Guidelines for a Whipped Bibliophile

In an attempt to stave off my apparent addiction to buying (and then, errm, not always reading) so many books, I wrote this "rule of life". Needless to say it didn't work as well as I'd hoped. But I think it's fun to review it, with a few years of hard-nosed hindsight. Your thoughts?

1. Don't buy a book if you can find it in the library. [Shyeah, in Taiwan?]

2. Read a book (in the library or from a friend) before buying it. [How can I get my hands on it without buying it?]

2a. Don’t write in books you don't own or take many notes from them unless you return to them. [Fair enough.]

3. Buy a book only if you have read it and will (surmisably) return to it ... [Well, I can surmise almost anything....]

OR

3a. ...only if the book is for classes or for your annual study topics. [Fortunately, every year is a new year, and every book makes me a class of one!]

4. If a book's not in a library, buy a used copy, if possible. [Good for me, every book is used as soon as you buy it!]

5. Request books as gifts before buying them. [I do – but I seem to be the only one ready to treat me to a book for those special times.]