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Monday, May 10, 2010

How do you buy your books?

I was thinking about this question the other day when there was a delay on Amazon in getting the latest release of a book that a friend of mine wrote. I, however, went directly to a Barnes & Noble (I love Christmas gift cards) and bought the book immediately. This started me thinking, and I decided to take an inventory of how I buy my books. Here’s what I discovered.

Over 67% of the books I bought last year came directly from the authors at signings. Yikes! I guess I got out a lot last year :-) I bought 23% of my books from a bookstore. Another 3% were bought from epublishers (I’m very new to this), and 7% were ordered online. This includes every book I bought for myself, not as gifts. The books generally fell into two categories, romances and writing books.

Somehow, I don’t think this is the norm. But I am curious and was hoping to get a feel from other romance readers on how they buy their books. How do you buy your books? Do you buy your romances differently than you buy your other books? Please, do tell.


P.S. Not all percentages are exact as my math grades in school were never as good as my English grades :-)


  1. I buy 75% of my books online about 30% of those are ebooks and I buy the last 25% from authors I know at signings. Here's an odd factoid--I'll buy an ebook from someone I don't know vs a paperback, but if I can't find the ebook I'll check the book out of the library.

  2. Hi Linda,

    That is interesting. So for you, new authors are ebook or library book. I get the feeling you like to have your books delivered to you rather than having to get in the car, go to the store, and buy them. Thanks for sharing.

  3. I can't do math, but I think I buy about 50/50 store vs. online. I love bookstores for browsing and trying books that catch my eye.

    I go online when I know what book I want, I buy that specific book, and I'm done. This can either be a paperback or ebook, depending on what I'm in the mood for.

    I buy 95% my books at Borders, B&N (print and e-) and Poisoned Pen (this could be online or in the store). I love Poisoned Pen because I can order online and then go down to the store and pick it up--where I browse for more books. (PP also ships.) I buy all my ebooks from B&N (or specific publisher websites like Ellora's Cave).

    My husband's book buying habits are a little different: He buys almost everything in print from stores--he very rarely shops online. He also uses the library more than I do (but he's prudent in how many books he takes out and reads them all quickly. I always check out too many, don't have time to read them, and have to pay a fine. Every time).

  4. Hi Jennifer,

    Very interesting book buying habits. I think it's great you support the stores, but also enjoy the convenience of home delivery. I didn't know Poisoned Pen did that. I wonder if other bookstores do.

    So your DH is not into buying books online. How interesting. I agree with you that there is something great about browsing through a bookstore. I get lost in them! As for the library, I hope your fines didn't add up to more than the price of the books. Then again, I guess it's good to support your local library, right?

  5. Over the past year, probably 50% of my books came from yard sales, used book stores or Costco. The rest are a mix of Amazon, assorted ebooks, and brick-and-mortar bookstores. I used to haunt Borders, but after purchasing a Sony Reader, they don't have as much appeal. For some reason, book signings rarely caught my fancy.

  6. Hi CF,

    So you must read a lot of books in electronic format. I'm still trying to decide which device to buy. They all have Pros and Cons, or maybe that's just my excuse for waiting for the prices to come down :-)

  7. Hi Alexis,
    Prior to owning a Kindle, I usually frequented a used book store a couple of blocks away (probably 90% of my purchases). After reading them, the used bookstore would buy them back at 50% of what I paid, making it very cheap to read dozens of books a month.
    I belong to a book club (same one for over 20 years now) where I follow my favorite authors and buy hardcover, new releases only(about 5% of my books). I keep these books and reread them prior to a new book in the series many times.
    The remaining books I would buy at a bookstore or at author signings. They tended to be more "work related" or academic, but not always.

    My husband bought me a Kindle for Christmas...that has changed my buying habits significantly. I have discovered that you can fit literally hundreds of ebooks on this tiny device and take all of them with me everywhere! In addition, my credit card points can be cashed in for gift certificates to buy the ebooks. Consequently, now, about 95% of my books are ebooks bought online, but really at no cost to me because I used reward points.
    This has affected what I use my credit card for as well (everything, instead of some things) in order to accumulate points.

    Free is a pretty good deal for new releases...

  8. Wow Ann! It sounds like you have a great deal going there. Unfortunately, I save my rewards for air travel ;-) I definitely want to get into ebook versions, but trying to decide on a device. I would probably still buy a good percentage though at bookstores. Maybe book stores should have connections set-up so if you are browsing you can immediately download into your device. I so love browsing :-)

  9. Hi Alexis, the only books I buy in paper are at book signings or at my writers' group meetings (about 10%). And I save these to read on vacation or at the beach.

    Most of the books I buy are e-books, and I buy them when sites have sales, or when friends have e-releases (60%). And my newest thing is audio books. I joined the Audible club and I download books to iTunes then onto my iPod and listen when I'm working out and at night in bed. So, let's see what % is left - 30%.

    While I love reading a book with my eyes, they get so tired by the end of the day, I don't want to strain them, so audio books will play heavily in my future.

    And like Jennifer, my hubby only buys books - usually hardcover first editions at authors' book signings. He has expensive taste! I downloaded an audio book for him yesterday and loaded it onto his Nano as a surprise. He just stared at me for a few seconds then said, "Huh." We'll see if he ever listens to it.

    Thanks for compiling this, Alexis. It's interesting to see what everyone chooses!

  10. Hi Laura,

    So you are now into audio books. That's a great idea, especially for us writers who spend so much time in front of the computer! I can see you have definitely embraced the technical world of books. Gee, you're making me feel a bit old. Do what does that say about our menfolk? ;-)

  11. Hi Alexis,

    I love the smell and clean crisp feel to a new book. So buying them new would be my first choice. Since I read so many books that is not always feasible. I buy most of my new books from authors I know, then order used online for my writing and reference books and the majority of books I read I find in the used book sale at my local library. I literally buy at least $5 worth of books every week there. They range in price from .50 to $2. So I get tons of books for cheap. The only downside to this is I have so many books and such a love affair for them that I have a very hard time selling or giving any of them away when I'm finished reading:)

  12. Hi Jennifer,

    I agree with you. There is nothing like a brand new book to read. I used to buy tons of books used as well, mostly the classics. If I had one Jane Austen book, I had to have them all! One thing cured me though . . . moving. Yup, every 6 years. Forced me to give away so many of those wonderful books :-( But the good news is they found homes with others who could appreciate them.