Book Buying Addicts Anonymous discussion

We are starting to add a lot of members at Mo's quite appropriately named group, so please let the rest of us know where you like to get your books...a favorite bookstore? a library? a website? Please share your secrets with all of us...so we can all feed our addiction.

I don't know how widespread the chain is but my absolute favorite store is Halfprice books. They sell new and used books as well as a variety of other stuff but I'm a book fanatic so I'm generally buried in one section or another of their store when I have spare money. They do buy books but I'll tell you - you won't get much but from a buying aspect it's a good deal.

My other favorite (thanks to family who get me gift cards) is Barnes and Noble. Between the gift cards and the discount card my folks and friends have I get a decent deal on new stuff :)

Thanks for the great suggestions above, Cdalaigh and Teresa.

I have heard of bookcloseouts.com before but I never checked them out. Did you actually use their site or were they a link off Amazon as you were researching a book you wanted to get?

I'm sorry to hear that it's taking a while to get your shipment...do you think that's also a result of your being up in Canada right now? Is there a significant delay for evrything shipped to Canada from the States.

Teresa, thanks for reminding me about halfpricebooks.com. That really is an outstanding chain of used bookstores. I first found them by accident on a short trip to Berkeley in 2002 while looking for a different bookstore. I was very impressed with the many unusual and interesting books I found there, and with how inexpensive the prices seemed to be. Not wanting to fly out with a ton of extra books in my luggage, I looked them up online as soon as I got back home, and found that they had a store in Mesa, in the Phoenix area. So I took a day and headed up there to check it out, and found that the Mesa store was even larger than the Berkeley store for size and selection. The prices were still incredible...I probably bought 10 to 12 really good books that day and spent less than $60- overall. Then I had to go overseas for awhile and forgot all about Half Price Books, as they don't have any stores down here in southern California.

I looked them up again after reading your post, and saw that they've expanded to 12 states now, by my quick count. If anyone here is interested is seeing if they have a store nearby you, go here:

http://www.halfpricebooks.com/find_a_....

Definitely check them out and let us all know if it was worth your time.

Most welcome - I have to budget myself when I go in there or I'll come home with 2 armloads of books and no cash in my wallet *big grin*

RIght on....the same thing happens to me as well when I visit one of the library sales out here (if not familiar, please see Caitlin's post from last night on the Fave Bookstores thread started by moderator MO)...

Then once you bring all those books back home, where does one put them all?

I havn't been to a library sale in a couple years. I admit I've been pretty bad about using the library since I got out of school The one closest to me is honestly just difficult to get in and out of traffic wise.

Right now I have like Nowhere to put books...I have 2 overhead bins at work where I keep some of my books so the people who work after hours can barrow them. I need to get new bookshelves..my last set died more or less to flooding as did a good 3/4's of my collection of books.

I too have book storage issues. I have stacks everywhere. Serious book clutter!

Does anyone here read e-books? I have close to 100 books on my PDA! I read anything from trash to classic literature to Eastern philosophy & religion, often all of the above concurrently! My favorite download site is fictionwise.com. You can sort by topic, author, new releases, etc. and Big Bargains. They have this cool feature known as Micropay, where some books offer a rebate when you buy them. Add up enough micropay and you get free e-books! I love those with 100% micropay -- buy a book for $19.99, and you get the full price in free books (pay with your micropay credit!) If I'm not buying e-books on line, nothing beats a good browse in a Barnes & Nobel store -- I'll never stop loving the satisfaction of turning an actual page!

First off - I usually try to get my books used in order to cut down on the financial toll on the family budget. Therefore, I get books at library sales, book sales, garage sales, goodwill stores, used book stores, paperbackswap.com, frugalreader.com, titletrader.com, bookmooch.com, whatsonmybookshelf.com and poshpoints.com.

I also read ebooks. I usually get mine from Project Gutenberg. However, I have just heard of another free ebook site that is next on my list to try http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/.

The few books I buy new are usually YA books that I read with my kids. Those usually come from the Scholastic warehouse sale, however I just bought the latest Harry Potter (and Twilight to qualify for free shipping) from Amazon.com.

EBooks....

Wow there's something I'd almost forgotten about believe it or not. I actually used to read EBooks a lot - more so than a real page turner. Mostly because of the job I held at the time. We weren't busy but we couldn't have visible reading material at our desks But we had free access to the Net. So...I read all sorts of werid and not neccessarily good sci fi and what not type ebooks.

