To buy or borrow? That is the ultimate question that I am faced with every single time a good book comes along. That question involves two things that are very important to me. Money and books… but mainly money… and books. The real question is whether or not it is worth it spending $10 – $20 on one book while I could have used it to buy lots of food (another thing that’s really important to me). And yes, I know I can buy e-books for a cheaper price, but I will forever prefer owning a physical copy. The actual real question is whether it is worth having the book sitting on my bookshelf, ready for spontaneous reading. (Harry Potter marathon anyone?)
Usually, I try to make it a habit to only buy books that I like and enjoyed reading. Why? Well, mainly because my wallet cannot afford for me to make a habit of collecting books with just pretty covers and whatever content inside. You shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover! (I’m such a hypocrite for saying that… sigh). So what can I do? Save my wallet and feed my bookshelf until it’s completely stuffed? Or continue to feed my wallet and save my bookshelf from it’s pending need for a replacement?
The answer is… COMPROMISE!!! 🙂 Don’t we all just love compromises? Sarcasm! Anyways, personally, I like to borrow books before I buy them. Mainly just to test the waters first… When I was younger I would sit at Barnes and Noble and read just for an hour or two just to decide whether or not it was worth it to harass my mom into buying the book for me. It was an important decision. Nowadays, I don’t have time to sit at the bookstore and become acquainted with an armchair (or the floor) for two hours. So I just borrow the book I’m considering to buy instead. If it’s a good book and I think I’ll be willing to read it again, I’ll buy it. Because honestly even though it may be a good book, if I don’t think I’m going to read it ever again, it’s just going to sit on my overflowing shelf looking pretty and collecting dust (which actually isn’t such a bad thing). If the book turns out to be so so or even horrible, I’ll have the satisfaction of saving my hungry wallet. It’s a win, win! The best of both worlds!! Okay, so maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
What do you do?
How do decide whether or not to buy a book?
For me, the first thing I check is usually the library because it’s always nice to have a hard copy but if they don’t have what I need then I consider how much I think I’d like it. Most of the time, I end up getting the e-book because then I don’t have to spend heaps of money. Books in Australia are so expensive. ==’ And I don’t really mind reading e-books either so it works out good for me! E-books = more food. <3
For me, the first thing I check is usually the library because it’s always nice to have a hard copy but if they don’t have what I need then I consider how much I think I’d like it. Most of the time, I end up getting the e-book because then I don’t have to spend heaps of money. Books in Australia are so expensive. ==’ And I don’t really mind reading e-books either so it works out good for me! E-books = more food. <3
Books can be really expensive, especially the hardcover ones. Maybe I should start buying more e-books instead… like you said e-books = more food… <3
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I usually go to my library to get my books. I’m so bad when it comes to actually reading books I buy and since i don’t really reread, there’s usually very little point for me to buy a book. Sometimes, I make exceptions like with non-fiction and books I just KNOW I would love. I also tend to prefer physical copies over ebooks but to be honest I don’t find much difference between the prices for Kobo (my ebook) and the actual in store prices. But anyway, because I go to the library, that certainly does mean I get tons more money for food which is also v. important!
That’s kind of my problem too. I don’t usually reread books as often as I should, especially the ones that I own. And yes, going to the library means more food than if I went to the bookstore. <3
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I also still do like paperbacks as well as oppose to Ebooks (though my Kindle is full!), and of my fav authors, usually buy the paperback. And I love yard sales (or car book sales as they are called in the UK) where I sometimes pick up 10 books for £1 etc, but of course, you can only get what you find and usually not the latest stuff you might be after. And for me, there is also the space to consider for books.
Oooh, I love used book sales too! Not only can you get more books, you can usually get them at a whole lot cheaper price!
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