TAG | Book Buying Habits

Is #TagThursday even a thing? If not yet, it is today!

I believe that this is the one tag that every book blogger, booktuber, and/or bookstagrammer should fill up. Hauls are a staple of any book-related media. So many books come out every month – big releases, indie published, re-releases, special editions… So. Many. Things. If I were perfectly honest, a good chunk of my budget is for books, whether I spend it or not.

I love going to bookstores and checking out the latest releases. I may not make use of them as often as others but I love going to libraries. And of course, online bookstores are awesome. I can spend a whole day just filling up the perfect cart with all the discounts and qualify for free shipping. And I hate paying for shipping.

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Where do you buy your books from?

Most of them, I purchase online just because of convenience. And for some stores such as Barnes & Noble, it’s actually cheaper to buy online vs in store. It’s insane the amount of books I bought from Book Outlet. I mean, I’m not as trigger-happy as before but now with their free shipping thing, ooh boy. Thriftbooks, Alibris, and Better World Books are good sources also. I buy a lot of Japanese fiction off of Better World Books. Book Depository gets my business because they carry those pretty non-US covers. As for actual stores – Barnes & Noble, Vromans Bookstore, Kinokuniya Los Angeles, Goodwill and other thrift stores. If a store carries books, I’ll be there.

Do you ever pre-order books and if so, do you do this in-store or online?

I will only pre-order a book if it can come signed or if it comes with a perk. I have so many unread books so I’m never in a hurry to purchase a new release. And I do it online now. But my first ever pre-order was the final Harry Potter book and that one I made in person because online transactions weren’t available at my side of the world back then.

On average, how many books do you buy a month?

I’m trying to be better at it – aka buying less per month – but it depends. I usually average 10 books, I should say. But I often go over that. I can control my ebook buying but I get into episodes where I just load up my cart and expect a big box of books to arrive within the week.

Do you use your local library?

I don’t… which is strange because there is a branch of the local library down the hill from where I live. However, I do have a library card that I use for Hoopla Digital.

If so, how many do you borrow at a time?

Fun fact: I’ve never ever borrowed a book from the library.

What’s your opinion on library books?

I think they’re great. I actually like buying hardcover library copies because they come with the acetate cover. I can deal with the stickers but as a kid, my mom used to put plastic cover around all my books for protection from wear and tear. Also, I love the very used, very loved look of a library book. It has character; the pages are soft, some written on and folded. I don’t mind receiving a library copy of a book.

How do you feel about charity shop/second hand books?

I love going to used bookstores because they always have good prices and you’ll never know what you’ll find. I’ve found many gems at my local Goodwill and I’m looking to visiting a Goodwill Bookstore. But what’s more fun for me is finding what’s hidden in between the pages of a book donated to a used bookstore.

Do you keep your read and TBR pile together/on the same bookshelf or not?

Together. Especially if it is in a series. Right now, I don’t have a lot of shelf space so most of my books are either under the bed or on the floor. That’s why I have GoodReads, to separate my TBR from my read books.

Do you plan to read all the books you own?

Truthfully, no. I went through a phase where I bought complete series with the intent of binge reading them. Or if I read the first book as an ebook, I bought the whole series in hard copy. But that got overwhelming fast and I eventually realized that I wasn’t that interested in them anyway. So yeah. Lesson learned.

What do you do with books that you own and that you’ll feel you’ll never read/enjoy?

I put them in a box for donation.

Have you ever donated books?

Well, it’s not actually “donating”. I send them to my aunt so she can sell them.

Have you ever been on a book buying ban?

I try. I was able to go on a makeup buying ban for the whole of 2016. For books, I’m trying to be more thoughtful about it. I now only buy books that I am for sure going to read.

Do you feel like you buy too many books?

I do. Especially when the number of the books that I buy exceeds the number of books that I read for that month. But for some reason, I do not feel guilty about it. No, I do… sometimes. But I learned now only to buy books that I genuinely want and not just because I gave into the hype.

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I thought June was going to be a good month for book buying. I survived the first 10 days with only one Kindle book purchase. But then I found the signed book section at Vroman’s Bookstore. Three full-priced signed books. And I thought that was the end of it. Nope. Book Outlet decided to have a sale. Sure, later this month. But I saw the whole Girls und Panzer manga collection on there so I couldn’t wait for the sale because Volume 1 was about to sell out. Good thing I had a $5 coupon bookmark from a previous order. 😉

One of these days, I’m just going to have to accept that book buying is tantamount to stress-relief. XD