Book buying addicts?

On average how many books do you buy a month?

I order most of my books used online... Once in a while I'll buy them at a bookstore...

SInce I buy used, I probably spend on average maybe $8 per book... usually less.... That's why I buy so many and my TBR pile grows and grows...

However, I am doing the 50 book challenge this coming year and decided I will buy ONE book after every ten I read.... thats it.... so at the end of next year I will have read 50 and only bought 5.... wish me luck.

That's a harsh challenge, only buying five books! Then again, I have quite a TBR pile myself which is why I've also decided to go for the 50 Book Challenge for next year. I've easily got 50 books hanging about that I'll be able to read over next year and then I won't feel so bad at acquiring new ones. If only we had the bookshelf space for them, though...

Are you starting your challenge on January 1, or now?

I don't have too bad of a problem, b/c I have no money to buy books. However, each class req. at least 2-3 books on average so I get bad at the beginning of each semester. Since I never actually read all those i end reading them after classes are done.

God bless Amazon, etc. Otherwise my butt would be broke. :)

I get a wonderful discount at the bookstore where I work. I'll get most trade paperbacks for about three dollars. I figure that I wont be working there forever so I stockpile like a crazy woman. I probably buy twenty books a month.

God bless library booksales and thrift stores!!!

I probably average 30 books or so in a good month, sometimes double that if I can find two booksales. My best haul was 22 gorgeous books from a sale for $3. Oh yes, I am addicted.

I'm with Madcow on this one - broke.

Unless there's a specific book that I *really* want and know when it is coming out, most of my books are from Christmas and my birthday.

I did have to buy over 230 dollars worth of books at the beginning of this term, so that maxed me out for a good while.

It's changed now that I'm in France this year teaching, and any books that I buy, I will have to ship back. Thus, I've only bought 7 in the last 4 months. The prices for the history books I read generally are very high here as well. I was in a bookstore today and I picked up one I wanted to buy and put it down when I saw it was 30 euros for the paperback.

I've been in grad school for more than 5 years, and before France, I was buying 30 books a semester, mostly from Amazon or sometimes from eBay. I do have access to several libraries here for my research, so I still read 2-4 books a week. Before I left the US, I had 132 books out from the university library!

20 books? 30 books? Geez.
I wish!

I probably average 3-6 books each month. I prefer new books, but I'm learning to buy used. And I love paperbacks much more than hardcovers.

Lhea, once you start on secondhand books there is no turning back. Not sure where you are in the world, but if it's U.S., try www.booksalefinder.com.

Yes, I'm a pusher. LOL.

Are any of you on BookMooch.com or PaperBackSwap.com? Great way to get rid of books you don't want — and get books you do!

I'm stingy with books. :-(

I just checked out BookMooch yesterday. I honestly don't have anybooks that I would get rid of, or even trade.

I'd rather buy someone a copy of a book that I like, than lend them one of mine. Seriously. I have to be literally in love with you, for me to trust you taking books off of my bookshelf. Literally in love.

Strange huh? Strange but true.

Oh, I'm like that about books, too. I'll buy people their own copy first. And I keep ALL my books.

The only books I ever got rid of were that Paolini kid's books, which I gave to a friend.

I'm a member of BookMooch.com but I'm finding that most of my books are ones that I want to keep so I'm having a hard time sorting out whether I'm going to be able participate in it, really. There are a few books in my possession, though, that I can't wait to part with. I hate that feeling. :(

Man, that website looks like it'll be really useful but at the moment it has nothing local to me. Bummer!

I think 5-10 books a month would be ideal, but right now can't justify it.

Do you keep all of your books, or get them and then pass them along after?

#2: I started in September and read like 20 in two months... then I stopped because I wanted to start on the new year and not in september... I'm weird with dates and stuff...

I always keep my books unless I don't like them... but that is very very rare. I'm pretty good at choosing exceptional reads...

I'm the same way with books. I've a few that I didn't like from very recently but those were on recommendations rather than my own picks. So, sticking to my own gut this time when picking out books. ;)

I hear you with starting at the new year - I have been waiting to do that, too, just to make it easier to remember when my end date is. Are you doing a standard 50 or setting your goals higher? If you read 20 in two months, it sounds like you could easily get to 100.

If I get to 50 quickly then I will go for 100

Then I will have an excuse ot buy a ton of books because I won't have ANY left to read.... ;)

Darn, what a hard situation to be in! ;) That's what I'm hoping for this year. Of course, with the library, I still might not have that excuse...

gods, let's see . . .

probably about 75-150 a month, equal number of new and used books.

that's no exaggeration.

btw, if any of you ever find yourselves in baltimore on a weekend, go check out The Book Thing of Baltimore. they giveaway - yes, as in completely free, no hidden strings - books. check out the website for more info. it is truly a rare treasure. i love that one of their house rules is, "Please, be greedy!"

