2015 Reading Challenge [Closed] discussion
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How do you obtain your reading material?
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I pretty much only buy books if they are in the bargain bin at very reduced prices! I've always been a library goer, typically heading home with a stack full of books.Now that I live in a city I like to look up books on the library website and put holds on books so I can just pick them up when they're available. I still like to browse the aisles a bit though, because I tend to read more of a variety of genres when I do that!
So far I haven't really gotten into reading ebooks. I think I'll hold off it for a while yet!
I think if you are an avid reader (like most of us) you HAVE to beg, borrow, or steal books. There is NO WAY I could afford to pay full prices for all the books I read. It would probably cost more than my mortgage! LOLI borrow lots of books from my libraries around my home.
If I want to own a book, I shop at Half Price Books.
My favorite way of reading is my Nook! I used to have a Kindle, but the Nook is SO much better! Ebooks are usually on sale, sometimes just for a day. I keep a wishlist on my Barnes and Noble account and check my wishlist every day for sales on those ebooks. I usually only spend $2 for my ebooks.
Amanda wrote: "I keep a wishlist on my Barnes and Noble account and check my wishlist every day for sales on those ebooks."I have never thought to do that!! What a great idea. I may have to start doing that on Amazon. I recently picked up Gillian Flynn's Dark Places for $2.99 just by chance. But consistently looking out for sales is what I may start doing.
I gradually became more of an ebook person, even though I like the feel of a real book in my hand. It is just that most times I can't find a good position to hold my book (specially the huge ones) and I'm just more comfortable with my ereader in my bed or couch. Before purchasing an ebook I browse Amazon, iBooks, Kobo etc. to find the cheapest version (hello student budget). The only real books I read are gifts from friends and family.
I work in a book store, which means I have a 25% discount on books. So I usually buy new books. I also have a huge collection of ebooks, but I hardly ever read them. For some reason I can't enjoy it quite as much as a normal book, which means that if I want to read a book you can't buy in a book store I go to the library even if I have the ebook.
I have become an almost exclusive kindle reader. I still have a stack of "real" books I haven't read yet, but I always go to the convenience of my reader. I love kindle deals on amazon and OHFB.com (one hundred free books). Free is always good and if the book turns out to be not what you want to read, you don't feel "purse-bound" to read it. I have discovered some great new authors and some old favorites there!
I'm a big fan of thrift stores! You find some awesome books there, usually in decent shape, for really cheap. Goodwill has different colored tags, and each week a certain color is half price. Last night I got 3 books for $1.50! Wipe em down with a clorox wipe and you're good to go!
I read so many books that I would not have the room or money to buy them all, so I go to my local library weekly. If I find a book I will read again I put it on my wish list. That is the reason I joined GoodReads, so that I would have a portable list of what I own, and what I wish to purchase.
I do have a library in my own home, but with 4 people adding books to it we need to be picky about what we buy.
Usually I go to a local used book store that gives me credits for selling them books. I go to the thrift store, library sales, garage sales, and BookOutlet.com has a warehouse where I live, so I go there too. Very rarely do I buy new.
I read both paper books, and eBooks, and listen to audiobooks. It depends on which format I can get at the library. We also were able to get our children hooked on reading by listening to audiobooks on car trips. It really works, because my 15 year-old son still loves to read.
I buy my books either from Amazon, as it's easier and with my prime account I can get next day delivery which is useful, or if I'm out shopping I might pop into Waterstones or WH Smith but their stores seem to be closing or disappearing so it's a bit harder to find them now. Also WH Smith seems to stock less books than it used to so Amazon is easier to find less popular books/authors as WH Smith only seems to stock the really popular ones or new releases.If I go past one or if I get bored I sometimes go to my local charity shop (or other charity shops) and have a look in them. You never know what books you might find and in the ones I've been in it's generally 50p for a paperback and £1 for a hardback so nice and cheap! I managed to get the Lord of the Rings trilogy for £1.50, all paperback!
