Where do you buy your books?

Soccer Mom said:

Amazon owes me a thank you card and probably some stock benefits. I buy all sorts of things there, not just books.

Although for e-books, I usually buy direct from the publisher.

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Yes, I've purchases many a DVD from them

I usually buy at Amazon, Borders, or Barnes & Noble. There's also a local small bookstore that I've popped my head into a couple of times to get books and support small business at the same time.

I don't think I've ever bought a book online other than textbooks. I go to Borders or B&N.

Depends. When I'm looking for something specific and it isn't in the local bookstores, I head straight for Amazon. Otherwise, Barnes & Noble or Borders.

I've picked up an occasional book in the Magazines and Books section of the grocery store, but not often.

Everywhere!

We have a small bookstore nearby that I like to browse in (I roam the children's section with a strange excitement I'm sure has me on some sort of watch list). If I pass by one of the used book stores, I may also slip in there and won't hesitate to pick up something if it catches my eye and is in good shape. I've also shopped at Amazon and I used to be enrolled in a number of book clubs until I started to go just a wee bit crazy with those order forms.

Though I haven't been in years, I also used to frequent a Borders up the road, closer to D.C. I miss that place now - not just the size of it, but the whole experience. You go in, look around, grab a book and sit down in a big, comfy chair...then you notice it has a strange smell and instead head right up to the register. Good times.

Amazon for online. Borders and Barnes & Noble for in-store. Most of my purchases have been in-store. Sometimes the thrift store or library for a couple of cents to a dollar.

Mostly from Amazon these days. Getting to shops while they're open is tricky with a commute and the books are generally cheaper online - but when I can find one, I love browsing through second hand book stores. The older the better and preferably with a bookstore cat, lots of dust and a proprietor that looks like Peter Cushing.

Amazon - I'm a Prime member so there's no minimum spend and next day delivery, it's great! Occasionally Waterstones.

Zipotes said:

I'm in Canada and always buy my books online through Chapters.ca. It's so easy and I get free shipping as I always order over $30.00 at a time.
I went into Chapters yesterday and I hated it. I couldn't find anything and some things were out of stock. It was all fancy shmancy and I wasted way too much time there.
I know a lot of people that only shop through Amazon.
So...just wondering if you usually buy books online (if so where) or do you go to physical book stores (if so which ones).
Thanks

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We have a little local bookstore, but my reading interests are such that they usually don't have anything I'm specifically looking for; still, they're good for impulse buys (four of which I committed last time I was there ).

There's an American Indian-themed bookstore about an hour from here which is really decent but unfortunately I have most of the books by now. I literally browse their shelves thinking, "Got it, got it, got it..." Still, I always look whenever we visit anyway, just in case something new has come out. I also browse other bookstores that happen to be in the areas we visit--but as said already, this is usually for impulse buys because of my narrow interests. We have a used bookstore or two around here but the two times I went into them all they had were romance novels and "Star Trek" novelizations. The used bookstore an hour away has a better selection, but again, best for impulse buys.

I was awed by the bookstore/gift shop at a nearby fort, which did have lots of stuff that looked interesting to me (hint, I'm really into the Indians who used to live in this area), so I'll have to visit that again sometime.

When I was in Georgia/Tennessee we visited a used books/CDs place called McKay's or something and ZOMG it was AWESOME! I wish we had something like that. *sigh*

The bulk of my books come from Amazon and eBay. Many of the things I'm interested in are older or out of print. I'd like to try more online book services, like Alibris and Abebooks, but I haven't a credit card. Getting PayPal and discovering that I can use my bank account to buy older books through Amazon Marketplace has been a Godsend! (Perhaps too much so. I have to keep myself from going crazy sometimes. Okay, all the time. )

I always buy from brick and mortar book stores. You can examine the product before you buy, and there is just something about being able to put cash in the cashiers hand that is gratifying.

Mostly library book sales, Amazon.com, eBay, thrift stores. Hardly ever buy new and when I do they're old by the time I read them anyway.

I often buy at Gandhi, which I guess would be the Mexican equivalent of B&N or Borders (which do not exist here).

I've only bought online once, for a book I couldn't get in Mexico. I'd rather go to the bookstore and have the book in my hands that same day than wait for it to arrive.

I don't buy a lot of books. I've seriously considered "if" I ever see money again to buy Awer's books because it would increase their sales, but I like the library and all the free books.

I buy at a remainder bookstore in the mall call "Bookends" (Oxford, btw). I can get hardbacks for 2GBP. I feel a bit bad about it being an aspiring author and a publishing student but I have no money right now and I really need books to live. This way, I can go to the supermarket and then buy a book with the change.

Otherwise, I'll go to just about any bookstore. Oxford has three within 100 meters of each other so I'll pop into each W.H. Smith, Waterstone's and Borders. I tend to like the big chains like borders best because, although they feel cold and soulless, they're likely to have just about everything. I only buy textbooks through Amazon and I got 5 hardbacks for 5$CAN once off ebay which was nice but mostly, it's bricks and mortar for me.

I buy from Amazon if I know what I want, because it's cheaper.

If I want to browse, there's nothing like doing that in a bricks-and-mortar store.

I will buy books by writers I'm unfamiliar with in Borders or Waterstones, just by picking up a book whose cover grabs me, and reading the blurb on the back. If it sounds good, I'll take a chance on them.

I was very fond of the independent London book shop Murder One, that specialised in crime, with a separate section for sf and fantasy, and they also had a good second hand books section. Sadly, they went out of business a couple of months ago.

Shara

90% = Amazon.co.uk

The rest from other websites like bookcupboard, and also book shops Borders, Waterstones, some random shops etc.

I buy from Barnes and Noble. My favourite store in the world! Especially the Staten Island one.
Occasionally from Amazon too.

Wait, we're supposed to buy them?

I thought the boxes just magically appeared in the mailbox, followed a few weeks (months, sometimes) later by cheques...

Ah, the life of a book reviewer.

willietheshakes said:

Wait, we're supposed to buy them?

I thought the boxes just magically appeared in the mailbox, followed a few weeks (months, sometimes) later by cheques...

Ah, the life of a book reviewer.

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And then you mail your read and reviewed copies to impoverished writers on the other side of the country, right? Right?

Where do you buy your books?
Amazon, the library, and the Independent book seller across the street.

I used to use Books A Million religiously (at least $100/mo. usually more)
but I moved. Now I have to drive - through heavy traffic - to get to a larger chain. And I am sick of driving. Wish I knew how to give authors a slice of the pie for all the used books I buy. I'm not smart enough to figure that out.

I usually shop at B&N or the Dusty Bookshelf (an independent bookstore about 45 minutes from my house) when I have the money, but I rely on library sales for most of my books. The local public library has an amazing biannual sale with donated books, and all the money goes to buy new ones, so I rationalize it by saying I'm really buying two books for the price of one.

I mostly use Amazon or the Barnes and Noble close to my house.

I usually buy my books through the county library when they have their quarterly sales. Good used books cheap, and a great selection. Otherwise, Amazon.

sounds like a good place to buy books, Stormie. The libaries by me stopped having sales and now sell all the books they're getting rid of to a large book dealer to increase their profits :-(

Books A Million is the only bookstore in my town, so I shop there. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the greatest selection, and so when I have a particular book in mind, I use Amazon.