Book buying habits are changing rapidly, bookstores are closing, Amazon’s sales are robust. Personally, as much as I love bookstores, I find the temptation of having a book delivered to my door in a couple of days nearly always too strong to resist.
Where did you buy your last book? Online? At a bookstore? The supermarket?
Betty Atkins Dominguez says
I have bought from Amazon when I couldn’t find the book locally. I prefer the bookstore. I love the ambience.
Jane Kennedy Sutton says
My last 3 books have been purchased directly from the author at various writers events I’ve attended. I like the personal service, receiving a signed copy and helping out fellow writers. It also gives me the opportunity to read some good books that may not make it to my local big chain store.
Jane Kennedy Sutton
https://janekennedysutton.blogspot.com/
Jess says
I work at Barnes and Noble. Where do you think I bought it? (You’d be right, of course.)
robinbridges says
The Ridiculous Used Bookstore, where I buy used and new books. Occasionally I’ll go to our B&N, which is close to home, but I usually pre-order stuff I’m anxious to read from Amazon.
Melissa says
I work at a Coles Books (part of Indigo Books in Canada)…. so I hope to see many comments of “At the book store”. If you need a suggestion or want to have a person give you ideas of what’s out there….. a book store is no better.
If you know exactly the book you’re looking for, Online is cheaper. Always Cheaper. There isn’t the store overhead that gets added on.
So I can see pro/con for each. For me, being that I’m in a book store 40 hours a week.. I buy there (and that’s where MOST of my paycheck goes …. books)
Kimber An says
Amazon.com
Anne says
I bought my last book in Sterling Books – it’s an English book shop in Brussels. It’s a bit out of my way but it’s nice to browse and it’s cheaper for them to order things for me and me to pick them up than to order on Amazon. And I get that smug feeling that comes from buying from an independent book shop.
Marti says
Wow, over a hundred comments and NOBODY bought a book from a POD company?
Mark me as one who did. I bought a book from Lulu.
Colorado Writer says
Novel Metamorphosis by Darcy Pattison from Amazon.com
J.P. Martin says
My last purchase was at a used bookstore. Before that it was at Target, Barnes & Noble (brick and mortar), used bookstore, Amazon.com, etc.
It all depends on whether or not I am already near a particular store, price and urgency.
Sharon says
I bought mine at Borders on Sunday and, actually, Nathan, you were responsible. I was reading some old posts on Absolute Write and started reading your q&as. In one of them you mentioned authors Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt. I was curious about them, so I went to Borders to look at some of their books. I bought one of their books, Elements of Style, PW, a couple of other trade magazines, a book for each of my daughters and a new comic book for my son. Not including the cafe drinks, the 3 hour visit cost me about $70, but I think it will be worth it. I think I’ll get subscriptions to the trade ‘zines, though. And not forget to print the e-mail coupons next time.
julcree says
Surprisingly, though I love to check out the books online, I rarely buy online. The last books I bought were at books-a-million, which is my preferred spot because it’s not nearly as crowded as Barnes and Noble and there’s always somewhere to sit and exchange sarcastic commentary with my companion. I’m more likely to use Amazon for DVDs on sale.
The Lins says
Amazon, but I do go to real bookstores quite often.
Erin Miller says
I buy four or five books at a time at Borders. The last books I bought were Laurell K. Hamilton’s Guilty Pleasures and Terry Pratchett’s Going Postal and Thud.
susand says
Whenever someone tells me about a book that sounds interesting, I jot it down and when I have a few on the list, I search for them from Amazon used books. The price is right and I don’t have to leave the house!
Tiffany Kenzie says
I buy for the best price.
I refuse to buy them at a grocery store. I think sales from grocery stores don’t count overall for authors making the ‘lists’.
I have a bookstore across the road from work, which makes for a great lunch hours looking for a new mass market.
Then there is amazon and chapter online. Tradebacks and HC are WAY cheaper online. And us Canadians are totally ripped off when it comes to book prices.
Then there is walmart. Right now, they sell books for the American price. That’s more than their discount of (25%) off cover price.
Uh… it was my birthday last month. And I bought books everywhere. Online and in store, depending on cost.
There aren’t a lot of UBSs in my area, so I don’t buy books from them. And I’m really anal about creasing on my spines–big no no and no dogears, so I like to buy them new.
