Where do you get your books from?

[Amidala]

I tend to get mine from junk sales, charity shops, anything like that I love
Ohh and I bagged a few bargains off ebay I got captain corellis mandolin for £1.50!
Oh and I got the gormenghast trilogy for £3.50 I am absolutely delighted with it,
It arrived this morning
I know what I am doing this summer

[knivesout]

Second hand bookstores account for the bulk of my purchases, although I also do a monthly round of the good first hand stores in town. In addition, I have ordered directly from small presses, as well as from Amazon and more recently from a specialty sf/f bookstore online. I've got to say its the second hand stores that have been the source of my best finds!!!

[polymorphikos]

Ditto Knivesout.

[rune]

I get most of my books from Amazon now. I am a member of the Fantasy Book club but found I couldnt afford to get them from there anymore.

I dont fancy buying from ebay as I dont trust the condition the books may be in and there isnt any good 2nd hand book shops that sell fantasy in my area

[dwndrgn]

Wherever I can get them

I check out the one second-hand bookstore in town every once in a while but it seems that few fantasy/scifi readers use the place as they have the same old stuff every time I go. I keep hope alive though and continue to check it out.

A great deal of my reading material is from the library - nice and cheap!

I also get quite a few gift certificates each year to amazon and barnes and noble so purchase there too. Just made a purchase from barnes and noble, now I have to wait a week or so , but the library now has four of the books ready that I had on hold (not I Am Legend yet though) so hopefully I can get there tonight to pick them up.

[Devillishgirl]

I get several books a year as gifts for my birthday or Christmas. Beyond that, I usually order mine on Amazon. I avoid bookstores because once I'm in one, I'm a goner. I cannot leave without buying myself at least one, if not more, books.

[Sirathiel]

For me it's either as a gift (following my wish list, just to make sure I do like the book), or I order them in a bookstore. Yes, order! I prefer to read in the original language, i.e. English in most of the cases.

The library of my home town has not been able to satisfy my needs in books for quite some time and now they have started to collect fees... With what they offer, I think that an outrage.

On the other hand, this French library I'm currently 'raiding' is quite good. And it doesn't charge fees from people under 25.

[The Master™]

I get mine from Waterstones, Borders (book shops) and Amazon (online)...

Don't think I've ever bought anything from second hand book shops or markets or jumble sales... I tend to want the books in good mint condition... If they get damaged, then I know it is me that has done it - and none of the pages are missing or damaged!!!

Guess I'm just picky!!!

[littlemissattitude]

The library is my most common source for books. It's getting frustrating, though; the branch in my town just doesn't have much I want anymore, and I don't really like driving into Fresno to use any of the branches or the main library (especially that unless you go very early or very late, it costs to park at the main library).

Then there are used bookstores and used book sales. Unlike The Master, I don't mind buying used books at all. In fact, I've gotten to prefer them, so long as there are no actual pages missing (and truthfully, I've found that more a problem buying off the bargain shelves at Barnes & Noble than I ever have in getting used books - never had a used book missing pages, but it has happened two or three times when I've bought books new but off the bargain shelves). I can't remember the last time I bought a new book at a bookstore. No, that's not true - I bought two Tim Powers books last year around this time, and at that I had to order one of them because they didn't have it in stock at the book store. The only reason I bought those was because I couldn't get them through the library and none of the used book stores I have access to had them in stock.

[I, Brian]

I'm a snob in that if I want a specific title, I'll buy brand new. However, my reading volume hasn;t been very high for some time, which probably accounts to why I can afford to.

I spent a while buying lots of cheap books from clearance centers - selling brand new but end-of-line works from publishers - but when I need a title, I buy it.

[knivesout]

Actually second hand books can be in quite good condition. Some of the books I've picked up second hand seem as if they have never been read at all. I also like having older editions of books because the cover art of past decades fascinates me immensely.

[dwndrgn]

Originally Posted by knivesout

Actually second hand books can be in quite good condition. Some of the books I've picked up second hand seem as if they have never been read at all. I also like having older editions of books because the cover art of past decades fascinates me immensely.

knivesout, you must be buying my old books! People laugh at me because when I buy a book and I've read it, it looks as if it hasn't been read at all (paperbacks). I suppose I'm just wierd like that.

[libraswords]

I like paperback compact books the best!
I get my books online at Barnes and Noble book store
here in the US!

[sea_plunder]

I tend to buy books from waterstones and borders when i have the money but if not i always go the library because its...free

[Myla Starchild]

Most of my books come from Waterstones or WHSmith, and I get heaps of comics from Forbidden Planet.