How do you get your books?

[LeslieR]

So, I was at Barnes and Noble tonight to buy a gift card for a friend. Next thing I know, I was drooling over new hardcover books that I want to read. I seriously had to pry myself away from a few, get my gift card, and get the heck out of there. I started thinking about how with a baby coming soon, I really ought to get myself to the library and get in the habit of borrowing books instead of *buying* books. And then I started wondering how everyone else gets their books. So, how do you?

[JillyBean]

For me, it's a combo of the above. I try to check out most of my books, as I read alot. For the most part, though, I end up buying the book. I have a Barnes and Noble reader's advantage card that I use alot. I love half-price/used book stores, too.

[MsPeachy]

You are not alone! For me - walking into a bookstore is akin to a child entering a candy store. I can barely decide what section to browse through first. Just looking at all those beautiful books and thinking about the wonderful stories and adventures waiting inside. There is no way I will walk into a bookstore like Borders or B&N and walk out without purchasing at least one book for myself (usually two or three)

For this reason, I typically avoid the actual stores. But I like to own the books so I'l buy them from Amazon (new). There is a library only a fwe miles from my house and I swear, it's on my To-Do list to get a card and start using it. :o

[LittleFredPunkinHead]

I'm with Jillybean. It's a combination.
For authors I know and love, I'll buy from Borders or Barnes & Noble. For checking out new authors, or books that I'm not sure I'll like, I buy at used book stores, thrift stores, or garage sales. (DH and I have been watching too much "Antiques Roadshow" lately, and we're trying desperately to find something fantastic so we can eventually get on. :D) Anyway, it's amazing to me the deals you can get on practically brand new books, secondhand.

Oh, and, I also like to go to the library for audiobooks. Our local one has a great selection.

[lawyergirl25]

I'm super broke all the time (only DH works right now), so I generally go to the library or the used bookstore. My only indulgence is I buy my favorite line of trashy romance novels every month - 4 books for about $15.

I'm not ashamed. ;)

[elladee]

I read so many books that I could never afford to pay for my habit. I almost exclusively get my books from the library.

We do have a pretty good library system, though. You can go online and order any book from any county library and have it sent to the one closest to you. You can also get on the waiting lists for popular books months before they come out. I do this, so I usually don't have to wait too long to read a book once it's out.

[JBB]

Once I finished graduate school I realized that I had to start using the library! In graduate school I just didn't have time to read for pleasure all that much. Now that I have a 40 minute commute by bus I go through 4-6 books a week. Even if I just bought paperbacks that really adds up.

I would say 95% of what I read comes from the library and 5% is what I buy at the bookstore-like others here I love Barnes and Noble and it is so hard not too buy books when I go in.

The big plus of the library is that before there used to be all these hardcover books that I ould have to wait for in paperback (in less I was absolutely dying for the book I just could not justify paying for the hardback). Now as soon as I hear about a new book I put it on my reserve list. So already this summer I've read a lot of hradcovers that in the past I would have had to wait for in the paperback!

[emmjay]

I use the library or used bookstores.

My favorite used book website is Powell's Bookstore (http://www.powells.com) - it's a store in Portland, Oregon and they have a massive selection of new and used books. The nice thing is that there is no sales tax in OR so they don't charge for that, and if you spend more than $50 you get free shipping. So if you want to buy several books at once, it can be cheaper than going to a local bookstore. Plus, like I said, the selection is really impressive. They even have out-of-print books.

[bookworm]

I get books from everywhere :).

I try to go to the library, but I'm not always good about that. And I hate reading hardcover books, and the paperback selection isn't always fabulous.

For awhile, I had a rule that I would only buy books in airports (going to the library not possible). Then I was traveling for work every week, so that rule became less effective.

I had a weird thing about used books (didn't like them), but I'm forcing myself to get over it.

My favorite, though, is that my local bookstore has a "bargain" table with the $14 paperbacks marked down to $4-$5. This is where I'll try some new authors.

[Tandis]

I'm a librarian so my books come almost exclusively from my library :D It's awesome because I see *all* the new books the second they arrive - some before the actual "published" date!

Something to keep in mind - libraries can Interlibrary Loan books for you, which means if they don't have the title you want, they can get it for you from another library. They can also get you PBKs if you don't want a HC. For most libraries this service is free, but with budget cuts happening pretty much nationwide, there might be a small fee (around a $1 or two).

