The Next Best Book Club discussion

Just out of curiosity, how much do you usually spend on books? I usually spend about $30 / month for books, but recently due to the sale session happening in the bookstores where I live, I find myself spending $150 on books.. And just recently bought more from amazon.com. Need opinion from fellow book lovers, am I crazy for spending that much money on books? LoL

I try not to spend that much money on books. Most of the time I use the library, but if I must have something I go to Half Price Books or another used book store. It's been a while since I've bought a new book from a Borders or B&N or Amazon. If I don't control my book-spending habits, they will control me! :)

I usually spend nothing. I borrow from people, get them free from people who are giving them away, or go to the library. I only buy non-fiction books or cookbooks that I will want to keep for reference. I did buy several fiction books for 25 cents apiece at a garage sale recently though. :-)

You are only crazy if you spend it when you can't afford it :-)

Julie wrote: "You are only crazy if you spend it when you can't afford it :-)"

LOL! Very true!



My spending depends on where I buy. When I go to Borders I make sure to go armed with a coupon and usually I stick to the clearance section. I also go when they have their bargain bin sales which are like every 3 or 4 months. At Borders I probably spend $20 or less, but I get several books for that price.

When I go to the library sales I rack up because each book varies from $4 to less. I usually end up spending $15 or less, but that's because I limit my buys to stuff I really want to own or can't get at the library. Last year I went to a library sale and spent like $30 (the most I've spent), but came out with a ton of books which account for most of my owned shelf.

Usually though I use the library so it's practically a free habit for me.

I shop at thrift stores a lot for my books, so I can generally get around 10-15 books for under $20.

However, lately I've been using the library much more lately, and trying to read the books that I already own or books I can get for free, so I haven't been spending much at all.

Although, I did buy The Passage and If I Stay recently, and those weren't discounted (well, The Passage was 40% off) so that was still around $28. And only 2 books. *sigh*

Most of the books I've gotten lately have been from ManyBooks, a website with free, pre-1923 books. I mostly read on my Kindle nowadays, and occaisionally I'll get a new book for about $10. So I'd say I probably spend around $20-30 a month on books, or rather e-books.

I used to buy books every other week, but after a while, I dunno, it just got sortof pointless. I'd end up owning all kinds of odd books that I didn't really want to read, but at the same time I wouldn't have money to spend on rare/special books books. So lately I've tried to get most of my books that I don't absolutely need to own from the library or from friends while saving up for special books which are harder to obtain (especially books in French/Italian/Spanish). I don't read that many contemporary/super-new books that aren't available at the library anyway.

thank you everyone for the input.. :)

El... completely agree with you. I think I may need to forbid myself from visiting the bookstores for the next few months. I have all the stocks for my reading that would last me for the next year I guess LoL.. the bad thing is that I live in Jakarta, Indonesia, so there is no public library available, so my options for free or cheap books are very very limited LoL

Julie wrote: "I usually spend nothing. I borrow from people, get them free from people who are giving them away, or go to the library. I only buy non-fiction books or cookbooks that I will want to keep for refer..."

Lucky you... :) the used book store here where I live only sells crappy books that I don't even want to hold in my hands.. they're like books from the 70s or 80s :)

Fiona wrote: "I've looked through my bookshelf and seen that it's about 50/50 new and old. Lately I have spent £0 on books for over a month which is good for me.

I like buying the odd new book though - makes m..."

Fiona.. that's great... I should repeat the phrase you put on the "I must not buy any more books" thread.. My last purchases plus my TBR pile will last me for at least 2 years :)

I'm with you... I like the feel and smell of new books :)

Julie wrote: "You are only crazy if you spend it when you can't afford it :-)"

ha ha.. yess true Julie... when i can no longer afford it i have to stop :)

Erika wrote: "Rosabelle wrote: "Just out of curiosity, how much do you usually spend on books? I usually spend about $30 / month for books, but recently due to the sale session happening in the bookstores where ..."

Thanks Erika.. :) i feel better now.. :)

I love amazon.com...

My addiction with goodreads lately also makes me want to buy more and more books based on the recommendations that I found here.. :)

I usually buy my books from B&N and have one of their membership cards, which is a little bit of savings. I usually only buy paperbacks though and refuse to pay more than $15 for a paperback. Usually I'm around the $50 a month mark.

Too Much $$. from now on unless I Want to have the book to keep. I will be trying my best not to buy any more than absolutely necessary. Going to use library, swaps and borrow from friends. I want to buy the Nook. As I already have more than 1,200 books. ALOT that are in my on my to-be-read shelf. And by joining this group I sometimes have to acquire (sp?) the books. I live in a small apt and am already over run with books. However $50 sounds about right. Try to use eBay and Amazon and Halp-Priced Books and Barnes & Noble.

