How do you buy your books?

[nj1]

Until recently I usually bought my books new, the more i've read the less bothered I am about whether a books new or used. Mainly due to there being loads of books I want to read and the cost of buying New is depressing to say the least.
I now find myself looking through second hand book stores aswell as your Waterstones etc.

I was wondering how everyone else gets hold of the books they want?

While searching the web, I found a book store in London, UK, called ' Fantasy Centre', this store has hundreds of Sci/fi + fantansy books and I thought I'd take a look, They say that they are one of the only bookstores in europe dedicated to these types of books. Has anyone else heard of them?
Here's a link to thier site,
Fantasy Centre - Home Page and Site Directory

Thier catalogue is very extensive and some of the older hardbacks are very expensive, most notably a Philip K. Dick and a Jules Verne for £800,wow.
I wish I had those books!

The paper backs are thankfully quite cheap though some are upto £40.
Wish I lived in London

[Reading_fanatic]

I always make a point of going around second hand book store for the books I want (And in doing so have picked up some excellent books at rock bottom prices) but failing that I go to my local University book shop as they sell the books I can't get otherwise at lower prices than most others (As well as being the only ones that can get certain series)

[j. d. worthington]

A mixture, for me. For one thing, a LOT of what I read these days are older books; sometimes things that haven't been in print for a very long time, sometimes where the older edition is more accurate or complete, etc. Plus, I just love the smell of musty old books.

At the same time, there are a lot of newer things I pick up, as well, and certain writers or subjects I'll pick up the book as soon as I'm aware of it and can lay my hands on it. Again, besides, as a lot of these things I'm into are a little esoteric in comparison to the tastes of the general reading populace, if I don't pick them up new, I may never see the darned things again....

[Talysia]

These days, I've been doing a lot of my book shopping in second hand shops and charity shops, although I will buy a book brand new if it's one I really want to read.

[sanityassassin]

I love trawling through second hand booshops and charity shops looking for books I didn't know I wanted, I prefer buying books from smaller independant retailers but it seems pretty much all of them have closed locally including most of my favorite second hand shops.
These days I am loathe to buy new books as I find the prices are getting silly £8 for a small paperback advertised on the back for half the price in the states I find shocking.

[the_faery_queen]

abebooks.com. second hand, or brand new but still cheap. i look them up on amazon first, for a review, then buy them at abe

[iansales]

Ebay is your friend.

[Connavar]

I dont trust in internet stores like Amazon,ebay and stuff. Plus the shipping is murder for us over here.


My fav store in my town is called The Uppsala English Bookshop. A great small store full of paperbacks,HB etc I buy 80% of my books from them. Plus their new HBs and paperbacks is like 20% cheaper than the big chains.

Even if i want a second hand book i cant find in my towns second hand stores, they help find from the web cheapest version of the book im looking for and order it for me.


Call me old fashioned i like the atmosphere of the store, 3,4 people who work there and love reading and they know almost anything you ask them. Plus i have find similer authors to my favs thanks to them when we talk about her favs,which new books we love or dislike etc

There is one other good store that is second hand they have a couple of good shelfs of SF/Fantasy older books.


So i far 80 % of the books i actually buy are new paperbacks or if its a new book like a new Michael Connelly or a new Conn Iggulden then i take the hardback.

I do have though 10 new to me second hand books from bookmooch.

I use mooch to find second hand books i dont find in my town.

[woodsman]

Yeah, I'm with Conn on this, an I hate buying anything I don't have to over t'internet. We miss out on the opportunity to discuss a favourite author with a friendly vendor.

Guess I'm fortunate though in living near several towns with lots of Charity and second hand bookshops.... Still buy a lot from brand new though but mainly Ident guides for Trees, Insects etc, as the most up to date versioin is generally more helpful.

[Nikitta]

Originally Posted by woodsman

Yeah, I'm with Conn on this, an I hate buying anything I don't have to over t'internet. We miss out on the opportunity to discuss a favourite author with a friendly vendor.

I've been to several physical bookshops, both big and small, regular and specialised SFF-bookshops, but not one of the vendors I met seemed to have time or the inclination to discuss books, so I wonder where you find that kind of vendor.

[woodsman]

haha well, I generally know the people. The manager of the local Waterstones lives in the village....

But yeah it's some and some I have come across some very anti-social vendors but just as many pleasent ones. Another bonus is the random conversations you can get into with people browsing the same Isle/Section about likes and dislikes etc. It was this type of conversation that got me into both Jordan and Asimov.

[Nikitta]

For me it's a mix of new and used, online and physical bookshop.

It's really nice to browse through a physical bookshop, especially one for used books where you can allow yourself to follow an impulse more easily due to the cheap price, but if I know exactly what book(s) I want, then online is often the best and cheapest option for me.

[andrew.v.spencer]

I like to support book stores where I can, in the same way I try and buy what I need from the smaller local stores near me in Cumbria.

I tend to avoid second hand bookstores as I feel they're doing the author out of business and doing bookstores out of business.

However, I often find myself shopping at Amazon owing to the range of books available. Unless the book store is very large I find it will have book 2 and 5 of a series, or only one book by an author I like.

[woodsman]

I suppose online is much more convenient and things are almost never out of stock, in that, you can get it from one site or another.

[iansales]

If I'm after something specific and it's difficult to find, then I use the Web. Online stores are also cheaper than high street ones, so I tend to purchase new books from Amazon rather than Waterstone's. But I do enjoy trawling through secondhand book shops, and occasionally I find something I want. Best place for secondhand sf books, though, are dealers' rooms at cons.