Your Pre-eReader Book Buying Preferences?

[astra]

Originally Posted by rhadin

I'm not sure why the choice was 1-2 hardcovers as opposed to hardcovers without limit

I asked myself the same question.
The answer probably is

Imagine this scenario: you've just received an unexpected windfall of $50/£30/€35

I used to buy about 2 hardbacks every months.

[Sweetpea]

Another Other here.

I'd go to the regular bookshop, check if there were books I wanted to have, would buy them in hard cover, books I only wanted to read, paperback, and then off to the second-hand shop and see if there were books I wanted available.

The difference now is:

I won't buy paperbacks anymore. If I want to have a book, I'll buy the hard cover, or special edition, or anything else nice and fancy. And I still visit that second-hand store, and buy those books I always wanted to have but can't find electronically. Or, if I simply want to have them (even though I might have them electronically)

[Pomtroll]

I used to buy lots of new paperbacks & a few hardcovers a month. I did buy some from the marked down table at B&N (though there are never marked down paperbacks). I seldom went to our used books store because it was so dusty & hard to navigate.

It seems I'm doing a lot more bargain hunting since I got me e-readers. And very happy about it. I've gone over my credit card statement (one I have for my e-reader purchases) & find I'm spending less per month than I did when buying paper.

[HistoryWes]

I bought a lot of hardcovers-- authors who I really liked, though I always waited until prices had fallen or they were on sale. I also bought a lot of paperbacks for quick reading. Since I switched to ebooks (I've only bought 1 book in the last 18 months, except textbooks), my habits have changed a bit. I'm still buying books from authors I really like, though I still wait until prices drop. I'm reading many more new authors and free classics now though.

[bevdeforges]

As a native anglophone living in a non-anglophone country, almost my only alternative for English language reading material was binge buying when I was back in the States, or buying 3 to 4 paperbacks at a time from Amazon in the UK (to save on shipping charges).

With the airlines limiting me to one checked suitcase these days on international flights (ok, I'm just too cheap to pay for the second bag) and the simple fact that I'm no longer going back to the US to visit on a regular basis, my options were getting limited until I got my e-reader.

[lenseman]

Before e-readers I would usually purchase 3 or 4 books at a time. Sometimes that meant walking into a store and buying them and sometimes it meant shopping online.

The way I choose books in a store is different from the way I pick them out online. When I go into a book store I usually have a few books in mind that I want to get. I would get two from my list and then look for one or two from authors that I did not know but had material that seemed interesting to me from a quick skim through of the pages. When I shop for books online I usually get books based on crowdsourced suggestions. For me that means lesser known authors tend to get overlooked.

[Sydney's Mom]

I was a binge buyer. I would go into a bookstore (because I was with someone who wanted to go in, I knew better) and buy a combination of paperbacks and hardbacks, usually setting me back $100. Luckily, I learned to stay out of book stores, and so I limited my visits to right before vacations.

[OtterBooks]

I would (still do) pick one or several books I wanted to read, then shop for the best price for a good condition hardcover or trade-pb. I would look for "like new" used copies mostly, and if the price was within a buck or two I would buy new.

When I worked at a used bookstore I would go home every night with several books because of the huge employee discount, which depending on the manager on duty would be upwards of 90%.

[Nyssa]

I've never really seen the appeal of hardcovers. I find paperbacks to be a much more comfortable read. That being said we do have a collection of hardcovers, but they are far out numbered by the paperbacks overflowing various spaces throughout our house.

[boxcorner]

I got my reader at the beginning of November and I still buy just as many paper books as before, usually a mixture of paperback and hardback non-fiction, most often from PostScript.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Hatgirl

But is this just me? Before they bought their eReaders, did everyone else on the board mainly buy their paperbacks and hardbacks new, as publishers seem to think? Poll time!

At different time in my life I've done just about all options. As a student, it was definitely second-hand and bargain basement books. When I had more money (& had read more), I bought new paperbacks. Occasionally I would buy a new hardback in a series I really liked.

And now I pretty much only buy ebooks.

[Elflaede]

I would always buy my favourite authors in hardback if possible but I was also lethal for going onto Amazon for a paperback splurge every once in a while. I could end up with 8 or so ordered in one go!

[sakura-panda]

Originally Posted by teadonkey

I've heard this term before, but I don't get it. What is new release Tuesday? I've never noticed Tuesday having MORE books than any other day?

All the new entertainment type stuff comes out on Tuesdays -- I don't know why. Books, movies, games, CDs, etc. My husband and I check out the ads on Sunday and then go to the store on Tuesday to get the titles we want -- they are usually cheapest that first week, Tuesday through Saturday.

I used to buy the trade paperbacks from Target or the local bookstore -- not the itty bitty mass market books that I find not enjoyable to read, but the ones that are almost the same size as hardcover, only cheaper -- and the occasional hardcover from the warehouse clubs.

I'm not sure how "paperback" is defined for this poll, so I decided it would be safer to not vote that way. Based on the "3-4", it probably is the ones I do like, but I wanted to be sure before I voted.

I prefer to not buy used. The independent bookstore is more convenient for me than bargain/liquidation stores, so I usually ended up there when I was in the mood for a new book, if I hadn't seen anything at Target, which used to be on the way (the bookstore has since moved, but I haven't been to the new locatioin since buying my ebook reader).

[screwballl]

There is a local book store where half their inventory is basically $1 books, all shapes sizes and types (paper and hard covers). I still stop by there on occasion but most of my reading now is free or cheap books online.

[Crusader]

Mostly second hand books until I found a great online seller. Now it's about 2-3 paperbacks per month.