For The Bookreaders...

[Neutron]

I'm a voracious reader. I usually read about 4 books a week, Plus a couple newspapers a day and Maxim Magazine. I'm wondering where everyone buys their books?

I use Amazon.com (Go used by the way, I've never gotten a used book from amazon that didn't look almost mint.)

I also use abebooks.com (deal directly with the sellers though so you don't pay the abe fee AND you can usually bargain a bit)

Also, for those in the US many outlet malls have a Book Warehouse that has an EXCELLENT selection of books at usually less than 25% of original price. They bill themselves as a Christian Boom Store but they have a FAR bigger selection than just Christian books. The other day I got the 15 Volume Samuel Eliot Morrison WW2 Naval History Series for 4.99 a book and it was new. The best price I saw until there was 255 dollars used, from abebooks. They get new books in every Monday and have no idea what they're gonna get. I recommend heartily recommend them.


Tron

 

[qjakal]

Books...mmm

I use http://half.ebay.com/products/books/index.cfm which is an offshoot of Ebay...I've found a lot of out of print sci fi and in general I've only had positive experiences with them over the years! Local bookstores are also a bonanza these days, thanks to the impact of online sites like these....MUCH more reasonable than they were 10 years ago, and more customer oriented as well... Q

 

[Shem the Penman]

Public libraries. Use 'em, support 'em.

 

[Neutron]

Libraries Are Ok..

And at times useful, the trouble is they have a limited number of books that I like. For instance I have a lot of books on warships that aren't available in libraries. Plus I always prefer to own the book. I know when it comes to stuff like Warships (my hobby) I have far more books than any library I know of, or any combination of libraries (I have over 300 books on Battleships alone).

I also like Barnes And Noble because I like sitting on those big chairs and reading.

Tron

 

[Neutron]

A GREAT Book..

Is Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Yes it's more or les a "chick" book but I dare anyone to read that book and not come away with at least one lesson learned. An EXCELLENT and Sobering read.


Tron

 

[lust4feet]

I use half.com, at times there are outrageous deals on some books. While you are a voracious bookreader Neutron (and I commend you! as bacon said, knowledge is power!) I tend be be a voracious book collector! I'm trying to build a personal library so hopefully my posterity would be able to get a better sense of the person I am through the books I have selected. Can you perhaps offer me some tips on reading, as I would like to increase my speed and comprehension! thank you! 😛

 

[Neutron]

What Are Your Interests?

Same here. I feel the books I leave behind will tell people who I was. Books I have in () are ones I consider my faves from that author.

I have history, warship design, engineering, horror fiction, war fiction, books about fish, the Lonesome Dove Series (in my mind the 4 best Westerns ever), Stephen King (It and The Stand), Dan Simmons (Summer Of Night), Robert McGammon (read Swan Song), Peter Straub (Ghost Story) (all excellent for horror ALTHOUGH King has lost it), Clancy (who has also lost it). Kafka, Foxtrot, Calvin And Hobbes, Peanuts, Doonesbury, and Bloom County. All in all over a 1000 books.
I have the oddball books that no one would think I'd own, like Lovely Bones and quite a few magazines, most of which are MAXIM. MAXIM by the way has the best articles and beautiful women (Clothed, I like clothed better than nude in pics). I have a few biographies, plus papers I've obtained from the net or by research. So I pretty much run the gamut, but each says something about me.


Mike

 

[Strelnikov]

Unfortunately, libraries have mutated into "media centers" over the past ten years or so. That limits the space they have for books. My local library isn't large anyway. They have a policy of discarding any book that hasn't circulated in the last few years, to make room for new acquisitions. And they're not unique in that respect.

OTOH, they sell the discards at very reasonable prices. I provide a volunteer service to them, so I get any discards I want for free. And they're good about ordering new books that I request, if their budget will support it.

Strelnikov

 

[Sunriseticklee]

As a teacher... MEDIA CENTERS ROCK... (although in high school we teased the librarian endlessly for calling her one computer poorly ran ship a media center. Heehee...)

I own probably about 3000 books. Goodwill holds a quarterly used book sale in Atlanta, which I have been going to for about 3 or 4 years. They sale EVERYTHING... mostly in New are barely used condition, though there are some stinkers.... They also sell antique and rare books/ collections.

The books sale from 25 cents to about 2 dollars each. And that includes hard back and best sellers....

My library is HUGE! I am a book collector.

Anybody read the book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe?
I just finished that this summer and that book ROCKS! REALLY. So much better than the movie and sooo funny. Found the book at a rare book store when I was hanging out with General Zod (he is really cool and likes books too.... 😛)

I love books. You ever want to get really close to my heart, first date? HEEHEE Coffee house with live music and then take me to a bookstore. Oh my goodness! I don't know how to act around books.

http://www.ging.org/books.html

There is the site.

Well, there are some of you who I see at least once a year, sometimes 2 or three times. If you want me to pick up a title for you, just let me know, ok? I'm sure $2 won't break me... seeing as I leave each bookstore with about 300 dollars worth of books anyway. (THAT IS NOT AN EXAGGERATION!!!)

Love ya!
Sunrise

 

[TicklingDuo]

We prefer to not buy online. (Don't like having our credit info out there for hackers...no matter HOW secure a site claims to be.) We generally go to Borders and Barnes & Noble. But, I also enjoy browsing used book stores if they aren't all mildewed. I enjoy a variety of books but mainly read mysteries/detective drama.

