Since we love talking books here, I have a couple of book-buying questions for you guys today.
1. How do you usually buy books these days? The bookstore? Online? Somewhere else?
2. How many of the purchases are impulse buys - as opposed to having something on your to-be-bought list?
Also, don't forget to give Diana hero suggestions for her Sexiest Man not Alive poll. (Comments section of yesterday's post).
21 comments :
I still prefer to buy my books at a bookstore, rambling between the shelves and pulling stuff off that looks interesting. 90% of what I find is on my list, either by author or title, but there's still those occasional impulse (on sale and can't resist it) buys.
Books I really, really want, especially paperbacks, I order from my local specialty store (that would be known as Barbara's Books to you, Nalini, and this category includes your books).
Hardcover or trades where I can't justify the NZ price, I usually get from Amazon because it's cheaper.
Books I want enough to own and read, but not spends lots on, I buy as ebooks and get the US price and immediate download. I really like ebooks, but for favourites I'd rather have the hardcopy.w
I go in store to Dymocks (AU) with notes of the ISBNs of the stuff I want them to order for me.
And I bid on eBay.
Have a lovely day! :-)
More and more I find myself buying off the net. I rarely make trips into an actual bookstore anymore. If I buy a book from a store its more than likely Wal-mart or some other chain store like that. I'll grab some books while I'm doing my grocery shopping.
Since I'm trying to cut back on my book buying. I'm not really taking chances on too many new authors. I'm only buying my must haves right now. My local library has been really good about getting in new releases and having books in stock that I want to read. So I'm still checking out new authors, I'm just not buying them right now.
I usually buy books online - autobuy for authors I'm familiar with or else I'll pop into the bookstore and check out a new book to decide if I want to buy it. Online prices are usually much better and so my dollar goes further so I can buy more books! I'm relying more and more on word of mouth/review sites to suggest authors/titles to look out for, especially if they sound like my kind of reading.
Where I buy my books varies. If I'm honest, I borrow most of my books from the library - I'd be continually broke otherwise :) Luckily, my library has an amazing selection of romance and fantasy books plus they are really good at purchasing 'suggested' books. However, I do buy 'keepers' (e.g. your books Nalini :) I buy them from a speciality bookstore and occasionally Amazon, although I try to wait before placing an order as the postage to NZ costs as much as the books!
orannia
I always buy my books from the bookstore. Either B&N or BooksAMillion. I like to put my hands on the book before I buy. I'm kind of the booksellers dream, as I am a terrific impulse buyer and I have a humongous monthly book budget. Also because there's no way I can wait for a release date on my favorite authors and then wait for them to ship. It's too long.
I still love the bookstore, nothing beats looking at books, holding them, seeing them (and unfortunately, I work right next to a Borders), Amazon is one of my favorite online stores, but lately I have to admit Ebay is robbing my pocketbook ^_^ If I find someone selling one book, I always look to see if there is anything else they are selling to get combined shipping. I have just bought about 25 books to add to my TBR pile.
Oddly enough, I don't buy e-books. I prefer to have them in my hand.
I've been buying most of my books from Amazon lately. They have a great selection and they give me related books that I might also enjoy. So far they have been right.
I also do a lot of purchasing at my local used/new bookstore. They even have a paranormal romance section! Also the library books sales are great. Lots of books for really low prices. That's where I do my impulse shopping, that way I can't go broke too often!
Where do I buy books? Everywhere. All the time. Whether or not I can afford it. It's not the worst addiction out there, but dang it's hard on my wallet, lol.
I'm pretty much a danger with impulse book buys no matter where I am. I'd say books are 70%-30% planned v. impulse buys.
Today was a mix of the two. I bought Jenna Petersen's From London with Love. I'd Everything Forbidden (written as Jess Michaels) so I was looking at her other books but wasn't sure if I was going to buy them. But I saw it in Borders today and snapped the book up.
I hope you're having a good week :)
It's so interesting reading everyone's answers. With me, I think my stint in Japan changed the way I buy. Because I usually couldn't walk into a store and leaf through a book to see if I enjoyed it, I began to "research" prospective purchases beforehand. So even these days, I go in with a list (whether online or at the bookstore). But I always come back with more than I planned anyway!
