny' Syndrome

Shiny: good or valuable; 'cool' (as brought to you by the Firefly Dictionary) 

And Jayne Cobb

Last month I noticed something. I noticed all these books that I wanted so badly that I couldn't wait for. Books that I had bought as soon as they were released. Bought without waiting for a used book dealer to get them - and get them cheaper than the retail price.

I have no less than eight books sitting on my shelf that I either bought immediately or pre-ordered, with thirteen books that were released this year. (Some of those I actually waited until I could buy them used before snapping them up.)

To some of you, this probably doesn't sound like a lot and when looked at in reference to my TBR jar, it's a small percent of my total books. However, every single one of these books was something that I 'couldn't wait' for. I've got books that released back in January that I had to have right now that I still haven't read.

Some of these books are ones that still I really want to read. However, others… I look at and wonder 'why did I buy that'. And honestly, the books I still am really interested in? Those are the ones I bought more recently. I look at some of those older books and, even though I'm sure there's nothing wrong with them, I find I've lost interest.

I have no excuses. I do have an explanation though. I have ''ooh, shiny' syndrome'.

Definition: The need to have the newest book. Probably never read it? Doesn't matter! Buy it anyway. By the time you get it in the mail, you'll be on to the next 'ooh, shiny' book anyway.

As far as I know, there is no cure.

But I have it. Over the years I've been blogging, it has gotten worse, too. Used to be that I'd want a book, I'd buy it and read it soon after. Now though… I am trying to 'cure' this problem by not buying books that I kind of want until they've been out awhile and I have a chance to do more research on them.

How about you? Do you have 'ooh, shiny' syndrome? If so, how do you keep it under control? Or maybe you don't and your house looks like a bookstore? If you don't have it, have you ever had this problem? Or is it something that has never bothered you?