>#10

I am EXACTLY like that. Maybe it's because I've loaned books to people and never gotten them back. Maybe it's because the books I DID get back (which most likely were lent in pristine condition) were tattered and torn. And maybe it's because I'm guilty too -- I have books from friends who moved away and from people I don't talk to anymore. I also mucked up one of my sister's books somehow and bought her a replacement; I felt terrible for "ruining" her book, because she's anal about her books too. :) If I can't trust myself, I probably can't trust anyone else either! :)

Ugh. I am such a book buying addict. It's also. I try to keep myself to only buying 2 books a month.

I usually buy a couple a month. I tend to read non-fiction and stuff that isn't a super quick read. I also force myself to pretty much only buy a new book if I'm done, or at least close to being done with the one I'm reading. I'm by no means perfect at that, but it keeps me from spending money I don't have! :D

I get paid bi-weekly, and every pay check I usually end up getting at least two books. So, at the very least, I get four books a month. Most of the time, though, I end up grabbing a few things between paychecks, so, on average, I'd say about 4-8 books a month. Granted, that's only been about the last three months, but I see no reason to stop.

I use Bookmooch to feed my addiction. At the moment I am waiting to receive 22 books!

I also find it impossible to walk out of a charity shop without buying a book- I figure it's okay because my money is going to a good cause.

I never buy myself brand-new books. I feel I'm being eco-friendly by 'recycling' other people's copies.

I would say I average about 2-3 a week. Most from amazon, all bets are off when I go to the Strand however.

First thing I did after I finished my last final of the semester: ran to the bookstore and bought 8 books! :)

24> haha, I did that too! It's like a a breath of fresh air to get to read what you want for a little while between semesters.

22> I only buy used books too, I agree it's the book lover's "recycle" program. That and the original prices on new books can be quite excessive for something that I'll finish in a day or two.

Speaking of saving money, I remember as a kid my best-friend and I would only buy books that were 300+ pages because we felt we were getting our money's worth out of the change we collected to buy our precious books! :D

I have a system for buying books, DVDs, and CDs: if I find out about it before it's published and I know it's going to be worth owning, I'll either buy it the day of the release, or pre-order it if I can get enough stuff into one B&N.com order for free shipping, in batches on the first and fifteenth of the month for things in the next couple of weeks.

If it has already been published, then I add it to my wishlists and hope somebody buys it for me.

If I go a whole month without buying new releases, or if I have a coupon that is going to expire before I can use it on something I'm waiting for, I buy myself one item from my wishlist.

So how much I buy a month depends on whether there are lots of new things out, or I'm just buying myself one thing from my list.

That booksalefinder website is a serious find! Thanks!

I have a monthly book budget. Typically I'll use it for one (sometimes 2) new books that I actually need for school/research purposes, and then whatever's left gets spent at the used book store. So some months 2 new books is all I'll end up with, if the new one(s) was/were expensive, and other months I'll make out like a bandit :D

You're welcome! Spread the love.

I just mooched two Dorothy Sayers mysteries. I do love Lord Peter.

I probably average 5 or 6 books a month, if my school books get distributed across time. At this point, being a somewhat transient grad school student, my limitation is more (or as much) lack of space and the knowledge that any books I buy will have to be moved repeatedly whenever I find a different apartment, than it is lack of funds.

I go through periods where I'll buy very few books (for me); maybe one or two a month. Then I'll go through periods where I'll drop three or four hundred dollars on books in the space of a couple weeks.

My main issue is that whenever I'm feeling the least bit melancholy, I go to a bookstore and spend a couple hours browsing. I always leave with something, usually with lots.

That's actually the only reason I frequent large chain bookstores - the little stores which I prefer for a variety of reason (price, community loyalty, depth of selection, etc) just don't have the wide variety of books required for several hours of browsing.

Yeah, beschrich... I hate moving books.

My main issue, Jordan, is that I spend hours browsing bookstores when I am melancholy or full of glee. And, either way I end up spending money... bad habit, I tell ya. Just can't kick it.

I actually love large bookstore chains. Thats why I love New York City... 4 story book stores... who would have thought?

ya, moving books is not fun. I just moved recently and one of my friends discovered how many books I have!

The upside (maybe downside) to this move is I'm now like a minute away from Borders to the south and a HUGE local used bookstore to the north! :D This could be dangerous!

I'm scared to move house. Every time I stagger home with bags of books hanging from either arm, I think to myself, "You're going to have to carry these out someday, you know." Perish the thought!

It depends, 2 or 3 a month. Sometimes 4. I haven't bought books for a while because Christmas is coming! Otherwise it would be sad for my parents, LOL.

