Internet or Physical Bookstore?

[El]

I'm such a library-whore these days that I try not to even go into bookstores anymore, but I frequent bookstores more than do any online shopping. If you have the luck of having an independent/used bookstore near you, a lot of times if they don't have something you want in stock they offer to find the book online for you. That way A) you don't have to take the time to do it on your own and B) booksellers often have other sites not available to non-booksellers and can often find better deals because they know the terminology, etc. Some may charge you for them to get the book ordered for you, but sometimes it's not much and others don't charge at all (unless if it's for bulk orders). It never hurts to ask the bookseller their policy though. A lot of people don't even think about asking their local bookstore to order books for them.

I did just order a couple books online this year for Christmas gifts but one of them was an accidental find - I was planning on buying it new at Borders for almost $40 but then found it on Amazon for half the price. (This was even after looking at all four local Half Price Books in town, lol.) The other book is for my boyfriend and can only be gotten through the Montreal art museum's website (unless we drive up there to pick it up, which is too tempting to seriously consider...). Had I planned these things I could probably have gotten the French art book for much cheaper, but I want it before Christmas so I have to spend an additional $17 just to get it by 12/22.

[Natalie]

I usually go to actual stores . I'm still a little iffy about online shopping in general .

[El]

I am officially down on Internet purchases again. I posted in Message 54 that I made two purchases this year for Christmas gifts. The one from Amazon arrived two days after I ordered it. But the one from the Montreal art museum that I ordered on 12/11, and paid an additional $17 just to get it by 12/22 has still not arrived. At this point they can not tell me where it is, nor can they reimburse me yet, as the shipping department is closed for the holidays and will be open again at the beginning of January. So now I'm out $65+ and without the one gift my boyfriend specifically wanted. Merry-freaking-Christmas. Caveat emptor.

[Christy B]

Internet. I can find books cheaper there. The only physical store I've bought books from really was Half Price Books.

[Wild for Wilde]

I love buying ebooks, booksonboard.com is my fav site because they have the best prices and promos in my opinion without membership/monthly fees etc. I never pay full prices for books. I will occassionally go into a library, barnes and nobles, or borders though. I tend to buy classics in paper which is ironic because they are usually free in ebook versions haha.

[Marti]

I will buy books from anywhere I see them Borders, Target, Market Basket, etc.. There is a wonderful independent bookstore here in town that I use to buy books from also. I try to buy books there when I can. Target often puts a great list on the end cap of their book section that I have always found to be good. Most recently, I am trying to read books from the library as it is cheaper and I don't want to keep every book I have ever read!!!!

Having said all that I also use Amazon both for new and used books and Overstock for new books.

I love the smell, and feel of a good bookstore. When we were growing up my mom would give us our allowance when we were getting ready to go into the bookstore once every two weeks when we went into the "city" to grocery shop. Obviously, we never made it out of the store with any allowance left.

[Jamie (The Perpetual Page-Turner)]

I love the convenience of online bookstores and sometimes I find better deals. However, there is nothing better than wandering around aimlessly in a physical bookstore. I just could spend a whole day doing that.

[Jamie (The Perpetual Page-Turner)]

Haha yes! That instant gratification is such a wonderful feeling! :)

[Wild for Wilde]

booksonboard.com ebooks are instant, no waiting!

[Beth]

I mix it up: I buy some books in person at Borders and some books I order from Amazon. You can get really deals at Amazon when you pre-order books.

[Dalene]

Wild for Wilde wrote: "booksonboard.com ebooks are instant, no waiting!"

can you get e-books for Kindle?

[Wild for Wilde]

Dalene wrote: "Wild for Wilde wrote: "booksonboard.com ebooks are instant, no waiting!"

can you get e-books for Kindle?"

Yes, here a link to their info page for using the Kindle with the site:
http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php...

[Jayme]

I'd say bookstores are the way to go. Touch it, smell it, buy it, read it. But online stores have their perks too. I worry about getting burned online though, because I have...twice.

