Library or Bookstore?

[Rogers_68]

I have been buying the books I read for about a year and a half now, usually used. If I end up not liking them I sell them or use BookMooch to get rid of them. Lately I've been thinking about starting to use the library more, both to support it and to save a little money. I like having books on my shelf and I like being able to write in them when I find something interesting. I'm finding, though, that I don't really re-read them and I never really do much with them after I read them. They end up being a conversation piece or just a memory of what I've read. Anyway, I just finished a book from the library and when I returned it it felt good not worry about where I could find my own copy and how much it would cost. (However, I'm awfully attached to the ones I already own. :))

Just out of curiosity what do others here do?

[jgweed]

You seem to forget that many texts are available on-line, in which case you have the option to print them or not. For example I read Grant's Memoirs on line, and they are not available at either a bookstore, and I imagine what passes for libraries (outside of large cities and universities) in many locations.
Cheers,
John

[sprinks]

Due to lack of income (due to being a teenager with a busy school life :p) I go to the library. I buy books when it's something I will read heaps though - and also when people ask what I want for birthdays and Christmas I reply "BOOKS!!" and that saves me some money - just I don't get them for ages! :lol:
But I have a feeling even if I was able to pay for all my books, I'd still go to the library - I love libraries!! :D
Also I don't buy my books because it's so darn hard trying to decide which ones I want!! :lol:

[stlukesguild]

Personally I prefer the library... my own library that is. I have been collecting books for years and now have a more than sizable collection because I rarely get rid of a book unless I am certain that I will never wish to read it again or because I have purchased a better edition of the same work. All art, to me, involves a form of dialog. Certainly there is the dialog between the artist and the audience... but there is also a dialog between the artist and other artists. There is no telling when I am reading one book how I may be directed to another book... another writer. In most instances I have also found that my own library is far more inclusive in areas that interest me than are most public libraries outside of the larger metropolitan ones.

[Nightshade]

yes support the library, a couple of papers and studies in the uk have sasid that if current user trends continue by 2015-2020 public libraries will become obsolete. And then where will we be? I work in a library and here is the 'insider scoop' on how to manage your books, borrow borrow borrow, if yu like it so much you know you will want to reread it buy it. Now normally if Ive borrowed it 3 times Ill go out and buy it. Also ex-stock sales you can get fairly good books really really really cheap... then just redonate it to the library if you want to get rid of it. I have a traffic of about 50 books every couple of months going through my house from one books sale to another.
But the thing to rember with librtary books is the fines I currenlt hwave a £50 fine on my uni library account because I got distracted and have forgotten to renew my books :eek2: and it is soooo easy to avoid I was just lazy dont let that happen to you.

Plus the thing with book stores if you didnt like the book youve wasted your money.

[Nossa]

Bookstores! Since we don't have any decent libraries here, my only resort is buying books (or downloading/reading them online). I wish we had more libraries here though.

[Bakiryu]

I can't choose. I love owning the books i read but i love exploring new books in my school library.

[johann cruyff]

Bookstore.I just hate constantly keeping in mind that I have to return the book - I will rather purchase it than borrow it.Anyway,I just think of it as the beginning of a huge collection I'm going to have one day.

[tractatus]

I like library, but practically bookstore. / due to many reasons.

[aabbcc]

Library, definitely.
And you are being told that by a girl who, as somebody put, has "more than sizeable collection" at her home - yet, I still feel better going to library and discovering new things, to a point that I tend to borrow books I have at home (sometimes without noticing). :D I have, for example, three copies of A Hero of Our Time in my own collection (Russian original as a part of "collected Lermontov", Croatian translation, Italian translation), and I am pretty sure my parents own one in their collection a couple of rooms away, yet I read the copy from the library both times I was reading it. :p A weird child, I know.

I do buy books, but usually I buy books I have already read and am sure I would like to have, in addition to dictionaries, histories of art, works of such kind. Literature, though, I usually buy after having read it.
And I still love libraries.

[andave_ya]

yes support the library, a couple of papers and studies in the uk have sasid that if current user trends continue by 2015-2020 public libraries will become obsolete. And then where will we be? I work in a library and here is the 'insider scoop' on how to manage your books, borrow borrow borrow, if yu like it so much you know you will want to reread it buy it. Now normally if Ive borrowed it 3 times Ill go out and buy it. Also ex-stock sales you can get fairly good books really really really cheap... then just redonate it to the library if you want to get rid of it. I have a traffic of about 50 books every couple of months going through my house from one books sale to another.
But the thing to rember with librtary books is the fines I currenlt hwave a £50 fine on my uni library account because I got distracted and have forgotten to renew my books :eek2: and it is soooo easy to avoid I was just lazy dont let that happen to you.

Plus the thing with book stores if you didnt like the book youve wasted your money.