Ann

 

[Shem the Penman]

Libraries, like so many other institutions these days, are being forced to do more with less. Unfortunate, but that's the way it is.

Oh, and my personal library? In the neighborhood of 3,000 - 4,000 books. I've never taken an exact count.

Accumulating books was easy when I worked at a certain major publishing house that will go nameless here, as there were freebies for the taking everywhere. Since I left, I've been depending more on the libraries. Unfortunately, used bookstores are being squeezed out of existence by Barnes & Noble and the like -- I only know a couple here in the city, and they do business more in expensive rare editions than in cheap books.

I've gone to plenty of Goodwill book sales in the past, and they're a great resource -- especially the days when you can get an entire bag of books for $20.

However, the best book-buying experience I ever had was in Wales when I was on vacation many years ago. I came into a town called Hay-on-Wye that's a book-dealing center -- there are at least a dozen used book stores there, some specialists and others just carrying general titles. I was buying stuff left and right, and I would kill for a chance to go there again ...

 

[Neutron]

I Buy..

Most of my books from British stores. Even with shipping to the US it's usually cheaper.


Tron

 

[ontheverge]

Before I began teaching, I was in the book business, so I'm a pain in the ass on this point.

I will only buy from independent, non-chain, locally-owned and -operated bookstores. I don't care if I have to pay list price. I would much rather keep the local store going than support the Barnes&noble-ization of my beloved book biz. Indies are places where the employees actually read the books they sell, and hand-sell quiet gems that otherwise are overlooked. The quirkier the place and its' employees are, the better. Like books, bookstores need to live and breathe in order to be rewarding. There is nothing in a large chain store that lives or breathes, except for the wheezing (and totally unnecessary) coffee machine.

 

[qjakal]

Coffee?

Okay...step AWAY from the coffee cup...slowly, otv! Books ARE a very personal matter, aren't they? I winnowed my collection down to about a 1000, and gave the other 4-5000 to various institutions, mostly hospitals and such. They had just grown to the point where the intent and purpose of their existence was overshadowed by their sheer bulk. I'm sure I'll "re-grow" as the years go by, but it gave me a sense of organization and was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on my choices through the years, and see what types of books have held up, in terms of being good re-reads!
One of my retirement possibilities is opening a small bookstore, but it would most likely be a nonprofit or perhaps even losing proposition, money-wise. BUT, it would get me out of the house and give me somewhere besides the golf course to "hang", so it might still be a great investment overall! If/when that happens, I'll have to set up the Special Tickling Section and invite everyone in to browse when they're in the Long Island neighborhood! But, I have to tell you, OTV, I like my coffee and I want it in the store, ok? You can pick on the Borders and Barnes & Noble clerks and attitudes all you like, but they make a good cup of joe!

Q

 

[Neutron]

Hey..

I got to tickle a B and N girl once. SO I'm all for their hospitality 🙂

Some of my books on Naval History and warship design are out of print and run into the hundreds of dollars. So I won't give them away. Besides those books say Tron more than any I know. (Let me tour a naval vessel I'm just like a little kid)

One thing I have been doing, I got this idea from the papers. Has anyone heard of Find A Book? You read a book. Then place a little sticker with your email addy inside the front cover. Also a note that tells people they are welcome to the book, and would they please email you when they've read it. Then pass the book on in the same fashion. My extra copy of Lonesome Dove is on it's 51st reader, maybe more. Everytime I get a new email I smile.

Mike

 

[BigJim]

I am a seriously big, book lover. My favourite novelists are Wilbur Smith, Alexander Kent, Bernard Cornwell and to a limited degree, Stephen King. (I've only read The Stand, The Tommyknockers and his Dark Tower series.) I generally buy my books from Amazon.co.uk and I've even trapped a couple on eBay when it was an out of print title.

 

[Shem the Penman]

There's an ancient joke to the effect that the way to make a small fortune by running a bookstore is to start with a large fortune.

I occasionally cull my collection via the "Am I ever going to read this again? No? Off it goes" method. But the outgo is definitely less than the influx, so it keeps growing no matter what...

 

[JoBelle]

I began collecting books with a battered and worn collection of Dickinson poems and a gifted copy of Zen and the Art of Motocycle Maintenance when I was in high school. The monster continues to grow. I hover around the 3500-4000 mark myself.

I have bookshelves in my dining room, bedroom, living room and studio. Then there is my bad habit of stacking books on any bare surface until I read them. I never put a book on my shelf without first reading it. THAT self-imposed rule can be a pain at times. 😛 I hate to walk into a personal library only to hear the person say, "Oh, no I never really READ! I just like having them."

I'm like Sunrise, I buy books everywhere! Garage sales, thrift stores, & library sales, etc. If I want a specific book, I tend to go to the independent stores in the area. They are always so great about ordering, and I dig that personal touch that most chains lack. I don't mind paying an extra couple of bucks as I usually get a bit of an education via the chat with the store owners.

I always say I will organize them properly someday before I die, but to ensure I live a long life....lol....they are a puzzle! For now, it's just pretty cool to have my kid pull a book from his shelf of many hundreds and say, "Reading makes your smarter." Yep...right on!

Joby