Have you ever purchased a book after borrowing it from library? - Page 3

Poppaea · 05-13-2026, 03:43 PM

No.
But I might have nicked one from a bookshelf in a hotel bar once. I was totally baffled to see this particular book on their clearly only for decorative purposes bookshelf and after a few cocktails, well... ��

Yapyap · 05-14-2026, 03:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

No. There was no ebook, and after reading some reviews I decided I didn’t want to read it enough to bother with a paper version.

Maybe Yapyap has read it?

Nope. Not something I’m interested in at all (although I’ve vaguely heard of Disco Elysium).

DrNefario · 05-14-2026, 05:07 AM

Back in the day I first encountered some of my favourite series via the library - Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series, Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series - and when I later came to collect them I did backfill the ones I'd read from the library.

Nowadays I doubt I'd do the same. It's rare for me to buy a book I've already read, especially just for completism. If I have some specific desire to reread it and I no longer own it, then sure, but I'm not collecting ebooks just for the sake of it.

The one thing I have done recently is buy books I've borrowed via Kindle Unlimited or Prime Reading if they go on sale before I've read them. That's different because it is still costing me money for KU/PR and I know that I only have limited time on the service, so if I can offload a book cheaply then it is probably worth it.

issybird · 05-14-2026, 08:42 AM

I should have answered no. The physical book world of decades ago when part of it was the having is so very different from the digital book world of today that what I did then has no bearing on what I do now. I'm different, too, for that matter. Not only did I reread back then and I no longer do, I don't want the stuff anymore, not even estuff.

Solitaire1 · 05-14-2026, 06:30 PM

Sometimes I will buy a book that I had borrowed from a Library if it one that I really enjoyed and I want to always have it available. However, I don't often visit the Library, and often it is more for audiobooks and music rather than books.

Related: Sometimes I repurchase books I already have because it is in a more convenient format. As an example, Sometimes I purchase a trade paperback containing comic book stories I already have (like Y - The Last Man) because it is more convenient than locating the single issues.

shalym · 05-15-2026, 10:54 AM

So...I have an interesting one happening now. My daughter bought a paper version of a book, really really loved it and tried to talk me into buying it. (I only read e-books now, so her loaning her copy to me isn't an option) The book is from an author I'm not familiar with, and so I wasn't willing to pay full price for the e-book ($14.99). She borrowed the digital version from the library and sent it to my Kindle.

She was right, and I will probably buy a copy of it if/when it goes on sale because it's one that I can see myself re-reading...and even if it doesn't go on sale, if I don't own it yet by the time I want to re-read it I will pay full price.

Shari

issybird · 05-15-2026, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shalym

So...I have an interesting one happening now. My daughter bought a paper version of a book, really really loved it and tried to talk me into buying it. (I only read e-books now, so her loaning her copy to me isn't an option) The book is from an author I'm not familiar with, and so I wasn't willing to pay full price for the e-book ($14.99). She borrowed the digital version from the library and sent it to my Kindle.

She was right, and I will probably buy a copy of it if/when it goes on sale because it's one that I can see myself re-reading...and even if it doesn't go on sale, if I don't own it yet by the time I want to re-read it I will pay full price.

Shari

Love this. How gratifying that your daughter knows your tastes so well, to the extent of pushing when she meets resistance, and that you can love the same books!

Sirtel · 05-15-2026, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

Love this. How gratifying that your daughter knows your tastes so well, to the extent of pushing when she meets resistance, and that you can love the same books!

Yes. No one among my closer family reads books at all - neither my parents, my sister, her daughters nor their husbands and sons were/are really interested in book reading. They don't want to know anything about ereaders either.

Recently I recommended trying audiobooks to my sister. I don't listen to them myself, but as she likes listening to podcasts I figured maybe she'll take to audiobooks too.

issybird · 05-15-2026, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Yes. No one among my closer family reads books at all - neither my parents, my sister, her daughters nor their husbands and sons were/are really interested in book reading. They don't want to know anything about ereaders either.

There were a couple of series my father read enthusiastically when they came out and I dismissed them as not of interest to me. And then I tried both of them starting about ten years ago, long after he was dead, and absolutely loved them. It's a huge regret that I didn't share them with him.

haertig · 05-15-2026, 04:14 PM

Yes. That's exactly how I used K.U. for years. I would check out books from K.U. with the intended purpose being spot reading samples in different places in the book, not reading the entire book. Much like Amazons "Look Inside" website feature where you can read a little of the book to see if you like it. Except those Look Inside things sometimes don't even get you to the book text - you're only reading the acknowledgements and table of contents. Useless.

