so you literally bought something you didn't know existed, want, or need and might not ever get to reading?

This just reads like people who buy humble bundle games or steam sale games.

For generations people have bought books they hope to read but never do.

Or guitars they hope to play regularly :-)

The best guitar-purchasing advise I ever got was: Never buy your dream guitar because you'll never feel like you're good enough to play it.

I have two bikes, and moved recently. Only had room for one, so the other went to a storage locker. I kept my beater at home because of exactly this phenomenon... since I've moved I've gone on more rides and felt little or no guilt about the unused bike in storage

lol - there’s some truth to that, depending on the definition of dream guitar. In my case my dream guitar was somewhat more expensive than all of my other one’s and it became and still is my number one every day guitar. It just feels so right and sounds so good, it makes me feel like a better player. :-)

I appreciate that statement. But that doesn't mean we need to accept being marketing to in such a way that encourages impulse purchases.

Yes, as given the cost of learning about microservices I decided that it was worth it.