I tend to buy in spurts. In October, I went on a book buying spree (online) and now I'm on one again. Prior to lt, I just browsed online bookstores. Thanks to librarything, I have enough books to read for the rest of my life. There are so many interesting catalogs here. I'll never be in a book rut again.

I have been lucky to get at my local library, hard cover used books at their sales every other month. I luck into 50 cents deals that help me complete my series and also let me get books in other categories that I want to build on. I have walked out with 45 books for $20 on weekend sales then anytime during the week I can go fill a plastic bag for $2.00 (12) book max, so once a week I get about 28 books if they have interesting stuff which they do. It has gotten so bad lately my stacks were consuming the floor. so this past weekend I broke down and built, stained and hung new shelves (see profile pic) with a new design of hanging the book covers on the wall behind the shelves to accent. Now that they are of the floor and on the shelves, I am going to cut back and limit to 12 a month and start reading more.

I would say, about 2-3 a month right now. This is taking into consideration the following factors:

1) my brother got a job at Waldenbooks, and his manager allows, nay, ENCOURAGES the whole family to use his discount. Therefore I have bought more books new in the time since he's worked there than probably any other time in my life.

2) Since joining LibraryThing I have done my best to convince myself NOT to buy books, but to read from the huge TBR pile (two large bookshelves about about 7 boxes of books at my parents' house, eek!) so that I can determine if they are ones I feel the need to keep or not. This has not been entirely successful; see 1).

3) I bought books for 6 nephews and several friends for Christmas.... again, see 1).

Wish me luck with 2).

All my life I've had trouble walking out of bookshops without buying a book (or five). I'm currently working in a bookshop. It's not doing my bank balance any good at all!

A month? That depends. There are months that I'll be in reading mode and hit up every used bookstore in town, probably getting 10-12 things in the process. But I've gone months without buying a book, too. Today, though, I went into Borders with a few coupons and came out with 4 books.. way more than I usual buy there considering that they're full-price and I'm a poor college student, but it was so hard to resist!

I regularly refer to my book-buying habits as an addiction, as I rarely go a week without hitting one of my favorite book stores. Sometimes I go for used books, though I admittedly purchase new a little more often than is responsible. Almost never am I capable of entering a book store without making a purchase, and usually I end up with two.

Today, though, I went to Barnes & Noble and put the novel I wanted to take home back on the shelf after carrying it around for a few minutes, undecided. Victory!

I usually have to make sure I only go into a bookshop on the company of a friend with strict instructions not to let me buy too much. One friend in particular is very good at this. If weren't for her I'd be in the poorhouse (well, in a poorer poorhouse than I am in currently). Only problem is, I work in a bookshop. Very dangerous.

I have to admit I suffer from this condition... I buy more books than I can read, and some time ago I promised myself that I would read ten books I already own for every book I buy. It went pretty well until last week I saw Selected Poems by Emily Dickinson and Three Plays for Puritans by Bernard Shaw at a great price, so I could resist... I mostly buy used, though, it may sound weird but I like it when a book has notes (in pencil, of course) by a previous owner, it makes me wonder where the book has been and why... Besides, I love the smell of really old books...

1-4 max. I use the library more. I really don't have the space or money to own everything I read.

I've gotten better since I moved to a small town--a decent bookstore is about forty minutes away, and I try to keep myself away from Amazon as much as possible. It probably averages out to buying five or six a month though, with spurts around Christmas (when I'm shopping for others and not counting here) and the summer when I have more time to read and somehow always neglect the already huge tbr pile... and yes, it's an addiction, and when I have a bad day at school? There's nothing that cheers me up more than a few hours browsing in the bookstore with a hot cup of tea. I have a great boyfriend now though who tags along to Remind me of my TBR pile, and he's definately helped me go into a more controlled state when being around unread unbought unexplored books....sigh. you guys are making me want to go to the bookstore when I really should be grading papers.

It's honestly hard for me to figure out. Maybe I should start keeping track of what I buy as well as what I read!

I buy pretty much only from Amazon or Borders. I am a substitute teacher married to a PhD student, so we are in the same broke boat as some of you here! I can't tell if it's because I'm broke or cheap, but I refuse to buy anything that isn't discounted. I only buy from Borders when I have a coupon. Amazon pretty much discounts everything (at least the books I'm interested in).

I'm a picky little chick, so I really don't like used books. I do buy ones with remainder marks, but other than that, they have to be in brand new condition.

I was a Moocher at one point, but it really didn't work for me. One, I care about book condition too much. And two, I was listing books that were really popular, always on wishlists, always most requested and then when it came time for me to find a book that I wanted, all I found was an abundance of romance novels and mysteries- stuff I have zero interest in.

Oh yeah! And I'm moving to Texas this summer (from Kansas). Moving books stinks! When I moved from Washington state back to Illinois, I ended up selling/giving away half of all my books. Won't be doing that this time!