I don't so much anymore. Probably because I really don't like staring at my monitor more than neccessary and I'm now in a position where my boss doesn't mind what I do in my down time so long as I'm not causing trouble.

I was just about to go to Borders for 40% off Harry Potter's last book...when I saw them for $18.17 while shopping at Costco!! Even with 40% off at Borders Bookstores...it would still have costed at least $20+change. Costco and Sam's Clubs both had them out for sale same time as everyone else!

Half Price Books is my best friend. It is a perfect place to try new things, in good condition at a reasonable price. I do ave a weakness for first editions of things so for those I go to eBay. I have gotten some real steals on classic literature like H. Rider Haggard.

For hard to find paperbacks, it has to be Amazon.com.

I do try to limit my books to the storage I have available. I sell things I don't like/want to halfprice books to get new things I do want. My ultimate goal is to have a study/library in my home. I invest in one barrister style bookcase a year to protect my first editions, the other books go on regular bookshelves.

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I've been in the bad habit of buying books off Amazon.com "just cause", or going in to Borders with my coupon for just one book and coming out with more than one!

My mom usually gets books at Costco, then gives them to me to read when she's done. Needless to say I have a ton of books to read first, before I start buying more, full or half price!

My husband is a lit blogger, so we get literally a couple dozen books in the mail every week. You should see our apartment -- it looks like a small library exploded in here. We wind up donating a lot of them, and we had to rent a storage space to keep them in. So I rarely buy books, which is sort of good, but also a bit of a pain, as it's hard to corral 24 or so books coming in every single week.

I also use paperbackbookswap.com for older stuff, which in my opinion is the best of the book swapping sites.

I'd also like to make a plea to everyone: please please please buy books from Powells.com instead of amazon. Powells is an awesome independent store, which I'd love to see people supporting. (Nope, I don't work for them or have any affiliation with them, except as a customer.)

Thanks for all of the great recommendations from Lesley, Elaine, Cathy, Christina, Laura from Phoenix, and Laura from Sunnyside. I know that I appreciate getting new ideas about where I can explore for books, and I'm sure that most of the other in this group feel the same way.

I've never tried e-books, but I should, because that's ultimately in our future as readers. More environmentally friendly too.

I like checking out the books when I roll through our Costco. I find it's great for deals on reference books like the Thomas Guides that so many people in LA use to get around. I think I bought the last two editions in the Harry Potter series at supermarkets for the same reason Cathy did, because the price couldn't be beat.

For Laura from Sunnyside: If you don't mind sharing with us all, how did your husband become a lit blogger and get hooked up with a deal to receive ***free*** books? Especially at the rate of 24 a week! From reading your post we can all see how much of a challenge you must have in keeping the inventory down, but I am sure that a lot of us in this group would be pretty motivated to get free books shipped to us in order to check the out and comment on them on a regular basis. After all, that's kind of what we're all doing here on Good Reads anyway, but out of love, affection, and the need to let our brother and sister readers know what we all like to read...

Again, thanks to all for taking the time to share your recommendations!

BTW, if you're in NY...Manhattan...there's this store called Strand Book Store...18 miles of books....The Strand is truly a unique bookstore to experience. Antiquated books, brand new books, rows and rows and floors and floors of books. ...also books yellowed with age, books so old they only come in rare printed editions... Because it certainly feels like it. Oh, and the best part is that most are discounted, so you could probably buy 20 or more books just under $5 if you tried!

Cathy, I have often heard of the Strand, and seen it mentioned by other writers, but I've never been there...it's a place I definitely want to vist some day...

Do you know where the Strand is located in Manhattan? Is it in Midtown? The Village? Up by Columbia?

Also, I recall reading recently in the New Yorks Times that one of your oldest and well respected used bookstores just closed it doors, with all the contents auctioned of and no proceeds going to the owner...do you know which one that was?

strand has two locations but the one I go to is on 12th and Broadway near Union Square which is more downtown near the village. They always have carts outside the store with hardcover and paperback books for $1 and the selection and condition of books is really amazing. Not sure about what bookstore you are referring to but I believe one just closed in the 60's on Park Avenue. I rode past in one day and wanted to go but a week or two later they weren't there anymore. That might be it.

