am i being unreasonable to wonder why people buy new books

I have a close contact in a children's book publisher who can get me loads of stuff free - but I still often buy their stuff new and at full price, just because I know what a tricky business they're in, and how if they don't make sales, they can't publish good stuff.

Because buying books is a fantasticly fun, exciting, sexy, spiritual, experience.

I ADORE buying new books.

I had a very short time of only buying charity shop books...but found very little I liked.

I hate buying a book that looks scruffy, I love getting home with brand new books and arranging them on my book shelves...mmm...love Waterstones

on amazon you can read a bit of the books - and buy them second hand - so i do both.

i give mine to charity shops if thats a sweetner

I buy new books because I'm impatient and when I spot something I want to read I want it NOW. And new books are not that expensive, especially on Amazon.

I also buy second hand from charity shops and visit the library regularly.

A lot of the books I buy new land up at my local library or charity shop for resell.

Some of the translated fiction (usually crime) that I enjoy is too obscure to end up in charity shops or the library, so I have to buy it new anyway.

Thank you ladyglencora! I do think this point is often missed...

I buy loads of secondhand books, but you do have to consider how authors are going to make a living if nobody ever buys new books. They need to eat too, you know.

I love buying used books. With old books, the paper feels more soft and the binding has aged and it has a real feel of history to it.

And if you're buying classic books (rather than last year's best-seller), the dustjacket, binding etc are often far more interesting. Often you can pick up an attractive hardback with a fab retro dustjacket for less than the price of the modern paperback.

I never buy new, unless I am too impatient to wait or have a book voucher to use up.

Sal - she does have her uses!

I have discovered lots of now favourite authors through swapping books. Had never heard of them before so would not have picked them up in a bookshop.

Have since bought other books by them new.

Rofl. What a nice (and courageous) MIL you have!

Sal - it always seems to be the same librarian on the desk when I sneak in to deposit the pile of 6 month old books, she always gives me a hard stare!

Then we had a house fire and some libary books were destroyed. I chickened out and sent my MIL in to pay for them!

We buy second hand most of the time, and sometimes I've been pleasantly surprised by an author I wouldn't have bought new. I do still buy the odd new one. It's a huge treat for me and I save it for favourite author's latest. I might buy a new hardback for dh's birthday or xmas, but generally we both prefer paperbacks.

lol jack. I get so completely nervous as I step into the library when books are late... Almost feel like sticking some money to the books, dropping them and running for my life!

When I was on maternity leave I used to go to the library often and take out dvd's for my ds. I think I gave their finances a considerable boost!

Sal- I am always taking my kids library books back late, I will get myself blacklisted soon!

I swap books with workmates and friends, then when everyone I know nearby has read them, I take them over with me when i visit my mum who lives in Spain. English language books are like gold dust over there.

She then reads them then passes them on in the various book swap schemes run by the local expats.

A really good way of getting maximum mileage from a book.

I love nothing better than a "new" book (as in something I haven't read before, whether charity shop, amazon, wherever).

Wrt new books - for the price of 3 drinks you could have something brilliant to mull over for days. So as far as the money is concerned, if I have it available, I don't think it's wasting money to buy new books. I don't have a lot of time to spend in shops - only ever really on weekends, when I'd much rather spend it with ds than in shops anyway. Amazon ends up being my favorite treat, and I feel less guilty thinking someone has to buy new to make it worthwhile for writers.

I'm also forever late with library books, and end up feeling so guilty when I eventually take it back late that I think it'll be better for all the other library users if I stop taking them out altogether!

I have way too many books and it is a real guilty plaesure. I go to the library and i buy second hand but nothing beats an hour in a bookshop and then opening a beautiful pristine book with a cup of coffeee and a curl up on the sofa.
Dh is always complaing about how full the shelves are but he doesn't know I make regluar trips to donate at the charity shops.

Not all books in charity shops are bad. Some people just have too many books and are good at being ruthless; if you live or work in a literary sort of area, chances are the shops will be full of review copies that didn't quite fit the publication profile; and reading taste is highly variable.

I'm trying to buy fewer new books as I just have too many anyway, but will buy new:

• if there is something I REALLY want to read and can't wait either for the library to order it in (can take weeks)

• if it's in a multibuy offer with others I want to read

• if it's US-published and tricky to get through the library system (my library has ordered US books in for me before, but it's a bit hit and miss)

• if I borrowed the book from the library first and loved it.

If no one bought new the industry would be in an even worse state than it is.

YABU - without people buying new books, neither authors nor booksellers nor agents would make any money, and the only things published would be guaranteed best-sellers, there would be no money for publishing less well-known or new writers.

I have some authors that I love so will always buy their books brand new (from Tesco - so not really full price) and some authors who are a bit hit and miss I will buy from a charity shop. I am a student now so most of my books are second hand , there are only 3 or 4 authors that I have to have brand new

I don't have space to keep all the books I would like to keep, so charity shops do get some of my books that are not 'bad' books, just not quite good enough to remain in my limited collection.

I buy a lot of books second-hand, but more foten on the internet than at charity shops as I like having the choice.

If I am waiting for the next book in a series then of course I will buy it new (even in hardback, which is more expesive and takes up more space) because I want to read it now!

Books by favourite authors which I've been waiting for I will buy new if I have the money/gift tokens at the time. I will also buy some cookery & gardening books new I will buy anything second hand and I also use the library on a weekly basis. I lend books but expect them to be returned and get very annoyed if they are not. I am hopeless at getting rid of books and only ever get rid of books I absolutely loathe. Amongst my stacks of books that clutter up my life is a large stack of books I've started but not finished because I convince myself that I will get through them one day

I buy new and secondhand.I use charity shops,amazon used ,and I buy when they are 3 for 2.