My name is Steven, and I'm a book buying addict. But I'm getting better.

I can now enter a bookstore and leave without buying anything, if there's nothing that really takes my fancy.

I have installed a (large) box in my appartment that is my official TBR pile; if the box is full, there can be no new books. There are a couple of flaws in this concept though. It means that I always start reading the larger books and neglect the little ones (they take up less space in the box). Also, I found that I can pile on top of the box...

There's a major booksale coming up next month too. I'm afraid I'll need to find a bigger box now.

>wisewoman, hey if you know good places to buy books in the US (california - los angeles specifically eh?) let me know! i looked on the book sale site and it could be useful, i'm always getting books from bookmooch (2-3 a week) and amazon too, but I miss browsing bookshops ... and borders feels too expensive now that I use BM so much, so I try not to spend so much money there (although to be honest i went three days ago to buy one book i needed and left with 4.. sometimes you can't help it!)

anyway if anyone has suggestions for places to go that aren't big chains and expensive, i'd love it. it seems like my part of the world doesn't have a whole lot of 2nd hand bookshops.

yay for BM though! I used to not want to give away any of my books, but eventually i got over it and now i keep only special books or first editions, but most other books i send off into the world to be enjoyed by others. I figure if I really want it again later I can mooch another copy to add to my library. It makes me happy to know they are off somewhere making someone else happy, and thats better than them sitting on my shelf I think. :)

dancingstarfish, I'm in Ohio so I don't really know the book scene in LA, but... do you have any thrift stores there? I find a lot of my books in Goodwill and other thrift stores. You should also visit your local library and find out if they have booksales — those are the best!

I must be a packrat... if I like a book, I keep it, end of story. Part of that is because I want to have a good library built up for my children when we start having them... and also because I love having oodles of choices when I wander into our computer room and pick a book.

I manage BM and PBS by buying books especially to list on those sites when I'm at a booksale or thrift store. It's fun to try to guess what people will mooch quickly. I've been very, very right at times — and also very, very wrong, lol.

Lately I've been hitting Half Price Books every week or two and coming home with about 5 books each time, which is slightly more books than I can read at a time. Plus, I've been getting Early Reviewer books and doing my best to win books from publisher sites and book clubs on the internet. This weekend I'll be hitting up the Friends of the Library sale of one of the local libraries. I really need more bookshelves...

More bookshelves? I need more walls to put shelves on. Uh-oh, that means I should move...

I drove by a half price books in san francisco today, i was driving back home to LA. Berekely has so many bookstores, i kept wanting to stop and browse. I wish my area of LA had that many!

For quite a while now I've been buying/receiving more books than I could possibly read... so now I limited myself to buy books only after I'm done reading all the ones I have on my shelves...

Right now, I'm buying very little books... the only time I do is when someone gives me book vouchers/tokens...

I don't purchase books too often, but I swap on websites like Bookmooch.com and Paperbackswap.com like crazy. I have too too waaaaaaay too many books waiting around to be read, but I just can't resist them. Better to get the book now and have it than be unable to find it when I might want to read it in the future...right?

I've exchanged book tokens recently and Borders gave me a voucher for 15% off... being one not to waste such promotions, I find myself stuck in a vicious cycle... now I have 87 days before it expires so I'll probably buy myself a book somewhere in June... thus my promise of not buying anything before I read everything I have decided to read is shattered...

I purchase about 10-15 books a month. But I usually read at least 10 books per month, so I don't create too much of a backlog for myself. I do need to stop buying books and start buying more bookshelves, though. I'm rapidly running out of space!

I've cut back a lot lately for many reasons. I really want to read a chunk of what I own before I add more to the pile, plus I had to decide what I wanted to be spending my money on (more books or vacations).

But it's too hard to pass up some of the Borders coupons or a nice thrift store with a large selection. My book buying is equivalent to my movie buying. I go in spurts and I usually buy a lot and run out of space.

It's about time to buy another book shelf.

I have a terrible book buying compulsion. I acquire quite a few books every month, though I rarely buy books at full price. Most of my books come in through Bookmooch, but my local library also sells used books for cheap on a regular basis, and there are some really good titles that show up there. I go in and walk away with 20 books for 20 bucks. I also found this really cheap source for remaindered books, so every month I place an order with them too, scooping up some of their new offerings.

All this buying, and not enough time for reading. :(

I'm pretty sure that I've acquired 10 books so far this week (plus probably at least as many last week). All of these were either review copies, or books from bookmooch so I paid little to nothing for any of them. One would think that 20 books in 10 days would be more than sufficient, particularly as I cannot read nearly that many and my shelves are starting to overflow again.