YAHHHHHHHH!!!! I agree with you completely. Now, I've a "waiting list" of books I want to get but if they aren't ones that I have read more than once and will read again they are classics. The library booksales...:p H E A V E N!!!! Once I filled a whole paper bag with thick luscious books...12 to be exact. And only 3 of them were paperback. I paid a grand total of 3 bucks for them and Oh! don't they look gorgeous on my bookshelves now...Have yet to read them all, but I'm working on it....As a volunteer sorting donations, too, if I find a book that I really want I can take it...I keep telling myself "no, no more books, you have at least 20 at home," but I came home with Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" and [i]Cry, the Beloved Country I'm going to end up with books to last me fifty years after I die! :D LIbrary is grand...really grand. My second home.

[novelsryou]

Bookstores! Since we don't have any decent libraries here, my only resort is buying books (or downloading/reading them online). I wish we had more libraries here though.

Egypt has always fascinated me, I really must get there some day.

The Royal Library (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria) of Alexandria and the new one. (www.egypteng.com/projectm/alex.asp)

That said, I get most of my books from Amazon.com, it's just easier.

[Erichtho]

Bookstore.

I don't like the covers the library puts on the books and I don't like handling books that have been heaven-knows-where. I also never seem to return them on time, and that makes me feel bad.

Seconded. I never liked public libraries. :crash:

[Weisinheimer]

I hate spending money, so I'm for the library all the way. I love libraries. I guess we have pretty good libraries around here, I've been able to find most of the books I want pretty easily. I live right in the middle of 4 different counties, so I have 4 different library systems to choose from. One or the other usually has what I'm looking for. I like getting movies and music from the library, too.

[LadyWentworth]

I prefer to buy the books that I want to read. I honestly have never gotten rid of any that I have read (unless, of course, it was something so bad - then I just tossed it off for somebody else to suffer with while they read it). I have a pretty extensive collection for my own "library". I suppose that since I like the "look" of books on shelves, that is why I prefer to buy and keep books. If I ever go to the library, it is because I want to save money on the books that I wouldn't normally pick out for myself. Those books are the ones that are recommended by others for me to read. Also, another reason I prefer buying books over the library is because I have an unlimited amount of time to read them. I kind of hate the pressure of the due date.

[vheissu]

I love bookstores, I can spend hours in them. And come out empty handed! :p I can't really afford to buy all the books that I want to read, and I usually have my eye on photography books which cost a bomb! Or huge cookery books...

Having said that, I feel quite lucky that my uni library and the council library is usually well stocked. And there's always the constant problem that I'm never too sure where I'm going to live next year so buying books would mean thinking about shipping them somewhere else.

So, until I'll have a more permanent adress, the library will do just fine. I'll just continue daydreaming in bookstores...

[Pyrrho]

I love libraries! Even if just because I am surrounded by so many books... But I rather buy books because I just love to see them on my shelves. And sometimes if I borrow a book and love it I buy it afterwards nonetheless. Even if I don't reread it. I just can't bear the thought that there is abook I love out there that I don't possess. However, a library is good for books I am not sure about. Then I just read about fifty pages of a volume and if I happen to like it I buy it and read the rest of it in my own copy...

[Freak Girl]

Bookstores tend to calm me down and sort of let me relax. Libraries make me start running around crazily (and I've just started work there!)

[Nossa]

Egypt has always fascinated me, I really must get there some day.

The Royal Library (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria) of Alexandria and the new one. (www.egypteng.com/projectm/alex.asp)

That said, I get most of my books from Amazon.com, it's just easier.

I'm glad you find Egypt fascinating :D
As for the two libraries you mentioned, it's not possible for me to borrow or even read in those libraries cuz I live over 250 Km from them :p I'm in Cairo, and they're in Alexandria, that's over 2 and a half hours travelling.
Amazon is also not practical, cuz it's way more expensive cuz I'm in Egypt. I think I'll stick to the bookstores here, and so far I do find most of the books I need, I have experience in books hunting..lol...so I can find most of the stuff I need for very affordable prices and those I can't find I either buy for the high prices they're sold with, or I can just *whispers* download them online :blush:

[MoldyMuse]

Libraries. Love 'em. I even joined the Friends group so I could help my local library.

I do buy books by authors that I truly enjoy, but I sure couldn't afford to buy all the books I enjoy reading. My at home library is small because we retired and moved a few years back and I had to downsize. Gave away several hundred books. *sob*

[samercury]

Both- If I've read a book before and really liked it, I tend to buy it. If I want to find books that I haven't read before or am not sure I'll like (or if I want a lot of them), I tend to go to the library. I really love the library, it's just that half the time, I completely forget what the due date is/ forget to renew the books and end up having to pay fines (like right now for example)...

[kratsayra]

Libraries. There are absolutely books that I'm glad I'm own - and for my academic work there are some books that I need to own.

