I was at the library recently after moving back to Michigan. I was short on cash and wanted some books. It's not that I'm not a fan of libraries, just that my local one seems to specialize in romance novels and books for the under twelves and neither is really my cup of tea. Needless to say my trip was kind of disappointing. I couldn't find any of the books I was looking for and this got me thinking: where else do I usually get books? I know, I wasn't exactly musing about the meaning of life, but still.
The Library: When I lived in Chicago I was always at the library. CPL was good to me, and always had an abundance of books. It was the first time I actively used the a library as a means of getting books. As I mentioned above I am not a fan of my hometown library. Also when I was younger I loved to dog-ear pages. The librarians frowned on this.
Garage Sales/Rummage Sales/Thrift Stores: I've always found sales like this to be a fantastic place to find cheap books. You can't really count on there being any specific titles, or that there won't be coffee stains over the one book you're interesting in but for 50 cents it's worth it.
Bookstores - Indie, Used, Chain - Varying prices, varying stocks and varying conditions but you'll always be around bookish people, which is a plus in my book. Since high school I've always thought of Barnes & Noble as one of my favorite hang outs. I'm also a huge fan of walking through bookshelves and browsing. I've found some of my favorite books that way.
The Internet - While I'm an impulsive buying at bookstores and cheap sales I am very focused with my online shopping. I'm personally a big fan of half.com (part of ebay) for the dirt cheap books. I actually order books online rarely. I'm into browsing amazon for possible good books, though, and then promptly heading over to goodreads to get legit reviews. Oh, and I guess ARC's count as internet books, too, don't they?
That's my list! What about you? Where do you get most of your books from?
5 comments:
Mostly my reads come from the library. They are just so much cheaper that way!! I can borrow a hundred books without paying a cent. However, I do love book shopping too. I love looking for actual titles and purchasing them. Sadly there are no bookstores near me that's left anymore so it's harder to buy books. But I wish I could do it more often. So if I wanted to get some books to add to my collection - only if I've already read it and loved it or if I've been dying to read it for a while now - then I buy off Book Depository. Sometimes I go to Target if they have it!
Everywhere :) I get them from the library, bookstores (chain and Indie), Goodwill, Library sales, online (through Bookcloseouts mostly) and Paperbackswap.
I love browsing too. I've found its one of the best ways to relax when I need quiet time away from the hubby and boy. Just going into the bookstore and walking around slowly with my fave drink from the cafe, picking books up, putting them back, writing interesting titles down... its so peaceful!
I'm not a huge fan of libraries when it comes to acquiring books, which sounds backwards, but I'd really rather own the book instead of just borrow it. So to that end I usually get books new and usually from bookstores, either indie or big chain.
I love my library! I'm currently a part of Harris County, which thank my lucky stars, is in Houston TX, so I get a large variety of books, if I'm patient enough. I always have to put books on hold way in advance in order to get them this lifetime, but I think I have the timing down. It pays to be in a large city...sometimes.
♥ Trish
Just a YA Girl
Generally speaking, I don't like libraries. The quiet is TOO quiet, know what I mean? And I don't like returning books. I like paying for them, walking out of Barnes & Noble with them cradled in my arms, and having them be MY books, to peruse freely, over and over and over again.
I also like buying things that aren't books in antique bookstores. I found my map of London in a drawer that came out of a wall in a used bookstore in Boystown.
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