Books?

[thistlechaser]

This is an odd question, but I'm sort of out of the loop. Where do most of you get the books you read? Do you buy them or get them at the library?

I've gone back to my old ways and I'm flying through books. Luckily I brought a lot of them with me from NY, but I've read them all already... I could just keep buying new ones from Amazon, but... I balk at the prices. I hate to sound cheap, but I remember when a paperback book costs $1.95 on average. I recall when the price went up to $2.95 it still seemed fair. $3.95 worried me, how much higher would it go? At $4.95 I was already digging my heels in and heading to the library more. $5.95 seemed impossible to believe. Why would anyone pay $6 for a throwaway book? Now we're up to, what, $7.95 for most paperbacks? And $20+ for hardcovers? *sigh*

I'm not opposed to buying books (especially since I have no idea where the library is around here and I like owning books that I liked), but is there a better way? What do those of you who tear through books do? (I'm somehow finishing averaged sized books in about a week. Where's the time come from? Sleep, I suppose.)

Comments

[firebyrd.livejournal.com]

Half.com has been my latest and greatest discovery in the quest for more books at cheaper prices. I don't know how the prices are on newer books, but I've been able to find good to almost perfect condition older books for under $2. Gotta add in shipping, but even then, I got four books for about $16, conveniently half the price of stuff in stores now.

[triplem.livejournal.com]

A good many of mine come from the school's library. Especially my Redwall books, which I've gone back to reading. What the high school library doesn't have, the public library sometimes has, but not often. When it comes to metaphysical books and things like that, though, I have to either borrow from friends or stop at Barnes & Noble, which is the closest bookstore to me. My town sucks like that.

I like the library a lot because I tend to read a book once, then get tired of it, unless it's really really good. The latter kind I buy at the above store.