[villanelle75]

I stay out of bookstores as much as possibel becasue I am incapable of leavign without books. Now that our new home has a library and I have empty shelves, it's even more difficult. For hte most part, I go the used book store route. There is a great one near my parents' house and I try to drop in when I visit, or I sned my mom a list of what I'm looking for and she stops by periodically to look for them.

[numberlady]

I buy the majority of my books on half.com, but many times if I go past the bookstore or a good display at Target I end up picking up a book or two.

I also trade a lot with my mom because we usually like the same kind of books.

[ee_chick]

Our local used book store went out of business six months ago. :( I usually go to Costco or B&N or order from Amazon. I occasionally hit the library, but not nearly as often as I should. I also swap books with my girlfriends.

[strwbrygirl]

I get books everywhere- library, friends, B&B, Borders, Half-Price Books, and independent bookstores... whenever we go on a trip, I always hit the local bookstores and rarely come back with less than ten books. My DH says that I apparently have a job in order to support my book habit- there's a thread of truth in that. :)

[lawyerlee]

I try to be good and go to the library, but I do buy a few books, especially once they're available in paperback or if the library doesn't have what I want. I usually receive them as gifts, too. My inlaws are best friends with my Amazon.com wishlist, so I always keep it up to date! :)

[TX Sweetheart]

DH & I love Barnes & Noble ('cuz it's right next to Target LOL) but we also go to Half-Price Books, where we not only can BUY books, but we can also sell our used books/CDs/DVDs/games...
My indulgence is comic strips, particularly Get Fuzzy and Zits... I'm starting out my collection with those and will probably eventually move on to Calvin & Hobbes, but they're more numerous and more expensive so that'll be awhile LOL

[shimmerstar]

I almost always get them from the library. I love our library- you can request books online and they will mail them to your house. Plus it's huge and it has a great smell. We we just there today and they had an art gallery with stuff from Goya, Picasso, Warhol and Cassatt. It was so neat!

I stay away from bookstores because I too want to buy everything.

[Rippy1010]

There's no "other" or "none of the above" option, but that's what I choose. I love reading so much that I am in a book-buyer club. The Literary Guild ... www.literaryguild.com

[jbenny75]

I'm in the Doubleday Book Club. I'm going to check out Literary Guild, though. If the deals are better, I'll switch.

[pixiecat]

The flea market! Hands down the best place to buy books. I never spend more than $1.50 / book and then I don't feel bad about giving them away when I'm done.

Otherwise, I have an Amazon Rewards cc & use the gift certs to buy books for friends and family as gifts.

[Katy]

Since moving out of GA, for some reason, I've not been to the libraries. I usually go the Amazon route if I'm planning a purchase (and we all know how often *that* happens) or I impulse buy at B&N, Borders, Costco or Target. I tell myself that since I share my books with friends (and tend to mail the best out to my friend that teaches abroad) that I'm doing a good thing - but it can be hard to leave a book.

Every once and a while the hubby and I make a "date" of dinner out and then an extended visit to Borders where we browse, read, enjoy a cup of coffee, etc. We haven't done that in a while now, but I alway use those days to "read" a book I know I don't need to buy (like the Trading Spaces books, or fashion books or whatnot).

[Kristeen]

Wherever I can!

[angelraven]

For a while I was buying books left and right. Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Target, wherever there was one that looked like something I'd want to read, which is basically everything. lol When I quit my job to go back to school I continued to buy books until I saw what it was costing. Since then I've been re-reading long lost books. Yesterday I became re-acquainted with the library. Imagine! All those books for free! Yippee!!!

I'm sure once I finish school and get back to working I'll go back to buying some. I've always wanted a huge library with hundreds of books.

[oceaneast]

I get books through a book club, Barnes and Noble, the grocery store, and friends.

[Georgiana]

I came across this site called Zooba (www.zooba.com) and it's really neat! What you do is make a wishlist from their selection and each month they will automatically send you a book off your wish list for ....get this... $9.99!!!

These are the latest books! I just got FREAKANOMICS yesterday for $9.99!

I also am a member of Black Expressions but I rarely buy from them....

[Hedwig]

If I can wait, I usually do Ebay or Amazon, but if I need it the day its released, I'll go to the bookstore. I should do the library more often, but a lot of the time I like to read it a book more than once and I like to have it at the house.

[greenbunny]

Usually the library. Once a year there is a booksale at a local middle school. It's all community donated books and run by the local women's club. I think they donate to a children's charity but I'm not sure which one.

We always buy a ton of books there. The last day is "everything you can fit in a grocery bag for 5 bucks". We usually go the first day for the best picks, then wait til the end for the quantity.

[thedoorchick]

Half Price Books, baybee!