I do have a library card for my local library but I don't really go there for books, I don't like feeling like I have a set amount of time for a book I like to be able to read at my own pace, plus it becomes a lot of hassle for me to walk there and back to get the books when I can just buy or order them!
I tried using the Kindle app on my iPad and I did find that the books came either free or at good prices but I didn't enjoy reading them off a screen. I work at a computer 8 hours a day, then when I'm at home I'm on my laptop or watching the TV a lot so I find it nice to just look at a book rather than another screen. I think it just puts too much strain on my eyes. Plus I love holding a book!
A friend of mine just alerted me to BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/ for free and discounted eBooks.
I do the library here unless the wait list is forever long then I buy or go to book exchange.
I like to own my books. I get paranoid about the condition of the books and that I'll be accused and charged for damages on a book that weren't made by me if I borrow them from a library. I stopped borrowing from the library when I moved out of the small town that didn't have a book store. I typically buy hardcover, unless it's a book I'm not particularly interested in or I'm really not sure if I'll like it than I buy paperback. I do have an e-reader but I hardly use it and save it mostly for trips or when I'm low on funds.
I get 99.9% of my books from thrift stores.New books are kinda pricey when you think about it. I don't own a nook, or kindle, or anything like that. For me there is something about holding an actual book and being able to turn the pages.
I usually buy my books because I have been growing my own library; however, this year I am going to borrow more from the public library since I am encouraging my students to read more and do the same. I also have two kindles but prefer to actually hold the book that I am reading.
I usually borrow books from the library as I cannot afford to buy them.
I get them any way I can. I'm a big fan of secondhand books, but the selection of English-language books here in Switzerland is limited. I've been lucky enough to go to a couple of big secondhand book sales here though, which expanded my collection considerably! I am a frequent flyer at Book Depository - great prices & free shipping. We have a great English-language bookshop in Zürich which I try to buy from every now & then, even though the prices are high, just as my effort to support a bricks & mortar store - nothing beats being able to see & hold the books you're thinking of buying. I also have a Kindle, and have a HUGE collection of eBooks in my Calibre library. I also have a library literally across the road from my apartment. It probably has around 250 English-language novels, plus there are other libraries here that I'm planning to explore.
Library usually, if the wait is too long and I really have to read it now, I will buy on Amazon.
I read mostly on my Kindle now. I buy books when they are on sale, usually for around $0.99. If a book is $0.99, I'll probably buy it. I also get any free books I can find. My Kindle library is at about 3,000 titles now. I still have my small physical library at my house, but most of those are pre-Kindle.
In general? Anywhere.For this challenge? I tried to fit my unread books onto it as they are a whole shelf. Any others I try to get from the library :)
I actually got pretty lucky with this. I live in Boston and the Boston Public Library lets you rent ebooks. You check out the book and it automatically uploads to your kindle for free! You get to check it out for 14 days. They have thousands of books to choose from. I always look up the book I want to read from suggestions on goodreads or buzzfeed, and check to see if they have it as an ebook at the library. The only downside to this is that many of the books I want to read are on a waitlist. Because of this, I'm jumping around a lot in my challenge, but that's fine! Does anyone else's library have a similar program to this?
I check out most of my books from the library. e-reader down load is my first choice, if they do not have it I request the book I want, when they find someone who has it they e-mail me. But yes sometimes you have to wait a while if the book is on a wait list. AS luck would have it, I put a few on hold at a time and almost always I am faced with having to add a couple more books to what I am already reading lol.
I download ebooks from tuebl I checkout. books
and sometimes buy
I love to get books from Used Book Stores(I love how most of the places smell), Amazon, mostly used, but sometimes new, Goodwill, and the local library.
There's nothing like the smell of a secondhand bookstore ... smells like Heaven!