Patrick, the one you're referring to is the Gotham Book Mart.

I frequent the local flea market for great bargain on used or new books. The most I paid for a new book there was $5; a buck for the majority of books -- both hardcovers and paperbacks. Otherwise, used bookstores locally and the local library sales, of course.

I like Goodwill Books. You can get used books in great condition at less than half price. I don't like the library because I have to give the books back! Library sales, though, are also good. Frankly though, I buy books wherever books are sold - new, used, whatever. But I always look at the bargain books first. I used to be a snob and only buy new books, but I have since been cured of that by necessity!

I work at a used, indie bookstore in AK--the owners give the employees a 35% discount, even on new stuff that we order from publishers. How could I resist? I frequent the library on my days off.

I love bookstores - even the big chains B & N and Borders. I do try to support independent booksellers like Head House Books in Philadelphia and Chester County Book and Music Company near West Chester, PA. If I cannot find a book from the local stores, I track down books through alibris.com.

In June I had the pleasure of visiting Portland and Powells - City of Books. The place is enormous and it has EVERYTHING I like there! Out of the 8 days I was in the area, I stopped by Powells 4 days! I thought I was going to have to buy a separate suitcase for the books I bought!

I dream of visiting Powells one day! My bosses will sometimes take employees on exploratory trips to other bookstores in the Pacific Northwest. Last time they toured Seattle and Portland. I'm hoping I get picked for the next trip!

If you get to Seattle, definitely visit The Elliott Bay Book Company in Pioneer Square. It's AWESOME! Also, if you go to Denver, stop by The Tattered Cover on the mall. I wanted to move in when I went inside; it's lovely.

Thanks! I've heard great things about Elliott Bay. There was also a really small shop in Seattle that had a lot of cats, and I love to visit that place. When I was visiting Mansfield, MO (where Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the "Little House" books) I visited a bookstore with four big, friendly cats. Pure bliss.

Anybody out there from either Boston or Washington DC? I did time in both places many years ago and thought that the used bookstores in both places were impressive, especially in Boston. What are the best bookstores in those cities?

My favorites in the DC area: Second Story near Dupont Circle, and the CW store in Woodbridge near Potomac Mills. But I didn't have much opportunity to do a lot of book exploring.

Boston: too many to name. In Cambridge they're everywhere you look. I have a particular fondness for one called the Avenue Victor Hugo on Newbury Street, mainly for the same sort of atmosphere that Tara describes above. It may not be there anymore.

Anyone ever visited Politics and Prose in DC? They are always hosting author lectures covered by C-SPAN 2 on the weekends...is that bookstore any good?

I check www.booksense.com for independent books stores in my travel destinations. Most have websites and I'm sure those sites would have links to other stores in that area.

At the moment I am living between UK-Singapore-California. I bought books most through amazon.co.uk but sometimes I can not stop myself pop into local shop such as WH Smith, Waterstone (i love's browsing in it's beautiful building in Birmingham) or Borders on the new shopping mall called Bull Ring. As I am living in Weymouth, south coast England quite easy to buy books in Asda (UK-Walmart), but to get new release one I have to wait 3-7 days.

This could be another sin as I used to buy second hand books down to the charity shop or discount counters such as Oxams or car boot sale.

While in Singapore I went to Bras Basah shopping complexs behind the famous Raffles Hotel. Sometimes I found good books, but that's not guarantee. Singapore has three major books shop : Kinokuniya, Borders and Popular.

In California I went downtown Sunnyvile as this is closer to where we stay. But I am relay on amazon.com as this is the only opportunity to get cheaper new books than in UK!

I’m living in Indonesia, and although we have lots of bookstore, but to find quality books are really hard to do. Most of the major local bookstores do sell commercial books, but the range is still small. There’s this place called Aksara and QB that sells a lot of imported books, but it’s quite pricey. The ones that sell used books gives a quite reasonable price, but for a very bad condition. We use to held book festival, but most of the participant offers Islamic books.

So whenever I try to find English textbooks, novels, biographies, or other references, I found it stressing sometimes. Some of us could find the books we like from big internet sellers like Amazon or B&N, but there’s a restriction for our country. Thankfully, I can order via Amazon, but when I do, the shipping price is very high. Sometimes it’s more expensive than the book itself! I often go to Singapore, and whenever I have the chance, me and my family buy lots of books and put it in my luggage. There’re more books than clothes, honestly. I once went to Amsterdam, and got so happy, since they got lots of small bookshops that sold great and rare books. My family got the chance to go the US last year, and they went nuts going from one bookstore to another. Too bad I didn’t get to go.