Usually online. Especially when the US authors I follow aren't published in the UK 'til 6 months a year later. Who can wait that long? Mainly Amazon though I have ordered from other sites.
But I love going into Borders and Waterstones. Find it very difficult to go past a bookshop without going in and having a browse.
For my auto buys (which includes your books) I usually order from Amazon, hardcovers I try to reserve at the library.
Hardcovers I borrow from the library and backlist books I hunt at my favorite used book store, but I purchase the majority of my paperback autobuy list at Borders or Walmart. I adore ebooks, too; I'm a big fan of the niche of highly erotic romance, so I spend a lot of money at sites like Loose Id, Samhain, Torquere, and Ellora's Cave.
I hardly ever make impulse buys because my book budget is not as big as I want it to be. I do have several friends who have similar tastes and they send me links to books they liked.
Until recently, I also got a ton of wonderful recommendations from the cellies at JR Ward's message boards (Nalini, you have a huge following there), but the bbs is currently getting overhauled and won't be back up until January.
Oooh, interesting question Nalini. I always used to buy my books from bookstores but find now that I'm more 'careful' if I buy online. I'm also trying some new authors through online buying which is fun. Bookstores ARE DANGEROUS PLACES! You always, but ALWAYS, end up buying more than what you went out for (especially at Barbara's Books) but then there's the wonderful interaction with the people working in the bookstore (especially when they're genuine book lovers themselves) and the actual feel and hold of the books themselves... ahhh.
Oh, I forgot somewhere. Bookfinder - an online search engine for hard to find books. It searches Amazon and numerous secondhand book stores in the UK, the US, Australia, Canada and NZ. I found all my Patricia Veryan books via Bookfinder.. It is addictive though.
Off-topic (apologies): Courtney, is the BDB Forum down until January? I haven't been this year -numerous family crises and an ultimatium from my physio (the Forum and OOS do not mix unfortunately). I was just about to come back.
Back on topic :) Nalini, I go to the library (my book store :) with lists. I like to know what I'm getting myself into :)
orannia
orannia
I tend to buy mainly eBooks now - have nearly 500 on my Palm. I buy the majority of my eBooks from fictionwise.com, and occasionally use mobipocket.com and ereader.com.
Of the few paperbacks/hardcovers that I buy I tend to buy online, mainly from fishpond.co.nz. Definitely more economical than ordering through Amazon and you only pay for local postage rather than the horrendous postage costs from the US.
Definitely more impulsive when it comes to buying eBooks as I don't have to worry about finding room for new-to-me authors on my bookcase. Have discovered some wonderful authors that I simply wouldn't have bought previously - Cherry Adair, Shelly Laurenston, Elizabeth Boyle, Elizabeth Hoyt, F.E. (Felicity) Heaton, Jennifer St Giles, Gena Showalter etc, etc, etc.
I've recently tried using the internet to buy my books. Didn't work. They take forever to get there and I'm always looking in the mailbox. It got so bad I started looking in the abandoned house next door's mailbox to see if they accidently put them in there. I still haven't gotton up the nerve to look in my neighbor's mailbox yet.
So bookstores it is. I love being in them. I love looking around. I usually save a set amount of money for particular books that I know I want and then have some free cash for those irresistible impulse buys. All in all bookstores save me from embarrassing encounters with gardners in front of others' mailboxes.
Bookstores are dangerous. I buy so much... I do use Romantic Times to make lists of books I want to buy and it helps me narrow down and control some of my impulsive purchases. I have been buying more off the Internet lately for my history of children's books collection and old children's books. I also get a lot of books for research through Interlibrary loan. I love ILL! My TBR pile is humongous.... I miss used book stores. They are getting harder and harder to find and when I find them, they rarely have romances or children's books (big sigh). If they do, I already have them or they aren't interesting...
I buy a lot online - usually books from the US by people I know. And others in the book store.... which ever one I'm passing.... I can't walk past a book store without going in.... much to my children's annoyance - they have been known to drag me kicking and screaming past the entrance of Whitcouls.
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