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Original poster

am i being unreasonable to wonder why people buy new books

91 replies

LucyEllensmummy · 06/03/2009 21:24

I buy all my books from charity shops. Occasionally i will buy new but i have been stung a few times when i spend out on something and end up not liking it.

Now i buy second hand, it means i dont have to be so choosey and often find some surprises.

OP posts:
BlackLetterDay · 06/03/2009 22:19

I'm not organised enough for the library and usually end up with fines higher than the price of the book . I'll stick to second hand shops and amazon, don't have to worry about scribbles or sticky handprints then.

UnquietDad · 06/03/2009 22:19

The books in charity shops are the ones people don't want any more. I once went off on one with rage (after putting the phone down) about a fellow writer who had bought my book from a sodding charity shop.

southeastastra · 06/03/2009 22:20

my dp buys tons of new books and reads them carefully. if i read them i usually break the spine so he had to replace them

ScottishMummy · 06/03/2009 22:20

my local library is staffed by lemon sucking burds.a chilly wind blows

no thanks

Habbibu · 06/03/2009 22:25

Just because one person doesn't want/like a book, and so gives it away, doesn't automatically make it a bad book, though, does it?

Original poster
LucyEllensmummy · 06/03/2009 22:25

blackletter that is sooo me, i ended up with a £30 pound fine once for childrens books i had put on my ticket, i could have bought the books six times over

OP posts:
LGoodLife · 06/03/2009 22:26

I but loads of books second-hand, it annoys dh that there are piles everywhere. I just wish I had more time to read them. Maybe if I stopped mnetting...

RustyBear · 06/03/2009 22:26

Wonders whether to admit to buying one of UQD's books from a second-hand shop (but only because I couldn't find it new) And I have just bought another one new....

UnquietDad · 06/03/2009 22:27

Rusty, I'm not angry at Normal Punters who buy books from a second-hand shop (books are over-priced anyway) but I think writers should stick together and support each other.

Original poster
LucyEllensmummy · 06/03/2009 22:29

UQD, what have you written?? lol that is too cheeky i know

OP posts:
tigerdriver · 06/03/2009 22:31

Habbibu, don't think you should be sniffy about not wanting books any more. I just couldn't keep all the books I read, I keep some to re-read, but I like to spread the joy and not clutter up my house!

Habbibu · 06/03/2009 22:38

Don't think I was being sniffy? I was just responding to Cote and UQD's assertions. Or am I completely missing your point? Am doing that a lot today...

tigerdriver · 06/03/2009 22:53

Sorry Habbibu, didn't read this thread properly.

Think I am being oversensitive to "don't want any more". People in my book group say that they can't part with a book. I can - don't have the space but also I can always find a way of re-reading if I want to.

Anyway, we all love books or we wouldn't be posting here.

SalBySea · 06/03/2009 22:59

I dont really like the old book musty smell. I give my old books to charity shops though for people who do, does that excuse me from buying books new?

anyway I am doing the book world a service by buying new as authors would have to go back to their day jobs if noone bought new, and publishers would cease to exist

UnquietDad · 06/03/2009 23:24

lucyellensmummy, if you CAT me I will send you a link to my website. I don't ever put it on here as it would mean I am no longer anonymous!

Saltire · 07/03/2009 12:10

I buy new if I have spare cash, or book tokens. However, I also use "Read it swap it", which is a great way of reading books that you might not find in a charity shop, or of passing on ones I have finished with.
I do have a lot of books that I keep though, piles of them everywhere

brimfull · 07/03/2009 12:11

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

winnie09 · 07/03/2009 12:29

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

DrTrillianAstra · 07/03/2009 12:35

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!

TheButterflyEffect · 07/03/2009 12:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Notalone · 07/03/2009 12:39

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

LightShinesInTheDarkness · 07/03/2009 14:16

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.

FlossieT · 07/03/2009 14:18

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.

pagwatch · 07/03/2009 14:21

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.

SalLikesCoffee · 07/03/2009 14:38

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!