Well, that’s a little story of what happen with me when buying books.

um...if I really want a book to read NOW or just to place in my pile "to read" later I go to Borders (I like their rewards club)...or if there isnt a Borders I go to Barnes & Noble.

If I am in the mood to search for new books or am interested in trying a new author but not sure if I will like the book or want to commit to it I check these places:

Half-Price Books (when I am in Washington State)
Stand (in NYC)
Labyrinth books (in NYC)
www.paperbackswap.com

I really like paperbackswap, but sometimes I don't have a book I want to give up in return for a new one. Also, the selection is very slim...better for more popular reads.

I have been trying to limit my bookbuying, so I have sought ways to continue to acquire them without spending much -- or anything.

I've been able to score free advanced copies from The New Yorker Advance Word a few times, and if you are an active reviewer on Librarything.com you can occasionally get one from the Early Reviewers group.

I have not tried paperbackswap.com, but I adore bookmooch.com. This type of site can be hard if you are loath to relinquish any of the books you have. I occasionally will buy copies of popular books just to mooch away if I can find them for under $3 at library book sales, the awesome Clearance section of Half Price, at thrift stores or at garage sales.

hi i'm new here and so excited my head might explode. i adore this website and can tell it will entertain me for hours (hours i don't necessarily have!). i'm quickly adding to my "read" list. i WAS a book buying-holic. i bought books faster than i could read them. then i went to work for the government. obviously my change in employers means i can't afford to buy books like a hoarder. i recently discovered www.bookswim.com. this website answered all my prayers. it's similar to netflix; for $23.99 i get five books at a time, when i'm done with three i send them back and they send me three more from my queue. the website is fairly new and they are definitely working out some kinks. there have been some books i've wanted that they didn't have and at times their website is slow but the customer service rocks my face off. they forgot to send me a pre-paid package to send my books back so i emailed them to let them know. they got back to me hours later via email, apologized for the inconvenience and promptly mailed me the pre-paid package. check it out if you haven't already!

My favorite DC bookstore is Kramerbooks for (a) having excellent displays, (b) being open late, and (c) being adjoined with Afterwords Cafe. You can have dinner, drink a martini and browse the poetry section! What could be better, other than a 24-hour Half Price Books?

I'm pretty lazy about doing the whole Amazon thing (will try to switch to Powell's per Laura's suggestion). Basically, any bookstore will do, and I find myself in a fugue state whenever I enter one, suddenly coming to consciousness with a giant stack of books under my arm. Betcha can't buy just one! I feel kind of lost and insecure if I don't have a big pile of unread books.

Fortunately for my bank account, my town has an extremely good library with an extensive collection and fantastic interlibrary loan system, plus is a friendly and pleasant place to spend time in. We also have a very good independent bookseller, and try to patronize them whenever possible.

I have ordered from bookcloseouts.com many times and I too live in Canada. It just cost me $42US to have 7 books delivered to me. These are new books, just overstock. They ship fast and I've always got just what I ordered. You can buy scratch/dent copies for even less. The only down side is they typically wont have the latest hottest sellers right away.

First of all, AMEN to Kate who brought up Kramerbooks in D.C. I used to live near Dupont Circle and spent many an afternoon/evening/brunch there perusing books and sipping beverages:)
As for Boston stores, I'm a huge fan of Rodney's on Mass. Ave. in Central Square. Their books are in almost new condition but sell for half price at least; and they carry an enormous selection. They also have a store in Brookline, I believe.
My other secret? Raiding suburban library sales, in towns like Wellesley, Natick, Walpole...places where people buy books new and give them away soon after. It's killer! My husband and I load up every spring and fall after we scope out the upcoming sales online!

Amanda,

Glad to hear that Massachusetts also does suburban library sales. We have a ton of those out West, but I rarely saw it back East, at least in New York State...it's a good way for libraries to support themselves...

Speaking of NYS...here are some other favorite bookstores of mine, in that part of the world...

The Book Barn in Dryden, near Ithaca. My favorite bookstore in upstate New York. If the proprietor feels like being friendly, he's a great dude to talk to. I have found some really wonderful there.

