Hello All!
This will be only my opinion on what can be a controversial subject in the book world. I purchase used books. The reasons why are that it makes book purchasing more affordable for me, and that I can find out-of-print books. A reason that would make me sound ecological is that it could be construed as recycling. I know that when I purchase used books that the author doesn't get any royalties, and this is the biggest thing that bothers me, and can make me feel guilty. I want to support authors and the publishing industry, and having books published in PRINT as opposed to just digitally (something that seems to be looming in the future...). So I try to support my favorite authors, and up-and-coming authors by buying them new, and supplement my book collection with decent copies of used books. To me, this is a great help also when trying to fill in series that have been around for awhile, and the series may not be in print in its entirety.
I support used bookstores also--doing so can help the local economy, and while this also sounds good, it's not the only reason I do it. Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan is one of my favorite places to shop, and its owners, Robin and Jamie Agnew, have become very close friends. They are like me, love to connect people with books, and if you've finished one series, they will find another series to keep you going and interested in mysteries. Now that I live 2000+ miles away, I still get their newsletter, and I still buy books from them. Additionally, their store is very cozy, sells new and used books, and holds frequent booksignings.
More local to me now is Bookman's, an Arizona institution, more formally known as Bookman's Entertainment Exchange. Bookman's has 1 store in Flagstaff, 2 in the Phoenix metro area, and 3 in Tucson. They not only sell every kind of book, but also comics, manga, magazines, video games, movies and music. They are wonderful places to spend a short or a long period of time, and come away with some special things that you were looking for, or maybe a surprise that you didn't know you were looking for.
Happy Reading (and shopping)!
Patti
2 comments:
Hey Patti,
I also buy a lot of used books. I go to at least one used book sale a month. These are Friends of the Library sales. I buy used books from Goodwill as well. So I feel that I'm recycling (in a sense, like you said) and they are both for good causes. However, I still buy new books, especially from my favorite authors or if it's a book I really want to read. I would buy a lot more new books if I wasn't so poor...LOL!
Best,
Michelle
Oh, I would buy more if I could, but I can hardly excuse it right now--I'm behind in reading both books I own and library books! Thanks for the comment, Michelle!
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