Lisa Molson says
I must admit that I buy most of my books through Amazon.com. Only because I get a free $50 gift certificate from my VISA rewards program. I may rethink this though because of the latest POD controversy.
Most recently I purchased Joshilyn Jackson’s “The Girl Who Stopped Swimming” at my local B&N.
BTW, I just LOVE City Lights Bookshop (SF) & Keplers. I need to go to those places much more often.
Anonymous says
At the Rutgers University Bookstore while waiting for my son to take his college placement tests.
The Liar’s Diary
Coll
Linda says
I admit – I usually buy my books online at B and N or (gulp) amazon. But we have a new indy bookstore in town and I patronize that more and more. I am happy to report I just bought my last book at a conference – Muse and the Marketplace in Beantown – and got it signed by the author. THAT was a thrill… Peace, Linda
Anonymous says
I find the big bookstores overwhelming, so I buy few books there. I do shop at my favorite indy every summer when on vacation. The rest of the year it’s Amazon, baby!
Anonymous says
Hmmm… I bought two books this week: one at Borders & the other at Joseph Beth. And I bought a magazine at B&N on my lunch break today.
I use Amazon a lot, but bookstores are like therapy for me, and I have three great ones within five miles from my house, so I’m frequently stopping at one during lunch or after work…
Jeanne says
I buy books everywhere. (One of) my favorite late night activities is shopping Amazon for books, especially the bargain ones. I’m addicted to it, in fact. I love going to Borders with my son. He grabs every book published on trains, while I get the cookbooks. Grocery stores also have some kitschy selections, especially kiddy fare. Too much fun to resist them, so I rarely do. If you love books, I suspect you will not limit yourself to one source.
Anonymous says
My local library was having a book sale today, actually, so I ended up buying 8 books 🙂
Miri says
Brick and mortar Books-A-Million. Dear dog, I love that place. I have to get there at least twice a month.
I don’t mind Amazon, but I only really use it for stuff that BAM doesn’t stock or does but never has on the shelves. I like the textile feel of books too much to go solely online. I have to pick them up, ponder them, and keep them or put them down as the case demands.
Anonymous says
Don’t forget to support your local libraries!
Liz, a librarian 🙂
Katherine E. Hazen says
I purchased two books this week. One Monday night at Barnes and Noble and one yesterday morning at my local independent.
I try to support my local independent but a lot of my purchases are at B&N now because I have the membership and I spend so much money on books the discount saves me a considerable amount.
I typically only order online if I have an Amazon gift card I need to use. I can easily read a book in a day and I tend to buy on the release day, or at least in the first week (help an author make bestseller lists and all) so I like that if I go pick it up I don’t have to wait for it to be delivered. I’m an addict, when I want my fix I want it right away, not 3 days from now. 😀
shannon yarbrough says
Online…but actually from QPB…not Amazon. I also get a lot of free books by being a member of bookmooch.com.
Patti Auburn says
I use Amazon a lot, but my last book I bought at Third Place Books, an independent bookstore here in Seattle. When I’m not buying from Amazon I try to support my local independent bookstores – after all, they support me with all of their reading events!
Julie Weathers says
Hastings. I went in to browse book covers to wrap my head around queries. I wound up buying a fantasy and two books on Templar knights.
Before that I bought ten books at the library used book shop. One was an old school literature book, two poetry books, one cookbook and the rest just looked interesting.
I only use Amazon for books I can’t find in a store.
Lynne says
I call the local bookstore, owned by a lady named Patty. She needs the profits; Amazon doesn’t. She can pre-order on books I know I want. If I can’t make it to her store to pick them up, she’ll drive past and drop them off.I leave a check in the mailbox, she replaces it with books. She is as fast as Amazon, if I remember to call her. And. I. Do.
Letting a local business die is silly.
AstonWest says
Borders
crapshooter says
I bought the unabridged audio verion of Hollywood Crows at Barnes & Noble.
I bought an autographed hardback copy of the same book online from a San Diego book dealer.
Maripat says
Online from Barnes and Noble. I do love book stores I just can’t to them as easily anymore.
Kirsten says
The last book I bought was at a secondhand bookstore / antique shop; Alice in Wonderland. The store proprietor was right, it’s a lot stranger when you read it as an adult. The book before that I got on Amazon. Before that, my local bookstore. I prefer bookstore finds, but buy a lot of my nonfiction online.
Erika Robuck says
I just got a bunch from Overstock.com. Great on the budget for the aspiring, unpaid writer.