I was actually just thinking this morning how I didn't have a big compulsion to go and buy books right now since I currently have more fantastic-looking books than I have time to read (and many of them need to be done before they are actually released). Not 5 minutes after this thought was in my head, I got an email reminding me that everything at Half Price Books is 20% off this weekend for Memorial Day and now I'm trying to figure out how to convince my fiance that I HAVE to go.

I know what you mean--I try now to go to the bookstore with my boyfriend--he's a reader too, but much more practical and on-and-off; it's always guaranteed that I'll pick up fewer books with him since he's always looking at me like "really? you Really need That many new books when we both know how many you have at home to read???" thank goodness for his influence, or I'm sure I'd have bought twice the number of books this year that I have as it is.

I probably buy 40+ books a month — more if I can hit a few good library sales.

Probably between 10 & 20 a month, depending on sales, etc. Last month I bought a TON of Buffy/Angel/Charmed novels on Amazon.com: 4-for-3 promo, plus free shipping, plus the "Economic Stimulus," equals much with the book buying. But on average, 10-20, including the board books I buy for my little girl (she's almost 2).

Probably between 2 and 10 a month. Sometimes more.

About half the books I buy are new which I usually order from my local book shop. It's a tiny shop so I don't usually find anything I want to buy off the shelf.

The rest come from a combination of charity shops, early reviewers, library sales, readitswapit, or ebay.

I was left $1000 in a will to buy books for myself for my education and it was not allowed to be used for anything else. (I'm studying to be a teacher.) I've spent nearly all of it in the last year. I spend my money systematically. I bought the 60 books needed for my Master's program. Next I bought books that I would probably teach at some point. Next, and this is the current phase: Reference books. Actually, I think I'm done.

It was wonderful to be able to acquire the books and now I have to discipline myself to stop. Come the start of the upcoming semester I probably won't buy more than a handful for the next year.

I never realized just how much of an addiction I have until today. I moved into my apartment two years ago with a box (milk crate) full of books. Now I'm moving out. I've filled three boxes and more than half of my books are left on the shelf.

The accumulation! It's insane!

My husband has banned me from buying books... the secret is, now I get them delivered to work, I just hope he won't find out. Pre-Ban I was ordering 15-20 books, at the moment about 5-10 books, but it's encouraged me to clear my tbr pile, but I just can't let them go, so find it really hard to sell them on...

>64 ambushedbyasnail: ambushedbyasnail, you call a growth of two crates in two years a problem?? That's how many books I buy in two months!

66: No, I'm saying I've filled three crates and haven't even begun to make a dent in my bookshelf!

Although admittedly, I don't think I buy a crate per month. Although some months are better than others.

Anymore, I don't buy that many; I get supplied with ARCs and such. Plus, I'm getting better about going to the library. In total, I'd say I read about 12-15 books a month. I really only buy if I can't find a certain book anywhere, and I really want to read/ own it. I also do a fair amount of shopping on Amazon UK (to find books that are hard to find in the US).

I work for a bookstore and get quite a few ARC copies . . . But I still manage to purchase my way through a ton myself! I typically buy around five a month, all paperbacks (quality paperbacks, not mass markets -- I unintentionally destroy the binding on those!).

Hmm in my first two years of working full time (read: salary) I bought heaps of books. I think I would have bought at least 100 books last year. Half would have been new half from an exchange shop.

This year I have started to read what I already had and to date I have only bought 8 books this year. I'm not sure why? My reading has slowed down as I've concentrated on studying so that may be a reason. It could be the recession?

It could be that Whitcoulls bought out the NZ and Australian chain of Borders and not surprisingly all the good weekly coupons I used to get have dried up. Whitcoulls is the worst book chain-store in NZ (and of course the biggest) and the most expensive and tight fisted. I used to get 50% off any book vouchers or at the very least 30% of a DVD etc now I get buy THREE books and get 25% off them all. pffft.

I get a sizable discount on books through work, which has proven to be sooooo dangerous for me. I'm running out of bookshelf space (again) and my bank account is constantly drained, but I can't help myself!

I decided to try reading five for every one I bought - sadly, this only lasted for the first eight books read or so, before I went mad like a binge-reading maniac and bought far too many to calm the withdrawal again. Haha, I'm hopeless - I'm skint, I need new clothes and live in a freezing flat, and still I would rather spend all my spare (and not-so-spare) money on books.

I got about eight books for Christmas, yet knowing they were coming I bought three just before that, and KNOWING I'D GOT THEM ALL SITTING RIGHT HERE I ordered another seven a couple of days AFTER Christmas which were delivered today. I already have hundreds of unread books glaring accusingly at me from amongst the hundreds I have already loved.

It's only a matter of time before I succumb again - temptation is everywhere, in charity shops and department stores, on market stalls, online...

