Do you buy, borrow or take out from the library?

[Kaz]

Mostly I buy books from shop or charity shop. Recently, I went to library near where I work. There are load of new brand books that I can borrow which are great.The library where I live in, the books are poor conditions and refused to borrow them. I regularly go to Bookcrossing Meetup to giveaway books that I choose other books.

 

[Maya]

I buy and borrow from friends and library.

 

[Dizzy]

i used to borrow...but now my mom buys! check mate, mate....lol

 

[Grammath]

I just love hunting through shelves and finding books, I don't care where they are .

I mainly read my own, buy new stuff online and get older books 2nd hand. Audiobooks come from the library, as well as the occasional hardback if the book concerned isn't available in paperback and the selections for my library based face to face reading group.

 

[novella]

Taking a casual survey from this thread, it's interesting that the reputedly acquisitive Americans are the posters who use libraries most often, while the green/socialist Europeans buy books.

Is this true or just anecdotal?

 

[water faerie]

I buy books. Constantly. And spend a ton.

 

[Robert]

I usually buy my books second hand unless I really want to read it when it first hits the book store. I really don't care for paperbacks and I can usually get hard covers from other people for less then a paperback would cost.

 

[Lux]

I don't mind reading borrowed books, but I'd rather buy them. It doesn't matter if they're old or new, as long as I can read them. It's not unusual for me to borrow books from the library or from my friends and then go to the bookstore and buy them... even if that means borrowing money from the said friends.

 

[tarablythe]

I do a little bit of both. But I do have to admit, there is something wonderful about going to a bookstore and buying a brand new book and sitting down with it and just opening up the cover and feel the binding start to stretch.

 

[soxfan]

I tend to buy mine, though when I was taking classes I used the university library quite a bit. I should go to the library more often ... maybe after I've gotten through the backlog of all the stuff I bought and/or received as presents (which at my current rate will be in about twenty years).

 

[Hollis]

Mainly, I check out all the books I read for leisure. I hate to spend money on something I really would end up not caring for much and I'm not a rereader, so unless a book totally wows me, I generally check out. Granted, there have been a few authors that I've gone out and started collecting, but I generally do so at Half-Price or something.

The books I buy new are generally art instruction books. Or art books such as...I'm waiting on a 300 page Alphonse Mucha (Art Nouveau) book from Amazon and I can't WAIT for it to come in!

 

[alice]

Don't ask me why, but there is nothing better than sitting down and opening up a new book with that crisp feel to the pages & cracking the spine of the book. I have to buy my books. I can't borrow them with other people's coffee stains on them. I can't stand the yellowed worn pages from the library and being under a time limit in which to read. Yes, I spend a ton of money on books, but without people like me - you wouldn't have anyone to borrow books from

What do you all do?

I buy *all* my books ... very expensive but I always re-read them again and like you; I don't like other peoples stains etc!

Strange with the amount of books I read I haven't even got a library card

 

[Anamnesis]

Lately I've been buying books, but there was a time when I'd go to the library often. I prefer owning books since there's more of an opportunity to go back and read them again. Recently I've been trading books with a friend of mine; well not trading since we return the books after they're completed. But yeah, I've also leant out books and borrowed some in return.

 

[Dogmatix]

Haven't been to the library in years but have many fond memories of it as a child

 

[bren]

Haven't been to the library in years but have many fond memories of it as a child

I do still use the library quite a lot, but my fond childhood memories of library time are sweet indeed. Could that be why I have this ghost image of a saint hovering near the core of each librarian I meet - just to remember those kind women who never said boo when I checked out adult fiction and answered each question thoughtfully and fully. It was great.

 

[Prairie_Girl]

I almost exclusively use the library. My library has that awesome patron request website, so I can order any book they have and they'll ship it to a branch of my choosing and email me when it's there. I absolutely adore the library because in my current financial state, without it, I wouldn't read at all.

 

[DiscoDan]

I'm constantly searching for hot "Bargain Book" buys, but I rarely buy a book at regular price unless it's something I just have to have or that the library doesn't have. I work at a library though so lately I've just been checking out.

 

[SFG75]

Give me the coffee stains, the worn pages, the binder with a few creases in it. Wear and tear shows character IMHO.

 

[mrkgnao]

Haven't been to the library in years but have many fond memories of it as a child

I'd agree with this: the library got me hooked. But now that I'm a full-fledged bookaholic, I want to own all books. The ones I've read, the ones I'm thinking about reading, the ones I like the look of, and so on, and all the others. Basically, I want to own, and read, all books. I want the Library of Babel. Worn or new, hardback or paperback, big or small, I want to live with all the books!

*mrkgnao*

 

[Sofia]

all of the above