I rarely ever buy a book new, unless it's on the Kindle. I go to the library, and borrow a lot. Also my library has a book sale room and I am physically incapable of walking by that room without going in. :p I always end up buying something. lolOne of my very favorite places to book shop is at yard sales. We have so many of them here in the spring and summer and I'll grab anything I see that even looks remotely interesting. Usually the paperbacks are .25 or .50 cents. Can't beat that. Then I donate them to my neighborhood fair that has a book sale section, so they don't end up sitting around my house. One year I bought back one of my own books because I forgot that I'd already read it. lol
I much prefer physical copies than ebooks or the like. I live in a country town in Australia and we only have one new and used bookshop, they have pretty good prices. I also borrow from the library. I mostly buy my books online (I recently discovered AbeBooks, it's fantastic!) or from op shops (aka thrift stores). I actually got a copy of The Rosie Project brand new for $1 from the op shop the other day!
I have an iPad, so I tend to read classics on there (because they're normally free). I also use the library an awful lot, because I like to sit down and read in the library. However, if I really like a book, I will buy it from Amazon, eBay, or anywhere else that I see it (thrift shops, Barnes and Noble, garage sales, etc). I like to try and get nice, hardcover editions of my FAVORITE books, so that I can read them over and over again and have less wear and tear.
When my father passed away, he had a huge library of nonfiction WWII books. I kept what mostly reminded me of him, gave away some, and by chance went to a small local used book shop-The Recycled Reader. They gave me so much credit there, as they were mostly hardbacks and there was a lot of demand for them. So I get a lot of books there, but they have few current titles. So I order a lot of Amazon used books (have never gotten one that was remotely used looking!)and after reading them, take them back for credit at the used book store! I end up paying about $1-$2 per book. When visiting family in TN, I went to a HUGE 3 story used book store where mostly everything was $4-$6. Wish that I had my challenge list then. I do have a Kindle, but find that it is hard to read a long book on it, because there is no satisfaction of turning the pages. Also worry about it keeping me from sleeping due to the blue light, so I use a little reading light at night hooked to my paper books.
Sara got my attention with "HUGE 3 story used bookstore"Where is it?! I live in TN and am hoping it's close to me!
I read both types of books -- paper and e-books. I've obtained them many different ways: 1) New and used bookstores 2) library (borrowing and library booksales 3) borrowing e-books online through my local library 4) downloading e-books for free online from many various websites like Project Gutenberg, Barnes & Noble, etc. The most books I had downloaded for free were from Project Gutenberg and Scribd (BEFORE it became a paying website). In fact, I found a new website called FreeBooksy.com, and I downloaded over 30-50 books in the past week.
Tammy wrote: "Sara got my attention with "HUGE 3 story used bookstore"Where is it?! I live in TN and am hoping it's close to me!"
Tammy, its in Johnson City and I think its called Mr. K's! They had loads of nonfiction (which we have hardly any here), comic books, cook books, audio books, etc. There are also Mr. K's in Asheville and Oak Ridge. Check it out on www.mrksusedbooks.com. I was in heaven...
Sara wrote: "Tammy wrote: "Sara got my attention with "HUGE 3 story used bookstore"Where is it?! I live in TN and am hoping it's close to me!"
Tammy, its in Johnson City and I think its called Mr. K's! They..."
Oh well. That's a long way from me but definitely sounds like the kind of place I'd love to get lost in!
I buy books from Amazon and read them on my ipad. It's a lot cheaper than buying them from the bookstore, plus it's so convenient & doesn't take up a lot of room. I do love going in to bookstores though & looking around.
Sadly, living in country Victoria in Aus, we have one (rather expensive) bookstore, and my local library is tiny and doesn't have much of a range.I use online book retailers, Booktopia is my fave, they have a heap of $1 bargain books and offer free postage frequently. On occasion I find something amazing at the thrift store, or a department store (picked up Mort by Terry Pratchett for $4 recently).
But usually it's ebooks, (amazon, kobo, google play, project gutenberg etc) because I just don't have enough shelf space, nor any room for more. Mind you, I'm beginning to run out of computer memory too... =/
Aaaaand...I might have purchasedabout 14 more books...including a couple Roald Dahl books still in great con..."
OMG I need to hit up my local used bookstore now! It's a bit of a hometown treasure and I've found some gems there.