@ 72 -

I bought a bag from Barnes & Noble - one side has a quote by Abraham Lincoln: "My best friend is a person who will give me a book I have not read."

On the other side, it has a quote by Erasmus: "When I get a little money, i buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes."

How very appropriate!

*smiles*

I LOVE that Erasmus quote, I live by it! Also Henry Ward Beecher: 'Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?'

>73 Ricechex:, 74

I have a pretty, metal bookmark with the Erasmus quote on it. It was one of many book-centered gifts that I got when I finished my Masters of Library Science.

Not that Wikipedia is necessarily the most trustworthy source of information, I always found this entry to be rather amusing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliomania

(It is cited with further reading, so I do believe that this condition exists...and I'm pretty sure everyone here suffers from it, to one degree or another *grin*)

Way too many... About 11 a month, since I joined LT (if I remember how to do math correctly). I'm trying not to buy any new ones until I finish all my old ones, but I'm not holding out much hope for this plan.

>64 ambushedbyasnail:, thats pretty funny hiding your book buying from your husband. Doesn't he see them pop up around the house? Or do you keep them at work? haha

I think I buy an average of 20 a month, more if I have more time or vacation. I just went on a one week vacation and brought (and finished!) 8 books. So I guess its relative to whatever is going on at the time. Although, even when I don't have the time to read.. I still manage to buy them and they wait patiently for me anyway :)

>64 ambushedbyasnail:/78, I used to do the same with my mum, when I lived in the family house. I would catch the postman and smuggle them upstairs, and have them all unpacked and hidden away before she realised. Now I'm living in the flat next door which has no letterbox of its own (so everything goes to the house still), AND I'm always up late because I've read too late into the night, AND Mum's on a career break so she's always at home. It's becoming much more difficult, I have to try to order things one at a time so at least they don't look too much!

It depends on how often I let myself go into Half Price Books. If I don't go there, I'll buy about 5 or so books every month. If I go into HPB, I don't leave without at least 8-10 books. I could buy out the entire store. SO those months (which is pretty much most months), I'll buy about 15 books.

I hide them from my husband, too. It's not so much that he cares I spend the money, but I know he realizes how many books we own that I've not read. There are at least 100, I know it. I feel bad bringing even more into the house when it just adds to the problem. I know at this point I'll never catch up with the sheer amount of books waiting to be read. By the time I read two or three of them, I've bought at least that many more.

Such is life. :D

^ At least 100? Oh dear. There are probably 500-600+ books I own that I haven't read!

*blush*

Wow, 500-600! But don't be embarassed. I have probably 250-300. They take up two full shelves. :-)

Here in Japan, I'd guess I have between 100-150 unread books. Back home in Australia (where I'll be in a few short months), I'd say I have twice as many as that sitting unread. And being the book hoard that I am, you know I've already investigated the cost of shipping all my books home again. That's not going to be pretty! That said, I can't bare the alternative. I get heaps of "Sayonara Sale" emails from foreigner returning home many who are just giving away their books. Crazy!

>82 beatlemoon: Me too - but I still went out and bought another two today (*ahem*). I have all my unread books marked and the number never seems to go down... sigh...

For me, it varies wildly anywhere between 2 and 40 books, depending on how well I can control my compulsion, primarily bought used through betterworld.com and library sales. Maybe a quarter of my purchases are new, and I'd like to reduce that percentage.

At the moment, though, I've banned myself from buying any new books that I don't need for school until I've read everything that I have in my dorm room. Wish me luck.

I'm trying so hard not to buy books, but last week I went to town and into the many charity shops there and bought about seven over two or three trips. Not good, and yet so very, VERY good... Now I'm just trying to restrain myself from Amazon for a bit longer, eeeeeek.

bookcloseouts.com always gets me. I spent $20 today, but they're doing their "Dollar for Dollar" promotion, so I got $20 worth of free books, as well! You just can't say the words "books" and "sale" to me in the same sentence.

@ jfslone

I must say, you are evil in the best of all possible ways for having brought this to my attention.

*whispers www.bookmooch.com and www.paperbackswap.com to the thread in general*

;)

OK, last week I bought about seven, but today my addiction got a hold of me again and when we went to the supermarket, I nipped out saying I was 'going to the bank'. There just so happens to be an Oxfam Books just down the road and I came back to find my mum waiting impatiently in the very last aisle, with three books in my bag and no-one any the wiser... mwahahaha!

So glad that I'm not the only one addicted to book buying. Think I average about 10-15 a month, but having read all the posts on this thread I don't feel as bad about it as I have up to now.

I think the worst things about my addiction are the desire for brand new books (which is costing me a fortune) and space. I've got 12 bookshelves filled with books in my room and they're slowly taking over the house.

Had a binge yesterday in Waterstones, bought five books and have nowhere to put them. Does anyone have a cure for this?!

