Yep - sure is. And when there were due dates, I was always crazy careful to avoid fines at all costs. The library made the decision to change their policy for whatever reasons that didn’t apply to me. So - apparently - they weren’t concerned about the other patrons.
Buying books - do you have a particular genre, or will you read anything?
I’ll read anything that catches my interest, but I have a definite predilection for fiction – particularly contemporary legal and criminal thrillers. My first favorite author was P.D. James: as a young teen browsing a British train station shop during a family trip, I picked up a copy of Shroud For A Nightingale (~13 years after it was published). That interest continued with John Grisham, Scott Turow, David Baldacci, Michael Connelly, etc. Current favorites include Louise Penny, and J.K. Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith. I also have supernatural/fantasy tastes, though, with abiding love for Stephen King novels and the Harry Dresden series – and J.K. Rowling writing as herself (i.e., the Harry Potter series).
Do you buy books as soon as they’re out, wait for the paperback or the price to go down, or wait until you can get it used?
If there’s a series I’m following, I’ll buy the next book either the day its released or whenever I learn that there’s another one. These days I only read on my Kindle, so paperback/used pricing doesn’t apply. Sometimes Kindle edition prices eventually go down as the book gets older, but I never take that into account. Every now and then there will be an older book I’m interested in that seems to be overpriced so I’ll skip it, but generally if there’s something I want to read I don’t worry about whether it might be cheaper later.
Do you prowl the used book stores? Look for new to you books in the bookstore?
I used to love doing this, but at some point I became 100% digital. The last time I browsed a used bookstore was in 2017, while on vacation in Cape Cod, and I knew that I’d completed “the change” when I saw a few interesting titles and caught myself wondering if they were available digitally. The realization made me a little sad, but for me there are more pros to the switch than cons.
That said, next month I’ll be getting a physical book for the first time in years: Barnes & Noble is hosting a live Zoom interview with Louise Penny the night before the new Armand Gamache book (#19) will be released, and the only way to get a ticket is to order a book. I decided that I’m interested enough in the interview to do so, even though I’ll be buying the Kindle edition the next day. The book will ship sometime after the interview; I’ll donate it/give it away.
Or surf the suggested books on Amazon?
Only very infrequently. Every now and then I simply won’t be interested in anything I’ve already downloaded but will want something new to read, and I’ll surf the “legal thrillers” suggestions. I might download a sample here or there, but I rarely wind up actually reading (i.e., buying) any of them. That’s also usually when I’ll wander into the current “Whatcha Reading” thread. 
Or are you on a free ebook list?
Nope. I also don’t have an active library card – my younger self would be aghast!! – and never get content that way.
For physical books, after you finish the book, what do you do with it? Sell it, keep it, share it, give it away?
I donated most of the physical books I used to have to local libraries. I’ve kept a handful that either have particular sentimental meaning or are somewhat collectible (e.g., old sci-fi by Dean Koontz and two NSFW fiction titles by Bruce Dickinson), and I also still have several coffee table books in the living room – though none of them is on the coffee table.
For ebooks, do you organize them?
I have several collections on my Kindle, including:
- one for every author who I have more than one book from
- one for authors I only have one book from (“misc read”)
- the books that I’m currently reading (“in progress”)
- books that I’ve bought and downloaded but haven’t read yet (“to read”)
- samples that I’ve downloaded but haven’t read yet (“samples”)
- books I lost interest in but might want to try again another time (“finish later”)
- books I disliked so much that I decided not to finish them (“abandoned”) – which is rare, but sometimes happens
I use my public library for e and audio books. But since my township installed a kiosk from the library I’ve been checking out real books again. The kiosk is great, use your library card and the door opens. They have a few shelves for adults, then YA and even games. Browse as long as you want. After you choose your book or return your checked out book shut the kiosk door and the inventory is surveyed and updated and it prints your receipt.
Pretty cool.
Sometimes I’m looking for an older book out of print. I’ll search online book stores direct.
I donate lots of books, mostly non-fiction, to the same library system you’re buying them from. Maybe we should cut out the middle man and I should be just dropping them off directly to you.