March last year, I started budgeting myself to $10 a month. At first it was hard, but now I'm actually pretty happy with it! Some months I save up and then can get bigger purchases.

Trust me, I have a whole cabinet shelf (earthquake hazard!) crammed with TBRs in the closet, and two more shelves hidden away in the garage. Estimated length of time to finish these (given my penchant for library books and books borrowed from friends?) is at least three years, not even accounting for the books I will in that time acquire!

It feels like sort of a waste (not only to my finances but also to the world) to own a lot of books that I will only maybe occasionally reference or won't reread in the forseeable future.

I have spent quite a lot this year. I really haven't kept count. I do try to use the library a lot.

I trade for credit at Powell's and what buy new editions with what I manage to save up, then turn and trade those again. If I don't read a book in 2-3 months, it goes out the door either to Goodwill or another used book store (there are 3 nearby) to get credit. I do have my "shelf of favorites" that total maybe 25-35 books. However, I pick up a lot of "reads" at garage sales or Library Shelf sales for only 25 to 50 cents. I either buy something I am definitely going to read or else stick to books in good enough shape to trade. I sort of have gotten out of the habit of going to the library. Our library here just closed yesterday. The county ran out of money so up it went on the chopping block.

I used to buy current paperbacks at Costco and occasionally full price at B&N or Borders, but since I got my Kindle I only buy from Amazon. Brand new publications are usually $9.99. Although I do find myself reading a lot more I love the fact that I can download full first chapter samples for free, make a decision and then buy what I love. So, I figure I'm saving by not buying crap.

Between Amazon and eBay I just spent $70. This is very unusal for me. I hope I won't do this next month!

Waaaaaaay too much! I'm trying to use services like PaperbackSwap and Alibris now to save money. I don't think I'll ever quit buying books, so I need a way to make it easier on the budget!

Try bookmooch. I just signed up for it three days ago as well as Paperbackswap and have a bunch of books going out the door plus 3 coming in already.

Ouch, I don't even want to think about this... The amount varies depending on the time of year. Some months (beginning of school and IEP season I don't spend all that much on books)because I don't have enough time to read them. I never quite understood untill recently a MTBR pile,because I wouldn't buy another book untill I finished my last pile. In the summer when I'm off school and can spend days in my PJ's reading if I want ,I spend ALOT more. So I spend,and again I'm estimating, from 40 to 120 bucks a month. Obviously this has to change...

I'm still waiting for my amazon order to arrive... don't even want to look at what I've spent there..

I don't think I can go into a bookstore without buying a book, honestly. And I feel as thought I'm not the only one here with that problem haha. So, depending on how well I manage to avoid Strand or Barnes and Noble, I may spend nothing in a month... or, if I give in to temptation (as I often do) and just say to myself, "I'll just browse," I usually spend around $50 per visit. And I complain about not having money.

I do manage to stay away from online book shopping though, thank goodness. It's just not as fun for me. I like to walk around in a book store, pick up a book, read the first page, and just gather a huge pile of books to pick from by the time it's time to leave. Also, I feel like I'd never stop shopping if I could just do it from my computer.

I really don't spend much money on books. I mostly use the library and paperbackswap. I don't really have much money to spend on anything other than rent and food. Oh the curse of being a college student! But I've found paperbackswap to be very useful, especially on things like classics that everybody has and can swap. On the other hand, I'm thinking of actually going to the book store and buying myself an end-of-the-summer present sometime before I fly back to college.

I have not bought a book in a very long time for myself, but often buy them as gifts. My most recent purchases were "Brew Like a Monk" and "Grapes of Wrath" for my husband's birthday. Usually I just find them from work, which is at my library!

I'm ashamed to say probably $ 150.00 per month at B & N or Literary Guild. I now own quitea few books but share with my sister, mom & friends.

I get most of my books through Paperbackswap.com or the library now.

I love Paperbackswap.com -- you post your books and for every book you mail (media rates, sender pays postage) you get a credit for a book of your choice. It's about $2.30 to mail a paperback and 2.80 to mail a hardcover. I spend at most $20/month sending books out.

You can also swap books on this site.

I know many people who buy the used books through Amazon -- haven't tried that yet myself. Probably will soon.

Marci - I probably spend about the same as you, if not more! the majority of the books I buy come from Amazon or smaller publishing houses that have kindle formatted books. I do have a good library near me and I use it for new authors that I don't necessarily want to buy a book of before trying...but then I normally go and buy their backlist. But I rarely go out to the movies or dinner, so books are my one indulgence

Marci wrote: "I'm ashamed to say probably $ 150.00 per month at B & N or Literary Guild. I now own quitea few books but share with my sister, mom & friends."

Well, it's a relief to hear many people still spending on books. Thank God for you guys. Writers like me depend on you to live.

I am very sporadic. When I'm late with a deadline, I don't read at all, but then I'll go nuts and get several at once. I read slowly, though, so I can't devour books like most of you. I wish I could.