But nothing beats searching the shelves, coffee in hand, Chopin in the background…
melissalobianco says
I have the pleasure of a Barnes & Noble right around the corner from my home. It’s got the added benefit of a Cafe featuring Starbuck’s Coffee and treats, so I go there whenever I can come up with an excuse to go (I’ve tried The air in there soothes my allergies. I think I might try the Cinco de Mayo angle next!) I have a membership discount card, and the discounts are good at the cafe (though, a lb. of Espresso Roast with a 15% off coupon and my membership discount still costs me $7.99…)
There’re no indies nearby and I haven’t been in the market for a rare/out-of-print for a while; if I can’t go to the store, I’ll buy it from BN.com. I haven’t bought books from Amazon in a good long time.
Anonymous says
The books I buy are almost always niche and sub-niche books that bookstores don’t stock. So I do almost all my shopping online — and only about half the time at Amazon. (Even Amazon doesn’t sell most of these books.)
A couple of months ago I went to a brick and mortar Barnes & Noble and bought some novels because my husband likes buying his books there and wanted some company.
Hanakoalways says
book store. :D. i live way too close to a B&N and its really really bad for my how-to addiction.
mlh says
The last book I bought was at a book fair held in my local mall every year. You can find some real golden oldies lurking as well as some newer stuff, although you have to check them to make sure they have all their pages.
A Paperback Writer says
Most of the time for me, it is Amazon because they have just about anything and it’s so convenient.
However, I LOVE my local independent bookstores as well: the King’s English and Frost’s.
I just got an educator’s discount card for Barnes and Noble, and there’s more or less on the way home from work, so I may have to stop in there, but it’s usually so crowded and busy that I don’t like it.
When I’m in Scotland, my favorite bookstore by far is the Blackwell’s Books on Nicholson. I don’t like Blackwell’s online much, though, so if I need books from the UK that aren’t available here, I go through Amazon.co.uk.
As to Erica’s comment, I used to buy from Overstock as well, but since the owner of the company spent 2 million dollars to overthrow free public education in Utah (he was unsuccessful), I have sworn never to buy a thing from that company again (lest I be a hypocrite as a public school teacher).
Kate H says
My last purchase was from a local independent bookstore. If I want a particular book, I usually buy from Amazon, but if I want to browse I go to a real store (often a used bookstore). But by far the greater portion of the books I read come from the local library. I neither have money to buy nor space to store all the books I read.
Min says
I bought my last books through Amazon. I generally buy NEW books at the bookstore, and USED books through Amazon sellers.
Tez Miller says
Bought on eBay Australia from a personal seller (not a store).
Have a lovely day! 🙂
lindajpr says
My kids and I have a ritual. We go to Borders and we gather up all the books we’re considering buying, then we sit down on a leather couch and go through our piles to decide which one(s) we’re buying. I’m the decider, so to speak, since they’re young. We also spend time at a Booksense independent store in the Phoenix area (Changing Hands) and little nook and cranny book stores whenever we see one. We love actual book stores. I get tired of the linking and linking through lists and lists of books, comparison shopping, until I don’t even remember what I was looking for, that I do on the Internet.
Lisa says
Amazon one-click baby. There needs to be a 12 step program.
RedDuck says
Amazon. Bought so many I got free shipping. Nice.
Kim Kasch says
Borders and before that B&N
mkcbunny says
Local bookstore (Cody’s). But I found the title I wanted to buy using Amazon online. The two books before that were purchased at Borders online, because I had a gift certificate.
I do browse locally for myself, but for most gifts, I end up using Amazon because I buy from other people’s wish lists. The whole wish-list system sort of forces groups to use it because if you don’t, then someone else in your group might duplicate the gift.
Serenissima says
Amazon. Used.
nikki says
I buy books from everywhere – village independent bookshop, Amazon, supermarket, Waterstones, the independent bookshop in the nearest town, independent second-hand bookshops, charity shops, other sales, ex-library stock.
If I want to buy a lot of books at once, I use Amazon, because it works out a lot cheaper that way – also if I want books that haven’t been released in the UK. If I want just one, I’ll order it from the village bookshop, which usually has next-day delivery. If I go on a book browse in town, I’ll probably find one in every shop.
For secondhand books I use Advanced Book Exchange usually.
My last big book purchase was from Amazon, but I know I’ve bought single books from every other place since then!