My wife and I no longer feel the need for paper books. We have Kindles. And we share them (the books online). And you can tie that to your phone. I have books everywhere I go.
Got an wait at the doctors office? OK, it sucks but I’ll read. On my phone.
Read at night in bed? Go for your Kindle or whatever ebook. No need for lights to be on.
Also, an e-reader takes one hand. And can be read under covers (for when it’s cold). A paper book, not so much.
My wife didn’t like the idea much at first, but got hooked on its overall functionality very quickly.
The thing that sucks is if asked “What’s the name of the book you are reading?” Um… Neither my wife or I remember the name. Ya gotta look for it. It’s not as simple as looking at the cover.
We have a large box for packages on our porch. You could fill it with a hundred or so at a time.
But I would have to deaccession two hundred or so to you with each load. Be warned.
My reading is mostly science fiction and fantasy with a smattering of pop-sci and technical books. Everything is Kindle these days except when a book has artwork that is important to the story.
What do you do with obsolete books? I’ve got a handful of programming references that are years out of date. I don’t want to burden a charity shop with a book that is useless, but feel bad just chucking them in the recycling bin.
I “sell” (give) them to Half Price books then they can dispose of them however is best
I most often get a book either from a used-book sale, like the ones the Friends of the Library run, or given by a friend. If folks recommend a book, or it’s an anticipated release from an author I like, I’ll usually check it out of the library. In any event, I’m usually far from the first wave of people reading any given book.
When I’m done with a book, if it’s borrowed of course I return it, and if not, I hold onto it until/unless I recommend it to someone else.
Mostly I read science fiction and fantasy, and if it’s not those, it’s usually historical fiction. I like a certain level of otherness in my settings.
My library has a better system. They automatically renew the books you have out - unless someone else has placed a hold on them, in which case you have to return it. They still have fines for those cases. It seems silly to return a book no one else is looking for (though it does reduce serendipitous borrows) and doesn’t keep the book from those who want it.
Yep, mine is the same, minus the fines. I think at some point they won’t let you take out any more books until you return the overdue ones.
Re: the silliness of returning books, I like to “read the shelves”, and pick out books I find interesting. If the book is at your home, I won’t see it on the shelf.
I buy very few books. The only ones I purchase for myself are Stephen King’s. I have all of his except the one he wrote with Stewart O’Nan about baseball, because it sounds really boring. I’ve read his early stuff many times, but nowadays I tend to read them once, then stick it on the shelf with the others.
I also buy books as gifts for children. Maybe they hate me, I don’t care. Maybe they actually read them.
Generally, I get a lot of book recommendations on the Internet, including here! My favorites are horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, but I might read anything. I like young adult novels also. My least favorite genre is romance. I get all my stuff by reserving it online at the library and picking it up once a week.
Do you feel obligated to finish a book once you’ve started? Not me. There’s so much material out there I’ll never have time to get to. And I do this for fun, it’s not a homework assignment.
There is a Little Free Library directly across the road from me. I hate it! The thing is, I live on a dirt road, way out in the country, in a gated farm community. We don’t have a lot of neighbors, and all of us know each other fairly well. Plus most of these folks have too much money. So what we have here is a recipe for a stagnant box of crappy books, shared by people who could have just borrowed them directly or bought their own. I look in there every few months, but it’s always the same old stuff, some has been there for years. Always, I’m tempted to put the lot in the recycle bin, but it isn’t my Little Free Library to manage.
Oh! Forgot to say I just bought a Fire tablet to use as a cheap e-reader. The only time I will use it is when we travel. So far I’ve downloaded only a couple of books and a short story. I hate to junk it up with a lot of stuff when I’ll probably only read things once. However, I might get Jane Eyre. That’s a book I’ve read many times and I find it comforting, though I don’t know how much it would help during a turbulent plane flight.
I relied on Amazon for years. I have probably reviewed 50-100 books. But if it is a book I found there and like the reviews, most times I buy it on eBay to avoid supporting Bezos any more than I have to. New book prices are good at Amazon, so I bought the Woodward War book and some other cheaper book plus a bag of candy to get free shipping. The free shipping “paid” for the candy.