[Wild for Wilde]

Jayme wrote: "I'd say bookstores are the way to go. Touch it, smell it, buy it, read it. But online stores have their perks too. I worry about getting burned online though, because I have...twice."

How did you get burned, which online store did you use? I bought an expensive book bundle set from a user on Amazon and never got it (or my money back) so that's the last time I try to buy something from a person rather than from a store. It's sad how many scamming people are out there : (

[Patrik]

bookstore - you can spent there hours...

[Jayme]

Wild for Wilde wrote: "How did you get burned, which online store did you use? I bought an expensive book bundle set from a user on Amazon and never got it (or my money back) so that's the last time I try to buy something from a person rather than from a store. It's sad how many scamming people are out there"

One was no big deal, cause I got my money back but the bad one was on ebay. The seller had a good rating, but then over Christmas, he just disappeared, nobody got there stuff, he got like 50 negative ratings overnight and then the next day ebay just deleted the seller. I still don't know what happened.

[[deleted user]]

Both - I support the local indie bookstore for gifts and non-fiction, and buy fiction for my Kindle.

[Hilary]

Library. Then used bookstore. Then independent bookstore. Then chain bookstore. Then online. Serendipity rarely occurs for me in cyberspace. I don't meet as many people shopping online -- and shopping in a bookstore is social.

[F1Wild]

I buy 99% of my books via my Kindle and usually check out my options prior on the Kindle itself or online. I also love thumbing through the books at a local bookstore, but they are mostly the chains and finding the right books is quite an adventure.

I loved a few old bookstores I used to frequent when living near Lancaster, England - old, dusty and the smell of leather.

[Wild for Wilde]

I looove the smell of bookstores and libraries, the older the better!

[Laura]

I try the library because it is cheaper and I am willing to grab a book I am not sure about because I can return it after 10 pages and am not stuck with it.

I still often like to see a book to decide if I want to own it. Sometimes I like to browse and have something catch my eye which is pretty tough on line.

But if I know what I want, buying online is generally cheaper.

[Leah]

I love going to either the bookstore or the library.. the internet is always my last resort for a book if I can't find it someplace else.. unless its a gift for someone then I tend to use the internet that way I can make sure I can ship it straight to them as most of my closest friends have spread out over the country over the years..

[Bhumi]

Yup, I too love libraries. Although I do venture into bookstores to buy books that I think I will definitely love and want to re-read. That's the key - I only buy books I think I'm going to re-read.

[Lindz]

Every book I buy I intend to re-read that is my problem :). Also since I work in a book store it only fuels my habit. And since I have now fallen in love with Evelyn Waugh. All I can say is back catalogue now when I go into work this morning. Working in a book store would be a perfect job if it weren't for the customers.

Though I have noticed I have become slowly disillusioned with the whole process - fewer and fewer new releases are exciting me, I am sick of the corporate mentality about margin being everything.

And it is weird to note, customers are now starting to treat book stores like internet sights. They want everything instant, especially answers. And the human brain is not always as fast as wireless link.

[Kamee]

Lindz wrote: "Every book I buy I intend to re-read that is my problem :). Also since I work in a book store it only fuels my habit. And since I have now fallen in love with Evelyn Waugh. All I can say is back..."

I completely agree and share the same problem! I honestly don't know what to read at the moment, afraid that the book won't reach my expectations. Do you know of any extremely good books?

[Laura]

Kamee wrote: "I completely agree and share the same problem! I honestly don't know what to read at the moment, afraid that the book won't reach my expectations. Do you know of any extremely good books? "

Kamee,

It is impossible to recommend a book to someone you don't know, but let's not let the impossible stand in our way :-)

I won't recommend a classic because I assume you've heard about them. I'll suggest one I've read recently.

A friend of mine handed me a book called
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. I recommend this to anyone who will listen. Mainly because it is a book that I thought about long after I read it and that I talked to friends about a lot. The premise is simple, a couple is holding a backyard barbecue for friends and family. One obnoxious child grates on everyone's nerves all day and at one point is about to hit another child. The parent of the 2nd child slaps the first.

