Literature

5393 readers

1 users here now

Pretty straightforward: books and literature of all stripes can be discussed here.

If you're interested in posting your own writing, formal or informal, check out the Writing community!

This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

Do you prefer new books or used books? (beehaw.org)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

15 comments fedilink hide all child comments

When you’re getting books do you prefer to get new ones or secondhand ones?

I really enjoy the “hunt” for used editions of books that I want, and browsing through stacks in used bookstores is fun and neat way to discover books that I might not ever run across otherwise! But I’m kind of picky about the condition of books I buy, so sometimes I just go the easy route and pick up a new copy. Or if it’s a book I don’t want to wait to read I’ll snag a new one!

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I try to get used books over new almost always. The only exceptions are for books that just came out that I desperately need to devour instantly and the library physical/digital wait is months.

This is pretty much true for most things in my life, I look for used/freecycle first for anything I need for environmentalist reasons. I remember seeing a comment years ago about how even those who are anti-consumerist still have a huge blind spot when it comes to books, and that was totally me - I had dozens of books I'd bought before ever reading, only read once, and didn't even like that much. Having to declutter all of those books for a move was exhausting - used bookstores wouldn't even take most of them for free, regardless of condition or how much I'd originally paid for them - and I've been trying to only purchase books I've already read, know I'll reread, and that I can find used in good condition.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I try to make environmentally conscious decisions and I’ll admit books are still a huge blind spot for me in that regard. I do still try to get used when I can, but I’m much more likely to unnecessarily get new books than I am to get new clothes, for instance. Books don’t feel like a “consumer good” in quite the same way for whatever reason.