"Not Buying It" List

I've been wanting to read "Not Buying It," by Judith Levine (check out her website - http://judithlevine.com/), ever since the book came out a couple of years ago. In my cosmology, this woman is a saint. She gives up buying anything but necessities for a year and journals about it. The book is an exploration of consumer culture, self-analysis, and happiness. Although I haven't read the book yet, I heard the author speak about her techniques for coping with her impulse control. Whenever she really wanted to buy something, she catalogued it in a journal instead. After re-reading her list, she was shocked at some of the things she almost bought (lime green espadrille shoes).

I've been using this technique off-and-on to cope with my impulse to buy things. In my case, this stems from having no money as opposed to an anti-consumer culture self-discipline. I also use it to keep track of things I want to buy for when I do (eventually) have money. When I look back over my lists later, most of the time I find I still want those things. Sometimes, however, I find that what I wanted was a fleeting response to a fad, or something emotional that was going on in my life. That feeling of satisfaction I get from having saved money makes me feel better than any rush from binge-shopping.

So, all that is a preamble for my current "Lust List" - The Movie Edition:

PBS Masterpiece Classic: Wuthering Heights (2009)

$24.99 from "Shop PBS"

PBS Masterpiece Classic: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (1995)

$39.95 from "Shop PBS"

PBS Masterpiece Mystery!: Sherlock Holmes, the Complete Granada TV Series

$229.98 from "Shop PBS"

(click here to read about my history/obsession with this series)

Sense and Sensibility (1995)

$11.49 from Amazon.com

Pride & Prejudice (2005)

$11.49 from Amazon.com

I'm so familiar with all of these that I can't believe I don't already own them. This latest obsession was started a couple of weeks ago when I saw "Wuthering Heights" on PBS. The armchair psychologist in me is saying that my insatiable need to gorge on period-romantic-tragic-dramas is a response to what's going on in my life right now. I have trouble crying for myself. I wish I was a cryer, but I rarely melt down in that way. It comes easier, though, when I'm crying for a Jane Austen character, and not for myself.

What's on your "Not Buying It" list right now?