Phoenix Books, also near Ithaca. Not quite as comfortable an atmosphere as the former, but a lot of selection.

The Book's End in Syracuse NY on the East Side on James Street. My favorite bookstore in Syracuse, recently expanded. No trip to my hometown is complete without a stop in at this wonderful bookstore. Honorable mention: Books N Memories, just down the street.

Thanks to all for your suggestions. I'm glad to see that we're getting recommendations from overseas as well. Keep them coming in!

Anybody ever been to Larry McMurtry's Book City down in Archer Texas? Please tell us what that's like...

I love bookstores. I try really hard to shop indy. In LA I like Dutton's Brentwood and Book Soup.

As for e-books there's also dailylit.com. It's public domain stuff and it isn't extensive, but they email you a section of a book every day until you've finished the book(s) - as many as 3 at a time. You can pick how often you want to get the mail. It makes my less than exciting job bearable. I can sneak a peak at a 5 to 10 minute chunk of a book and then get back to my work.

Funny you mention Strand - I somehow found them online from here in LA and bought a first/first of The Dogs of Babel. I ended up seriously disliking the book after reading it, but Strand was great - even on line!

I'll buy books anywhere.

I've bought them at second-hand book dealers, online at amazon.com, online at half.com, I've bought them at Goodwill, Salvation Army, library 'firesales', garage sales, etc. I am completely non-discriminatory with the exception of price - I rarely spend a lot on a book, because if I did I'd be even more broke than I am now...lol

I'm also an avid library-card-user. In fact, a lot of my books I read for free first...then decide if I want to own it.

Hi everyone, I'm new so I will start here :3

I buy lots at McNally Robinson, they have a bargain books section that I could spend hours in!!
I go to the library alot, but then I end up reading at least 3 or 4 books at a time. Somtimes its worth it though, because I read a book a week and it just gets expensive to buy.

I'm a library rat. If I can't wait, I'll go to a discount place or eBay to get a new book. Otherwise, I'll put my name on the Reserve list at the library.
I always have to pay fines because I take home more books than I can read in three weeks, but the Public Library is still the best bargain out there.
I happily pay fines when my books are late, because there has never been a greater idea than a rotating, public library. Yea, Benj. Franklin!
Can you tell that I was once a librarian? Hahaha.

I'm definitely an instant gratification kinda person, so I tend to shop at bookstores. I love the Book Baron in Anaheim and I'm so sad that it's closing. I also like to check out the used books for sale at our local library.

I'm addicted to the bargain tables at Barnes & Noble. I love Barnes & Noble... it has something for all of my senses.. I love the smell of the books and coffee, the taste of the coffee, the music playing overhead, the colorful covers to look at, and the feel of the fresh, crisp pages between my fingers. I usually go once or twice a month, and I get one or two new releases and four to six bargain books.

I buy most of my books from McNally Robinson or Cole's. McNally is prefered however. Or, second hand stores. I gobble books from there by the dozens (if I can find that many that I want).

Otherwise, all of my stuff is from the library.

I pretty much exclusively buy my books at Barnes & Noble--I get a decent discount there, since I work at one of the locations. So, even though the majority of the books are sold at cover price, the discount makes up for it so I end up saving more money than I would shopping on Amazon or other discount stores. Obviously, I don't save as much money as a used bookstore, but I really like buying new. There's something about being the first person to read every word in a book that makes me all geeky. ^^

I do frequent the library, mainly for hardcovers that I'm not familiar enough with the author to hazard the extra cost. Overall, though, I prefer to keep the books I've read, since it's almost like a bonding experience for me.

I work basically next door to The Strand in NY. It's lovely! Those racks of $1 books outside are fun to peruse. I've used up several lunch hours wandering around inside.

Growing up in Dubuque, IA, my favorite place to buy books was called The Tri-State Independent Blind Society Bookstore. All the books were used. Paperbacks were a quarter, I think, and hardbacks 50 cents. We always went there before vacations and bought a bag of books per person to read in the car. I have no idea if it still exists, but I still remember how happy the smell of all of those books made me. I love used bookstores.

Tara:

The place with the cats in Seattle sounds like Twice Sold Tales. There are 3 locations at present: Capitol Hill, University District and Lower Queen Anne. A recent notice on the window of Cap Hill store indicates their location is being taken for eminent domain for the proposed light rail.