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what's your book shopping process?

xBasx

xBasx

New Member
Hey all!

I was wondering what do you do when you are about to buy a book ?

for me, going to the bookstore is because of one of 2 reasons ,
1- I'm bored
2- I've heard about a book.
before going to the bookstore, I must log-in amazon.com to see new and bestsellers books.
then make a list of the books I'm interested in, and go for book hunting. :D

what about u?
 
I stroll into a shop hoping to retain the name of the book I want for a few more mins pick it up and I’m gone
 
I'm going out in about half an hours time to go round about 7 second hand shops looking for books and heres what I usually do in them:

Skim all the shelves looking out for any names and titles I recognise as something on my wanted list. If I see something I really want then I'll grab it, look at the price and continue to skim. If its' something I'm not sure about getting I'll remember where it is and come back to it after and decide depending on how many books I've already got, price and how good I think it sounds. My upper limit for second hand books is £2.50 each, and they have to be ones that I've not seen in any of the other shops before and have been looking for for a while (this has only happened twice before, and the books were The Blind Assassin and Middlesex). Also, to make sure I don't spend more than I have to, I usually start my searching in the cheapest shops.

If, however I have a book voucher and am going to somewhere like Ottakars or WHSmith I'll have a few books in mind and search them out when I get there and try and decide. :)
 
For me, I always have a list of books in my mind that I forget and when I'm in a bookstore checking out the books, I remember them and end up buying some of them. I always give the bookstore a visit from to time and check out some books.

In another sitaution, I would be looking for a specific book and search the whole area for it, but unfortunetly in most situations I don't find it! So, I end up buying another book just to calm my rage :rolleyes:
 
At the bookstore I have two MO's.

1. I know what I want and go to the sections that are alphabetical by author and find it. If I do not know the author I'll ask for help.

2. Browsing. First I stop at the coffee bar and get a coffee. :) Then I do a few things... I'll look at all the covers in the front-of-store displays and look for things that are appealing, then read the fly and perhaps the first page to help me decide. I am always sure to check the New Authors display for a rising gem. Sometimes an author's first work can be their best. I also am sure to check out the display "Our staff Recommends" Here I can find books I overlooked when they were released and at least one well read human has found worthy enough to put in a display case. Finally I always check the clearance display for good cheap reads.

I usually spend a couple of hours in the store while I'm browsing.

On Line
If I'm shopping on line I usually know what I'm looking for and I simply go to Amazon and search for the books I want. Lately though I've actually been paying some attention to their list of "Recommendations for You". This list is generated by past purchases. A lot of it is way off but I have gotten some real gems here as well.
 
tertan skirt ..
I've never thought of buying second hand books , not that I know some place that sells them over here, but still, I'd like the copy of the book I buy is new =)

Samerron..
try writing down the list.
I do that all the time in jarir. the man that works there go see if the books I want are available, and I go looking at other books.
I end up buying another book just to calm my rage
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haha that's quit usefull. kinda a temporal relief

Dogmatix..
I never noticed the way the books are arranged in the bookstore I go to.
that's something I'll figure out someday lol
 
xBasx said:
tertan skirt ..
I've never thought of buying second hand books , not that I know some place that sells them over here, but still, I'd like the copy of the book I buy is new =)
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I'd love to have all nice and new books, but it's too expensive for me without a job. :p Some of my books are brand new (or were). I usually buy all my Garth Nix books new and a few others. At the moment I have a £10 voucher for WHSmith and I'm spoiled for choice. :D
 
I usually have ideas about what I wish to purchase before I enter a bookstore. Sometimes reading the reviews on Amazon has been helpful about decide what I'd like to actually buy or just get through the public library.
 
Mine is kind of over-elaborate (obsessive-compulsive). Whenever I have a few extra bucks kicking around, I'll go to a used bookstore, usually to their literature section. Browsing the top shelf, I'll pick out the three books that interest me the most, then hold on to the one that is cheapest. If I still have money left, I'll go on to the next shelf, and the next, until after a while I've cycled through the entirety of the bookstore, at which point I move on to the next (Halifax has a lot of them).
 
I usually read about a book somewhere first, usually on the web. If I find something that sounds interesting I read reviews and if possible an excerpt. Then if it still sounds interesting I buy it. I try to keep spontaneous purchases down since they are usually more of a wild card and my TBR pile is big enough as it is.
 
Currently I buy all my books online.

When I think I might want to read a book I put it on a list. When I make an order every month or so I buy as many of the books on my list as I can.

The list is a great filter because often when I am ready to buy I don't really want the book anymore.