The book moves from one point of view to the next as it looks at the slap and the subsequent months through the lives of those at the barbecue. The people and their lives are unremarkable but it has you thinking about social norms, friendship, blood ties, parenting, lots of topics that we can all relate to without any major dramatic event (just like all of our lives). I should warn you that the first 2 characters you see are men and the writing style is course (it made me wonder if all men really think that way) but that tone isn't continued. The author does a great job in letting us really see the different personalities.

Anyway, I don't know the author so this isn't a plug for any reason other than I think it is a unique book and one that just might break your dry spell.

Good luck and let me know what you do read and how you like it.

[F1Wild]

Re: - sounds like a very interesting book. Added to my Amazon wish list and clicked for a Kindle version (or it probably won't be read).

[Laura]

F1Wild wrote: "Re: - sounds like a very interesting book. Added to my Amazon wish list and clicked for a Kindle version (or it probably won't be read)."

Great, let me know if you like it. It's always scary to recommend a book to people you don't know well (note I didn't recommend my own book - that's even scarier). If you read The Slap and feel like rambling about it for a while, I'm your gal.

[Lindz]

The slap drove me crazy!!! I mean its a good book, Christos Tsiolkas goes out of his was to push your buttons. Even if you hate this book it is one you will not be able to put down. One of the few books where I was yelling at characters. I was alone, so no one saw my craziness.

I live in Melbourne and work and play where these characters do. So sometimes it was a little too real for me. Espeically considering I have a Greek Friend who married a Fijian Indian :).

Kamee I would also recommend the The Book Thief, set in Nazi Germany it is not your usual war novel, in fact it is one of the most original novels I have read in years. Also The 19th Wife: A Novel which is very very good. Nothing like murder and moroms multipal wives to spice things up.

[Laura]

Lindz wrote: "The slap drove me crazy!!! I mean its a good book, Christos Tsiolkas goes out of his was to push your buttons. Even if you hate this book it is one you will not be able to put down. One of the f..."

Sounds like it was even closer to the bone for you. I'm a Sydney-sider with no Greek friends (or no close ones anyway). But I saw lots of people and cultures in the story. As for the screaming at the characters thing, I read it first and then my husband did. He kept screaming, especially at the mother. It was pretty funny to watch. :-)

I found The Book Thief good, but not great. Never read The 19th Wife (yet).

[Patrik]

I order my books via internet but pick them at the bookstores. I have then the benefits of both :-)

[Samantha McNulty]

Patrik wrote: "I order my books via internet but pick them at the bookstores. I have then the benefits of both :-)"

Oh wow, I never thought of that!

[Jamaie]

I buy books all kinds of ways...Barnes & Noble(in store), Books-a-Million(in-store), Kindle, Amazon, Ebay, upload them & listen to them on my computer & also Goodwill sometimes(obv. used).

[Carol]

Patrik I have done that also. It is convenient if you want to just go in and pay, and don't want to be tempted by those large display tables you hit your toes on as you walk in the door.haha

[Sasha]

That's what I do too. Especially when I'm deciding between translations, or between several biographies of some dude, it's key to be able to flip through the finalists side by side. Once I've made the decision, I order them used online.

[Heather]

I TRY not to buy books at all and just get them from the library, but that doesn't always work out. I am a SUCKER for bookstores-especially independent ones. I love the feel of all those books around me and usually get sucked into buying one (or 5!) from my TBR list! I will shop online if I need something, but I shop in the bookstore if I want something!

Heather in KS

[Bhumi]

Heather, I too try to avoid bookstores, but there's some undeniable magnetic attraction that seems to keep pulling me back! -shakes head- Then I tend to end up buying books I don't really like and won't want to re-read.

[JSou]

Me too! Even bad books look so pretty in a bookstore...

[Ben]

I love bookstores. I feel like a kid in a candy store. I feel the same way about libraries. Well... not exactly the same way, because in a library I don't need to worry about how much money I have in my pocket.

Ideally, I'd go and look at what's in the bookstore, make a list of what I want, then go and get a good deal online. However, sometimes I just can't help myself. :)

[Heather]

Jessica-that is the BEST description I've ever heard!!!