^ Yep, built-in bookcases.

:-P

And, like the art of flower arranging, becoming proficient at the art of arranging towering piles of books into sturdy yet beautiful stacks - unfortunately, the cat likes to rub against mine and they all fall over...

The amount of bookcases I have is frightening. I got another for Christmas and it's full.

Got word today that the library's used book sale is happening again today and tomorrow... somehow I missed this until just now. At the one in October I came home with about 30.

Sigh. Here we go again.

Usually I am able to hold back on buying that many books, though it somehow averages from 2 (a good month) to 6 (an even better month).

I must confess though that this thread pushed me over the edge and I finally bought the Robert Frost collection that I've been holding out on buying. I blame all of you!

Like any addiction, mine has gotten worse after all the denial recently. As did my carb habit, which exploded today at the supermarket in a fountain of jam donuts and pastry - but that's another story... I've been buying charity shop books, but they don't pack quite the same illicit punch as a large and totally unnecessary online order, with all the delayed gratification and getting post! Today, between Amazon, their Marketplace and the Nectar loyalty website, I ordered five books and three DVDs, and now I'm going to be excited all week!

I really do have a problem when it comes to books. I would say I pick up a new one every week, often without realising I'm doing it. Usually I buy from the Oxfam book shop, occasionally from Waterstones but mostly I frequent a second hand book shop in town and it has got so regular that the old man at the counter now gives me a discount. I go in about once a week and never leave empty handed. I have only splurged once, spending £30 in one go on folklore and mythology books but he gave me a collection of Grimm's Tales from the 1920's for free as I didn't have enough for it on top if the rest. It pays of to befriend book-store staff. Although I now dream about this shop.

>97 Quembel: Off this thread, now, with your self restraint and book a week! You can come back when you've sold a close family member on eBay for book money, moved INTO the nice bookstore to live between the shelves and elevated your buying habits to, hmmmm, let's say three a week for now... ;-)

I'm fast approaching an international move (I have less than two months to go) and still, I find myself ordering upward of 15 books a month on Amazon. It's truly ridiculous. I justify it by saying the price of books here is significantly less than back home.

If only I had a one book a week habit. Packing sure would be easier!

I think my husband would jump for joy if I just bought one book a week. Instead, we have to buy some new device to hold books once every two months, give or take a little!

elliepotten, I will try. Did see bookstore man in town today carrying boxes of "new" books into the store. Shall be going there tomorrow. And as we walked past the shop my mother commented that we should sell our house and move in there.
I bought 6 new books yesterday alone if that helps.....

>101 Quembel: Hmmmm, better... Keep up the good work! :-)

I'm treating myself to the Laura Ingalls Wilder boxed collection of the Little House series with my tax refund when I get it ^_^

I do so love a good boxed collection. and this summer, at the bookbarn... I intend to spend $100 in one visit and come out with no less than 75 books. I'd say 100 but since I don't want ALL paperback romances, 75 is a good number. I'm on the look out for a Grimm's Fairytales book.

I think with my tax refund I might also get myself Wicked, Son of a Witch, and True Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.

The new Coldplay CD is on that list as well. ^_^

My largest tax refund ever and so long as I have enough left over for a summer course... I can spend or save the rest as I see fit. ^_^

EEEEEEEE! Books. ^_^

I went into a charity shop to collect a Valentine's sweepstake win today and in the two minutes it took for the manager to find her till keys and fill out a nice yellow form, I'd bought two more books.

I've also arranged to start volunteering back in the Mind shop, so I'll be able to keep an eye on the books coming in there again, and pop into all the other local ones on my way back to the bus station every week! AHAHAHAHA!

"I must be a packrat... if I like a book, I keep it, end of story. Part of that is because I want to have a good library built up for my children when we start having them... and also because I love having oodles of choices when I wander into our computer room and pick a book.

I manage BM and PBS by buying books especially to list on those sites when I'm at a booksale or thrift store. It's fun to try to guess what people will mooch quickly. I've been very, very right at times — and also very, very wrong, lol."

YES! I'm glad that I'm not the only person who does this. The only things I'll give away on bookmooch are pb's I pick up at library sales just for that purpose. The shipping is low on those little books, and it lets me mooch a lot without giving away anything from my lovely book collection.

I know exactly what you mean about keeping books in a library for the kids even though you don't have any yet! I'm 21 and I already look at a book and think 'I'd love my children to read this one day...' I dream of my kids being able to surround themselves with books, maybe with my own library that they can be granted access to as a kind of rite of passage when they hit 10 or something. Pure whimsy but such a lovely thought!

BTW my book addiction ran a bit mad today - 3 books arrived in the post and 4 from two charity shops in town. Tomorrow I'm going back to cover a few more charity shops before I go bury myself in books and chocolate for the rest of the weekend!