This forum keeps a fresh supply of books on my list, as do references to other books in books I am currently reading.
 
As I work in a bookstore and am responsible for stocking fiction, usually I have time to find out a lot about a book (reviews online & on paper, e.g.) (Amazon Listmania!!!!) before grabbing it obsessively and carrying it home whispering "my own, my precious" :rolleyes: (Also: free copies from publishers - 95% utter guttertrash, 4% :shrug:):, 1% :D :D :D ) Strange thing is, I can hardly help myself going into bookstores even when I know they have a much worse selection than "mine"... http://home.netcom.com/~toniaizu/d09.html - I have to see what's there!!

Often, obviously, I do my research/listing (long list, short list, very short list) at work, which takes a lot of the mystery out of it. But there's an SF/Fantasy book store in town that has a humongous (sp?) lot we never hear about, so I go there to browse beautifully, and to shop as I beautifully should shop. ;)

All said and done, the main criterium for choosing a book: flip open 3 pages in it randomly. If you like the text your eye falls on in all 3 cases, buy the damned book. After all, one can never have too many books, right? :rolleyes: :D

*mrkgnao*
 
If I have time to kill, and see I book shop, I go in!

However, I am getting better at not impulse purchasing, but remembering titles and going home to request from the Library, or to check on amazon!

If I am going to buy in a shop it is usually that I cannot find the book I want discounted in the shops, so will resist until I get to my local independent book shop.

The indie is the only place I will pay full price!
 
I keep a TBR list of all the books that I want to read, so I usually memorise a few off there and head straight for them in the bookstore - I really don't enjoy browsing because I'm a compulsive buyer and if I do that then the number of books I buy way overshoots my budget. :eek:
 
I only buy used books. I love to leave enough time to go in and browse. I look for titles I recognize from my overly-extensive wish list (1200 items, ack!) or just look around for something that catches my eye. My rule is that I don't spend more than 10 dollars in a trip and try not to spend more than 2-3 on a book unless it's something I've reaaally been wanting for a while.
 
I don't have a set system. I usually read a lot of reviews of a given book and then put it in my amazon "wish-list." Unless I use that option, I'll forget about the book entirely as another good write up on a different book is inevitably churned out.
 
I leave the house with a list of books in my head, as soon as i step foot into the bookshop the list disappears and I come home armed with completely different books. The bookshop owner doesn't help - always piling books into my hands with a "gemmy you just have to read this one, and that one, in fact all of these.":rolleyes:
 
Sometimes I just go cause I am bored, sometimes cause I just read an amazing book that I had borrowed from the library that I just need to have, or sometimes cause I just have to have a certain book.

I suppose there are many reasons that cause me to purchase a book, but I suppose most of the reasons is that I have wanted to get the book in the first place or that it looks like something I might enjoy. I honestly don't know. :eek:

I don't like going according to other people's reviews of a book, but rather on what I feel would be a good book to read; sometimes a review can be deceiving as to how bad or how awful a book might be. A book, which is viewed as something that is a good read, may not be a good read for somebody else; the purchase of a book is a personal thing and the purchase varies from person to person and what they may enjoy. Yes, I do look at reviews at either Chapters.ca or through Amazon.com and sites like this and then make a decision whether or not I am going to read the book.

Sometimes, it's a matter of where a book maybe in the store, but it's also what I am interested at that point in my life. A few years ago, the majority of the fiction that I read was sappy, Christian romance novels, but in the past few years, my tastes have changed and I prefer something that is deeper and more thought prevoking and goes beyond the surface of people's lives.
 
Well if I am actually buying books I either glance at my TBR list before going to the bookstore, or I try to focus on things I have heard about recently that I'd like to read. Browsing is SO much fun but I rarely buy a book I come across just by browsing. Unfortunately I don't always do the research on Amazon, which has led to some not-so-wise purchases perhaps (things I would have been better off just getting from the library).

However, I try not to buy too many books for myself, and put them on my birthday or Christmas list instead. This is because I hardly ever want anything else, and my husband, with his generous nature, is frustrated sometimes by how hard it is to get me something I really want for those occasions :D
 
KristoCat said:
However, I try not to buy too many books for myself, and put them on my birthday or Christmas list instead. This is because I hardly ever want anything else, and my husband, with his generous nature, is frustrated sometimes by how hard it is to get me something I really want for those occasions :D
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I tend to do that too. My uncle gives me lousy presents (even gag gifts) otherwise. Speaking of which, my nephew was suppose to deliver the rest of the books that my uncle got me as a graduation present. It's been a week now. Never trust non-reader teenagers to get your books to you in a timely fashion... *sighs*
 
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