So I used K.U. to filter books (the "library loan" part of the process) and I made a list of ones that I might want to buy after reading parts of them. I would usually buy them at full price later, not waiting for sales too much, because many of those K.U. books are dirt cheap to start with. I would usually wait for K.U. to go on sale or sometimes I'd make use of a free trial that came with other Amazon purchases. K.U. at normal price would not be a good fit for my "book preview" use, but a K.U. free trial or sale for $1.99 for 3 months was useful for my purposes. They used to have a lot of free trials or cheap promo purchases of K.U. But that dried up, and then K.U. went away for me. K.U. is good for fast readers, but since I'm not that, it was cheaper for me to pay $1.99 for a book outright rather than subscribe to K.U. at regular price - I'd pay more to rent a book through K.U. than to buy it outright, given my slow reading speed. But taking K.U. at a free trial or discounted price, and using it to do a bunch of book previews, was something worthwhile to me. But now that D&T is gone, I have zero need to preview Amazon books (since I won't buy any that I can't download and DeDRM), so I no longer have any need for K.U. as a "library loan substitute".

Mine was probably a "special case" for the library loan -> purchase question asked about in this thread.

Volfer · 05-20-2026, 01:51 AM

I have purchased three books that I first listened to the audiobook versions, borrowed from the library. I loved the audio versions and couldn't get them out of my mind. After these three audiobooks, I purchased all the books I could find by the authors, paper- used & new, and ebook versions and one audiobook version.

They were all very different from each other. Two of them, as the stories unfolded and I thought about them, I felt that I may have seen something there that the narration didn't quite pick up, especially near the end. I heard them through the narrator's voice, not necessarily my own voice and wanted to actually read them to see where that would take me. They were A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole and Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow.

I also purchased Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene, paper copy and audiobook, after listening to the borrowed audiobook. The audio book has spot-on voice for the characters and great fun to listen to, with perfect music clips between chapters. At first I was annoyed by the music, but soon found it to be a perfect accompaniment to the story, the icing on the cake. Then purchased the audiobook version and keep a clip from the music on my phone and listen to it often.

Perhaps this was too much information in response to the voting process. I don't usually comment, but couldn't not say more as I thought about these specific books. There have been others, but not like these three or with the audiobook twist to the question. Just never expected audiobooks could be this good and still wonder if I'd have loved the books as much had I not heard them first.

I hope I will know how to actually make a post here!

Sirtel · 05-20-2026, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Volfer

I hope I will know how to actually make a post here!

Your post is perfectly fine and it was interesting to read. Nothing wrong with it.

Volfer · 05-20-2026, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Your post is perfectly fine and it was interesting to read. Nothing wrong with it.

Happy that you found it interesting Sirtel. I always want to know what people like about their books and read a lot of reviews hoping to find one that rings a bell!

issybird · 05-21-2026, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Volfer

Two of them, as the stories unfolded and I thought about them, I felt that I may have seen something there that the narration didn't quite pick up, especially near the end. I heard them through the narrator's voice, not necessarily my own voice

This, to my mind, is the biggest drawback to audiobooks. Don't get me wrong; I love audiobooks for all the obvious reasons, but it's why I don't think listening to audiobooks is reading. I know; them's fightin' words. But for me reading (and this includes Braille) is the direct interaction of the author and the reader; it doesn't include a third party interpretation. I'm not even saying that might not make the book even better, just that it's not reading.

Quote:

I also purchased Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene, paper copy and audiobook, after listening to the borrowed audiobook. The audio book has spot-on voice for the characters and great fun to listen to

Just chiming in to add that that is a wonderful audiobook!

Rbneader · 05-22-2026, 04:59 PM

I feel similarly about audiobooks. They're an interpretation and adaptation, just less obviously so than a show or movie. Great for people who need or like them, the more formats the merrier and I know a lot of people who prefer hearing to reading. But they're not my thing.

On the poll, I've both purchased books I read at the library to have my own copy, and also purchased sequels in a series after starting it at the library. At least 12 books over the past year. So much for publishers and authors who whine about how libraries are piracy.

View Poll Results: Have you ever purchased a book after borrowing it from library?
Yes, at full price	28	44.44%
Yes, but it was on sale	27	42.86%
Yes, but in a a different format (physical/digital/audiobook)	22	34.92%
No	8	12.70%
Other	6	9.52%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 63. You may not vote on this poll

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05-13-2026, 03:43 PM	#31
Poppaea Lucifer's Bat Posts: 2,579 Karma: 20638583 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Earth/Berlin Device: Kobo Libra Colour	No. But I might have nicked one from a bookshelf in a hotel bar once. I was totally baffled to see this particular book on their clearly only for decorative purposes bookshelf and after a few cocktails, well... ��

05-14-2026, 05:07 AM	#33
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,283 Karma: 12083538 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	Back in the day I first encountered some of my favourite series via the library - Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series, Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series - and when I later came to collect them I did backfill the ones I'd read from the library. Nowadays I doubt I'd do the same. It's rare for me to buy a book I've already read, especially just for completism. If I have some specific desire to reread it and I no longer own it, then sure, but I'm not collecting ebooks just for the sake of it. The one thing I have done recently is buy books I've borrowed via Kindle Unlimited or Prime Reading if they go on sale before I've read them. That's different because it is still costing me money for KU/PR and I know that I only have limited time on the service, so if I can offload a book cheaply then it is probably worth it.

05-14-2026, 08:42 AM	#34
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 21,947 Karma: 239869817 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: Mini, H2O, Glo HD, Aura One, PW4, PW5	I should have answered no. The physical book world of decades ago when part of it was the having is so very different from the digital book world of today that what I did then has no bearing on what I do now. I'm different, too, for that matter. Not only did I reread back then and I no longer do, I don't want the stuff anymore, not even estuff.