But libraries are so close to my heart, I will always prefer them and prefer taking books out from the library to buying them. I love the way libraries smell.

And most of all, when I was a kid I was sustained entirely by my local public library. I would take out book after book - read it, and return it, and take out the next book. and the next book. etc. It was wonderful. And then I discovered interlibrary loan, and my selection of books was endless. It was such a great experience. I love(d) my library. :D

I wish I read that frequently these days.

[Weisinheimer]

And most of all, when I was a kid I was sustained entirely by my local public library. I would take out book after book - read it, and return it, and take out the next book. and the next book. etc. It was wonderful. And then I discovered interlibrary loan, and my selection of books was endless. It was such a great experience. I love(d) my library. :D


I loved going to the library as a kid. My mom took me and my siblings there alot. It felt so awesome to come home with a fresh stack of books. I also liked just hanging out at the library. I liked to get a book and find a corner somewhere in the library. I just loved being surrounded by books.

[Pensive]

No libraries (especially those containing English books) seem to be anywhere around. That leaves many works available online and book-stores (including an old book-store which I abolsutely love). But I would like it a lot if we had any good library nearby. Oh and there is this school library, but most of the books found there (the ones I want to read) are as abridged versions which I hardly ever enjoy...

[papayahed]

I'm a big fan of libraries especially when the book club makes me read stuff I wouldn't ordinarily read but I must admit there is something about a bookstore with rows and rows of brand new never opened books.

[cipherdecoy]

Which do you prefer, buying or borrowing books?

It's buying for me - I love the sense of ownership :D Plus, I can take my time to read the book without worrying about deadlines.

[JBI]

Borrowing, I'm on too fixed a budget to buy many books outside my school requirements. That being said, I like owning the book, but until such time as my income can handle it, I'll need to stick to the library.

[Joreads]

I love to buy books to but sometimes the budget does not allow. Lately I have only been buying books by the authors I want to keep, everything else I borrow

[johann cruyff]

I always buy the book if I can - I hate constantly having to think about returning them after borrowing.

[kelby_lake]

borrowing because books are so expensive! :flare:

[sprinks]

I love the feeling of being around so many books, so even if I was to buy more than borrow, I would still go to the library for the sake of being around so many books!! :) But as it stands, I borrow more often as I am often low on money! I use birthdays and other events as excuses to get people to buy me books!! :D. Thats one thing I've always loved about getting awards at school, is that the award comes with a book voucher!! Oh I loved the year where I ended up with about $150 (AU) in book vouchers!!! :D

[sofia82]

I love buying books, and feel so good in owning the book, whenever I want, I read them. But, the money matters :bawling: I cannot buy anybook I like, just essential ones. Borrowing books makes me nervous about the due date, I have to finish reading as soon as I can, and of course not write in the book.

Hey Sprinks, good for you that you get books as presents, I wonder why people around me do not pay attention to this desire of me. I have a cousine, she thinks of spending money on books as nonsense. Always she says, how you dare to spend your money on all these books.

[Albatross of Hu]

I almost always buy my books. I like being able to refer back to them as reference for other books or when speaking with family and friends.

[tractatus]

I mostly buy, people mostly borrow from me, they rarely return, so i buy again.. thus it goes..

[PeterL]

I used to have Tractatus' problem, then I stopped associating with humans. But I was going to comment that stealing is cheaper than buying and more convenient than borrowing.

[Trekker114]

A little bit of both. I buy my favorite books - the ones I will read over and over again. When I'm reading a book for the first time I usually just borrow it.

[sofia82]

I mostly buy, people mostly borrow from me, they rarely return, so i buy again.. thus it goes..


I used to have Tractatus' problem, then I stopped associating with humans. But I was going to comment that stealing is cheaper than buying and more convenient than borrowing.

I cannot tolerate such things especially borrowing my books and not returning. I had such problems so never lend a book and if lend, ask the one to return.

Yes, I agree stealinf is cheaper :D but others do the same cheaper one :lol: which made you stop associating with humans.

[tractatus]

I used to have Tractatus' problem, then I stopped associating with humans. But I was going to comment that stealing is cheaper than buying and more convenient than borrowing.

Once I met a girl whose library was formed of stolen books; mostly from libraries. I can say % 50 of the books were stolen. She was have quite rare books, i cant do it but i envy of some books.


I cannot tolerate such things especially borrowing my books and not returning. I had such problems so never lend a book and if lend, ask the one to return.
Yes, I agree stealinf is cheaper :D but others do the same cheaper one :lol: which made you stop associating with humans.

Well I dont tend to lend, but i have that oriental sickness; i cant say "no" easily. I remember I bought Shibumi three times, a few Borges three times, etc.

[sofia82]

Once I met a girl whose library was formed of stolen books; mostly from libraries. I can say % 50 of the books were stolen. She was have quite rare books, i cant do it but i envy of some books.

