Today’s topic is where do you get your books…
Buy or Borrow?
I borrow most of the books I read for a few reasons. The first one is that I simply do not have enough money to buy all the books I read. Plus, I hate it when I buy a book, and then end up hating really disliking it later. It’s almost as if I wasted money. For that reason, I usually borrow the book first. And if I end up loving it I’ll buy it later. Another reason why I don’t usually buy books is that I don’t have any place to put them anymore… my room is already messy enough as is and I don’t have enough space for a new bookshelf. Do you borrow or buy more often?
In Store or Online?
Personally, I like to buy books from a physical bookstore. Mainly, just because in a real bookstore you can usually pick and choose the copy of the book you are going to bring home. You can make sure the one that you choose is in prime condition. In my experience when you buy online, they just send you a random book that is prone to be damaged in shipping. And yes, I am that picky about book conditions.
Chain Store or Indie Bookstore?
When I do buy books, I usually buy them from my local Barnes & Noble because it is the closest bookstore to my house. It’s only a 10-15 minute drive away so my mom doesn’t really mind driving me there that often. Also, I usually have coupons for B&N so… If there was an indie bookstore closer than the B&N, I might shop there instead. But really, I kind of do believe that shopping at B&N isn’t really a bad thing. I haven’t had any negative experience shopping there and they are kind of the last large chain bookstore in the USA…
Amazon?
So this is kind of trick question. I haven’t brought any books from Amazon so I can’t really say anything about there service, but I haven’t really heard any positive about their book selling recently. At least, nothing positive concerning the sale of physical copies. All I’ve heard is that Amazon has been bullying publishers to lower the prices on their books – on Amazon only. Now, I don’t know how true this is, but I’ll rather pay a few dollars extra than buy a book from them if they really are bullying publishers.
Where do you get your books?
Do you buy or borrow?
Do you buy in store or online?
Do you prefer chain bookstores or independent ones?
How do you feel about Amazon?
1. Borrow or buy? I borrow a lot of my books as well! It’s not that I don’t love buying books, it’s just that I don’t feel the need to own a copy of every single book I read. Especially if I read it and it turns out I don’t like it that much! I only buy a book if I’m like super, super excited about it and have heard great things about it from people I trust.
2. In Store or Online? Always, always in store! I hate buying things online. I would so much rather be able to go to an actual brick-and-mortar building and flip through the books myself. Half of what makes buying books so fun for me is that I get to go and look at the books and take my time in figuring out which one I want so I would easily forego the sales or the easiness of buying online for actual bookstores. I know some people live further away from one so it’s more practical to order online but I have a few bookstores close by so I figure I should do my best to support them!
3. Chain store or indie bookstore? I’d say independent bookstores but I don’t actually have any near me that I go to a lot so in reality, it would be chain store for me. I love them both and feel like I should support them both because as it is, brick and mortar bookstores are struggling but the environment in independent bookstores, I find, is a lot more intimate and I like that!
4. Amazon? I’ve never bought anything from Amazon either, most of the time if I’m ordering online, I get it from my bookstore’s website. I have been sorta keeping up with what’s been going on and it seems like a lot of the details are blurred because none of the sides have come out with an official statement, it’s just what insiders are saying but either way, I think it’s horrible what Amazon is doing. And not that I ever really supported them, this just makes me want to buy from them even less.
It seems like we share a lot of similar opinions on how to obtain books. Thanks for sharing and stopping by Annie! 🙂
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Lately it depends on the book. If I can borrow from the library or listen to it on audio on my streaming audiobooks account, I’ll do that. But if it is a book I must own, then I look for good deals and see whether print or kindle is more convenient. I also ask is it a series I want on my shelves or is an ebook ok? A lot goes into that decision lol.
That’s a good question to ask. Is the book worth more as a physical book or as an ebook? Thanks for sharing and stopping by Julie! 🙂
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