05-14-2026, 06:30 PM	#35
Solitaire1 Observant Owl Posts: 15,183 Karma: 70503010 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: NookColor, Nook Glowlight 4	Sometimes I will buy a book that I had borrowed from a Library if it one that I really enjoyed and I want to always have it available. However, I don't often visit the Library, and often it is more for audiobooks and music rather than books. Related: Sometimes I repurchase books I already have because it is in a more convenient format. As an example, Sometimes I purchase a trade paperback containing comic book stories I already have (like Y - The Last Man) because it is more convenient than locating the single issues.

05-15-2026, 10:54 AM	#36
shalym Wizard Posts: 3,094 Karma: 55000371 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: New England Device: PW 1, 2, 3, Voyage, Oasis 2 & 3, Fires, Aura HD, iPad	So...I have an interesting one happening now. My daughter bought a paper version of a book, really really loved it and tried to talk me into buying it. (I only read e-books now, so her loaning her copy to me isn't an option) The book is from an author I'm not familiar with, and so I wasn't willing to pay full price for the e-book ($14.99). She borrowed the digital version from the library and sent it to my Kindle. She was right, and I will probably buy a copy of it if/when it goes on sale because it's one that I can see myself re-reading...and even if it doesn't go on sale, if I don't own it yet by the time I want to re-read it I will pay full price. Shari

05-15-2026, 04:14 PM	#40
haertig Wizard Posts: 2,029 Karma: 36310770 Join Date: Sep 2017 Device: PW3, Galaxy Tab A9+, Galaxy S25FE	Yes. That's exactly how I used K.U. for years. I would check out books from K.U. with the intended purpose being spot reading samples in different places in the book, not reading the entire book. Much like Amazons "Look Inside" website feature where you can read a little of the book to see if you like it. Except those Look Inside things sometimes don't even get you to the book text - you're only reading the acknowledgements and table of contents. Useless. So I used K.U. to filter books (the "library loan" part of the process) and I made a list of ones that I might want to buy after reading parts of them. I would usually buy them at full price later, not waiting for sales too much, because many of those K.U. books are dirt cheap to start with. I would usually wait for K.U. to go on sale or sometimes I'd make use of a free trial that came with other Amazon purchases. K.U. at normal price would not be a good fit for my "book preview" use, but a K.U. free trial or sale for $1.99 for 3 months was useful for my purposes. They used to have a lot of free trials or cheap promo purchases of K.U. But that dried up, and then K.U. went away for me. K.U. is good for fast readers, but since I'm not that, it was cheaper for me to pay $1.99 for a book outright rather than subscribe to K.U. at regular price - I'd pay more to rent a book through K.U. than to buy it outright, given my slow reading speed. But taking K.U. at a free trial or discounted price, and using it to do a bunch of book previews, was something worthwhile to me. But now that D&T is gone, I have zero need to preview Amazon books (since I won't buy any that I can't download and DeDRM), so I no longer have any need for K.U. as a "library loan substitute". Mine was probably a "special case" for the library loan -> purchase question asked about in this thread.

05-20-2026, 01:51 AM	#41
Volfer Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10664 Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Illinois, US Device: Kindles-Paperwhites, Touch, Keyboard, Androids, Dell Venue 8 Pro W.8.1	I have purchased three books that I first listened to the audiobook versions, borrowed from the library. I loved the audio versions and couldn't get them out of my mind. After these three audiobooks, I purchased all the books I could find by the authors, paper- used & new, and ebook versions and one audiobook version. They were all very different from each other. Two of them, as the stories unfolded and I thought about them, I felt that I may have seen something there that the narration didn't quite pick up, especially near the end. I heard them through the narrator's voice, not necessarily my own voice and wanted to actually read them to see where that would take me. They were A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole and Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow. I also purchased Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene, paper copy and audiobook, after listening to the borrowed audiobook. The audio book has spot-on voice for the characters and great fun to listen to, with perfect music clips between chapters. At first I was annoyed by the music, but soon found it to be a perfect accompaniment to the story, the icing on the cake. Then purchased the audiobook version and keep a clip from the music on my phone and listen to it often. Perhaps this was too much information in response to the voting process. I don't usually comment, but couldn't not say more as I thought about these specific books. There have been others, but not like these three or with the audiobook twist to the question. Just never expected audiobooks could be this good and still wonder if I'd have loved the books as much had I not heard them first. I hope I will know how to actually make a post here!

05-22-2026, 04:59 PM	#45
Rbneader Fanatic Posts: 528 Karma: 3456789 Join Date: Mar 2012 Device: None	I feel similarly about audiobooks. They're an interpretation and adaptation, just less obviously so than a show or movie. Great for people who need or like them, the more formats the merrier and I know a lot of people who prefer hearing to reading. But they're not my thing. On the poll, I've both purchased books I read at the library to have my own copy, and also purchased sequels in a series after starting it at the library. At least 12 books over the past year. So much for publishers and authors who whine about how libraries are piracy.