I need to cut myself off! I have two tiny shelves rammed with TBRs! That's mostly because I couldn't find the book at the library. Believe it or not, I couldn't find ABC Murders by Agatha Christie! GASP!

Since I went crazy this past month, I need to re-institute a NO BUYING BOOKS program for the next two months. Exception - Mockingjay. Hopefully this will FORCE me to finish my TBR shelves (38+ books -- I forgot a few titles to add!).

I spend as little as possible. I buy a lot of books used, especially lately since I don't have any income. I almost never buy hardback books, and I will always go used if the price difference in buying used on amazon including shipping is enough to make it worth waiting versus buying at a bookstore. I recently discovered two used bookstores in my area. One is more expensive ($3-$4 per paperback), but has a better selection and is independent, so I don't mind supporting them. The other is awesome and I just found out about it today. They sell recent hardbacks for $3, older hardbacks for $1, and paperbacks for $2. The proceeds support the YWCA (as opposed to YMCA) that runs it, and I am seriously considering volunteering there and doing a theatre group for children or something. I'll also be donating some books, as well.

All in all, if I was to take the list price of every book I have bought since arriving here in May and add them together, I have probably bought almost $200 in books. Out of my own pocket, I have spent, at this point, maybe about $30 since May. Used books, amazon gift cards, and a general refusal to ever pay for an eBook (and I do have some, even though I don't like them) are contributors.

That and my mom won't let me pay her back for the $22 or so she has bought in books for me lately.

Oh! And I rarely ever use the library not because I don't like libraries or anything, but because I got a couple of concussions back in 2001 and 2002 that slowed down my reading and reduced my comprehension a fair bit, so I'm a rather slow reader now. At school when I could renew as many times as I wanted and our check-out periods were (I think) 3 weeks, I would have to renew books 2-3 times to get done reading. Between being busy constantly and being a slow reader, it just wasn't the greatest thing in the world.

I really try not to spend too much, but that doesn't always work. ;) I buy some digitally, but only have the Kindle app for my computer, so it's not as easy to read digitally as it would be if I would just give in and buy a Kindle. I buy used books a lot -- maybe $20 a month. And I LOVE checking books (paper & audio) out from the library! I do a lot of my writing from inside libraries since they're nice and quiet, so I always end up browsing the shelves and checking things out.

Funny story -- I am also an interior designer. When I was first starting out, I designed a used book store. They paid me a little (real money), but for the majority of my "fee", I asked to be paid in books! :) They agreed and so I got to go in so many times and just pick out whatever I wanted. So fun.

That's awesome, M.!

oooohhh i envy those of you who has the library facilities...

I try not to spend over $20.00

I thin I spend more than 150.00 per month on books. I do go to thrift shops and get great books there. I have a Borders acress from my job. I go there everyday on my lunch hour. I get at least6-8 books per week. I mostly buy paperback and also stay on the clearance tables. Just yesterday, I bought 3 books for 37.00. I was surprised to find that I had 10.00 put into my account (don't know why). When I was expected to pay over 60.00 for the three books. I also found out that I have a 5.00 dicount which I will use next week...

Terri wrote: "I get most of my books through Paperbackswap.com or the library now.

I love Paperbackswap.com -- you post your books and for every book you mail (media rates, sender pays postage) you get a cred..."

How do you swap books on this site?

I use the library for any book that I'm on the fence about. Otherwise, I'll go to Half-Price books, since you can get used, but nice copies of paperbacks for a few bucks.

I go to library sales and get 30 books for $4.50, or secondhand book stores for the same price. I love libraries and thrift shops, so much fun:)
I also spend about 15-30$ per trip to B&N, depending on whether or not I buy a couple of paperbacks or a really awesome hardback.

I usually end up going to half-price or the odd used book store and thrift stores. Or I make a list and wait until a large booksale (there are a few a year near where I live) and get them all there for sinfully cheap. I spent under $20 for over 30 books.

I just tried to do the math on this the other day. My guess is that I spend about $10 per book, and I read about 50 a year, so it's probably around $500 annually. Which sounded like a lot at first, but then I started figuring out how much I spend on beer and takeout Chinese...

I just spent 31.00 at Borders today.

On average I spend about $100 a month on books, but I never pay cover price for a book. I'll either buy from Amazon or www.bookdepository.com with some percent off or use coupons at Borders or buy used from www.thriftbooks.com or Half Price or used from the public library.

I just pay my taxes and get them from the library.

I'm actively trying to build a better library, that's why I buy so many. I want a library that screams "Pretentious ass."

Just too darn much! And that's all I'm saying.

I don't count how much I spend. I'm too afraid to find out.

Danielle wrote: "I don't count how much I spend. I'm too afraid to find out."

I'm with you!