I cannot belive one can steal from alibrary but there are people who are so skilled in this :lol:




Well I dont tend to lend, but i have that oriental sickness; i cant say "no" easily. I remember I bought Shibumi three times, a few Borges three times, etc.

I have just this problem with one or two books. Although I lend two books to one of my colleagues and not seen him for 5 months, this week I will see him at the university and I'm going to ask him to return my books :D

[stlukesguild]

I have been afflicted with the dreaded bibliophilia from when I first learned to read. From the time of my first job (paperboy) I have been shelling out far too much (or so others might suggest) cash upon books. When I was younger and struggling financially (actually... come to think of it, I'm still struggling... but you get the picture) I bought books as cheaply as possible at used book stores, flea markets, garage sales, and the like. I always preferred owning a book to borrowing it because my reading habits are such that I never knew what book I might want to jump forward or back to. I now own what most others consider to be a formidable number of books (some 3000+)... a small personal library... certainly better stocked in many areas than most public libraries... and yet I still cannot stop myself from entering the book stores at least once a week.

Personally, I think Anatole Broyard, in his marvelous little essay, Lending Books, gave the greatest description of my own feelings as a "book lover" about owning and lending books:

"... my friends come to me to borrow books because I have more than most people. In their innocence they have no idea what I go through in lending a book... Nor do they suspect that I feel about lending a book the way most fathers feel about their daughters living with a man out of wedlock... It's irritating to think that others consider reading a leisurely holiday activity. They enjoy a fling with books, while I'm married to them.

Not many of my friends are poor, and thus the question arises: If you truly wish to read this book... why don't you go out and buy it?... People often act as if books were mysteriously difficult to procure. To the doting book lover, the idea of reading a borrowed book is disgusting; an unclean habit akin to voyeurism.

The moment a book is lent, I begin to miss it. According to T.S. Eliot, each new book that is written alters every previous one. In the same way, each absent book alters those that remain on my shelves. The complexion of my library, the delicate gestalt, is ruined. My mind goes to the gap as one's tongue goes to a cavity... Until the book is returned, I feel like a parent waiting up in the small hours for a teenage son or daughter to come home from some dubious party..."

[Joreads]

I only allow a trusted few to borrow my books. Some people are careless in the way the treat them and when they decide to return them.

[Tersely]

I only allow a trusted few to borrow my books. Some people are careless in the way the treat them and when they decide to return them.

Ha. Take my mother in law for example. I let her borrow mine and all my books come back with creases, stained pages, torn cover and at that point I usually just let her keep them. Going to the library in a small southern rural town and the books are in the same/worse condition. I buy but its a circle of destruction I can't escape.

[sofia82]

Buying. I'm a true bibliophiliac, but I don't want to be cured of my obsession. :D

What an obsession!! I just struggle with this obsession as it costs me a lot :D as soon as got millionar I yield to this obsession.

[EricP]

I always assume that a book I lend to someone will not be returned. If I'm still fine with that possibility I'll lend it out. Right now I have about 6 or 7 books lent out and I'd be surprised if half of them get returned to me. Most of these were books I have already read or ones I bought used. I only have one friend that I would lone a book I care about to, and that's only because I know where he lives!

[thelastmelon]

I prefer to buy books, but I'm running out of space and money for it. So, lately I've had to do a little bit of both to keep up. :)

[kasie]

Buy - for the books I am sure I am going to care about. And they sometimes end up with a book-plate in them with That Quotation from Hamlet about borrowing and lending, so nobody ever asks.....

Borrow - for the books I am sure I'll read once and discard. I have one 'circulating library' going around a certain group of friends - I know the books will come back one day, after about a dozen people have read them. Another set gets passed on to friends as gifts - I know they will in turn be passed on to other friends and will end up in the Hospital Lending Library or Shop (which kept my husband going through his many stays in hospital) or in local Charity shops; those friends in turn pass on 'non-returnable' books to me and those too end up in the charity shops or passed on to friends. Just occasionally one of the non-returnables endears itself to me and finds a permanent place on my shelf.

[lit_head]

i love collecting books. been doing it for about 2 years now (i am 19) and i have reread some of them, but some are, like Rogers_68 mentioned, conversation pieces. owning a book is like a memory to me so i enjoy buying them whenever i can. but for school research, the library is definitely the place i get books.

[sofia82]

It costs me a lot, too, sofia, and then I have the problem of where to put everything, all the books, and DVDs, and CDs. My husband doesn't say anything, but I know he thinks I'm nuts. LOL

I have the sam problem now although my books are not so numerous :D I have to make all the four walls library and book shelf, It was last summer I bought one but now I need another. My mom says first think about where you want to put your books then buy a new one :p
What about his photos :D ?

[capek]

Only used book stores for me. And amazon!