Went to a Bookstore Today

[RDaneel54]

I recently bought new bookcases. Almost full with reference and collectible (to me) books. I will continue to get those types of pbooks. I really can't use ebooks for reference, especially when I am referring to multiple books. Also, many of the books I collect are just not available electronically, nor will they ever be probably.

I do the vast majority of my day-to-day reading on my Kindle though.

There is very much a place for both in my world.

Dean

[ATDrake]

I own mainly specialty non-fiction which is often out-of-print (reference texts, hobby learning stuff, artbooks, history/culture books about particular places I am interested in, etc.) and graphics novels (deluxe editions fully loaded with bonuses preferred). And a whole bunch of old school used sf/fantasy paperbacks I picked up dirt-cheap, whose authors have generally not yet made it to e-version.

So, the used bookshop is still highly Relevant To My Interests®, even if I don't frequent them nearly as often as I used to.

That said, I mainly buy my fiction as e-books now, when I bother to buy it at all (I've been reading stuff from the library for years and really only purchasing in paper my very favourite "keeper" authors whom I'm usually willing to collect everything from, long before I even got an e-reader in the first place).

And I agree that there are mixed results when e-reading reference works. I have a whole bunch of Routledge's foreign language Essential & Comprehensive Grammar series in both paper & e-editions (thanks to the recent multi-account deep-discount Kobo coupon glitch from one of their contests, which made them affordable).

On the one hand, the paper editions are much easier to flip through and locate an explanation/example that I was reasonably sure happened in this section or other. On the other hand, the e-book edition could be readily searched for all mentions of the usage of words or phrases I accurately remembered the keywords* for (though Routledge is pretty good about including comprehensive indexes on their grammars).

So both forms have their advantages, and if I happen to score any more deep-discount coupons in future Kobo contests, I'm prioritizing their usage towards acquiring more of the Routledge Grammars for languages I don't necessarily care to have in a pricey paper reference, but am curious enough about to be willing to get a copy if it's low-priced enough to work out as an impulse buy.

* Well, except for those languages which use a standardized but otherwise non-Latin script and ended up representing both the original language examples and the English grammatical glosses and translations with non-searcheable gifs rather than including a custom font and using Unicode for the text, sigh.

[DiapDealer]

Oh, I have no issue with buying physical books. It's just that the option of going to a bookstore to buy them has been all but taken away from me. There are none near me--new or used.

[DrNefario]

I still enjoy browsing in bookshops, myself. There's very little capacity for surprise online. I picked up all sorts of odd things while I was completing my Agatha Christie set. It's a bit less fun now I have no particular goal in mind.

I do prefer second hand shops now. That's where the interesting oddities show up.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Oh, I have no issue with buying physical books. It's just that the option of going to a bookstore to buy them has been all but taken away from me. There are none near me--new or used.

Ditto.
Once Borders was forced into liquidation, I was forced to do ebooks or Amazon.
(Mostly the former, these days.)
I'm not driving 50 miles one way just to find out they don't have what I'm looking for.
If I can't find it in ebook, I'm buying used.

[Nabeel]

I still visit second-hand bookshops frequently. (But then... I live near Hay-on-Wye, second-hand bookshop capital of the world.)

I don't feel any romance for either paper books or ebooks. I'm interested in the contents, and not much else.

Although... still have a lingering affection for making a neat pencil line under an important passage in a paper book. (But I don't write 'yes, very true' in the margin!).

On the price thing: I still find that abe.books are invaluable. Even for new books, they are usually cheaper (in paper) than an ebook. So for me, it is more of a space consideration: how many more paperbacks can I stuff into my house?

[Nabeel]

Originally Posted by bookaho!ic

i dont buy paperbacks anymore. I have some keepers that i will always cherish but stick to my ereader. I am in hospital in 2 weeks for day surgery and cannot take in anyelectronic equipment at all (they cannot guarantee security) so my best friend has lent me a book for the day

Which book was it? And did it help you?

[RDaneel54]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I do prefer second hand shops now. That's where the interesting oddities show up.

Very interesting stuff there. Great to browse in and they pretty much only have books there unlike first hand book stores.

[Xanthe]

I would like to buy more paper books but I simply have no more room anywhere to store them

[danskmacabre]

I also have pretty much dropped buying pbooks.
With a couple of exceptions though.
I still buy pbook tabletop Roleplaying game books.

Also recently I went to a local book store and saw a special edition of "The Hobbit" with a hardback cover and slipcase and colour plates of the original images.
It was quite expensive, but I was sorely tempted to buy it and probably will this week.

So whilst I'd pretty much never just buy a normal edition of a pbook novel anymore, I think I'll still be buying special editions of books that I really like.

[Justy]

I've been to bookstores and come out with books a few times, but not for me. My son is still young enough that a paper book or graphic novel is easier to manage so we are still filling up his bookshelf. That said he is always thrilled when he explores the books I've put onto his Sony Reader and has started reading on it more and more.

[JohnRR]

I still go to book shops and buy printed books although there is not much space for me to store them at my home. Most printed books I buy are Traditional Chinese books as there is not enough ebooks in Traditional Chinese. Some Taiwan companies sell them, but they have their own DRM and require buyers to use the software they provide to read the books. It is not very likely that I can put them in my Kindle to read. Google also sells Traditional Chinese ebooks, but there is not much choice (for example, if a publisher is selling their own ebooks on their websites, they don't put those books on Google). Therefore, I still buy Traditional Chinese books in printed format.

For English books, I only buy them on Amazon and I seldom buy printed ones now as the ebooks version is cheaper and I can find books that I cannot find in book shops.

[jbcohen]

My Mrs came to me one evening and she said that I had to get an ereader, the paper back books in the basement were getting ready to push us out of the home. We would have soem serious space problems if I did not go electronic with the books. In hind sight she was probably right. So I don't do printed books any moreout of necessity.

[haydnfan]

There are paper books still not available as ebooks. I still buy and read paper books. But, while I'm happy buying trade paperbacks and hardcovers, I'm more selective now with mass market paperbacks. I don't buy anything with overly small font.

[rollei]

I still go to bookstores to see what they have on shelf. The bookstores would stock books people would want to read.