105: yeah, I try to list smaller books too (or at least nothing gargantuanly huge). As for my collection — it is sacred. It would be like selling a child, lol!

I definitely think about saving books for my children, too. That's something my grandma has passed on to me. She saved tons of books from her lifetime, and when I was younger she always told me never to give away any of my books because I could keep them for MY children and grandchildren. As a result, I have boxes upon boxes of children's books. I'm so glad I do, though. We're going to start having children in the next year or so, and I can't wait to set up shelves in a child's room with all of those books.

>105 inaudible:, 106, etc. etc. (everyone before or after who commented on this phenomenon)

I love that I'm not the only one who is 'collecting' her books. For me it's a little of 'oh my kids might want to read this' but it's also the idea of having my own library. This is *my* library of books. Nothing that I don't like or want. It represents me; my tastes, my interests, my curiosities. When I'm gone, my friends and family might just discover something about me that they never knew just by virtue of the books on the shelf. Heck, I discover things about myself just by looking at the books I acquired as a child, teenager, and then young adult! It's a fascinating idea to me, one's bookshelf as a representation of self...

I'm a big BookMoocher, though I don't do PaperBackSwap because I think I'd get too confused as to what's been asked for and what's gone and all that. I keep all the books that I think there is a possibility I'll reread again, whether it be because I liked it or it was something I thought just deserved another chance, etc. However, if I read a book that I absolutely don't like and know I'll never touch again (Twilight, I'm looking at you), I put it up on BookMooch. I want my library to be only books I like and if I have no intentions of rereading a book, then I view it as a wasted tree just sitting on my shelf. Even if it wasn't a book I enjoyed, it deserves to be on the shelf of someone who will like it and read it. Hence, BookMooch.

As to buying books, I'm very bad at that. I used to buy 20-30 books a month, but I'm not the quickest reader and on good months, I read up to 10. This lead to me owning way more unread books than read ones. I also have no space on any of my four bookshelves for books, so I worked out a deal with my roommate. For one year, I would try my hardest to not buy any books at all (this deal was made yesterday, so I have until February 17, 2010 before I can buy another book). For every book I read during the year, I'm putting $5 or $10 aside and if I haven't bought any books throughout the year, I'm taking that money and going on a massive book buying binge. I have a feeling that's all that'll keep me going throughout the year.

>109 beatlemoon: beatlemoon - Couldn't have put it better myself... Have you read Snoop by Sam Savage? It has some interesting ideas on the books and music you own as a representation of yourself... :-)

>110 RebeccaAnn: RebeccaAnn - I cling onto books I love, books I might read again, and books I want to give a second chance at life too. The duff ones or quick reads go to the charity shop. Though my Twilight series ain't going anywhere - I'm too in love with all the men in it! Your book binge plan sounds incredible but I just couldn't do it - I'm living on a pittance but it STILL all goes on piles of books, I just can't discipline myself enough!

Guilty as charged. I have about 16-20 books laying around my room that need to be read. Unfortunately I keep buying books! If I see a book in an article that sounds interesting or if I am interested in a topic, I will look for a book, buy it, store it somewhere in my apartment, and put it on the list to read. It's terribly annoying to have so many books on the list to read but hey, I want a big library!

RebeccaAnn, I LOVE your book buying ban idea and the incentive system keeping it going. I'm totally going to give it a go once I've relocated back home come April. My 'to be read' pile is MASSIVE and seeing as though already this month I've had about nine books arrive from Amazon (plus the four more arriving tomorrow), the pile isn't getting any smaller.

I'm very much looking forward to my great Book Buying Binge come April, 2010.

>113 strandedon8jo:

Glad to be an inspiration!

I understand completely about your massive TBR pile. I finally got all my books put into my LT library and I think I came out to 400ish, only about 60 of which I've read (I borrow from the library and friends a lot so I've definitely read more than 60 :P ). I cringed when I realized I own roughly 350 books that I haven't read...

Although, I can't ban myself from the library! I would go crazy so I figured I, with the support of my roommate who is getting a bit irritated at the books I own which take up so much space, would do my best not to buy books for a year! Then with the money I saved, I'd splurge. A great incentive to read more books this year because I'll get to buy more next year!

I just had a little charity-shop-related accident. Mum was at work so I took full advantage of her absence post-volunteering to go mad and buy another 11 books. Plus 7 from the library. I think I've now bought more books this month than there are days in it!

I buy FAR too many books. I have a weakness for used book sales, as well as used book stores, which there seem to be a plethora of around my college. I have a collection of 340 or so books, and 100 that I have not read because I buy so many. I am actually doing the 50 book challenge this year, and have picked all books off of what I own, including what I need to read for class. Hurray for being an English major.

I currently have a pile of books to be read, 8 if I am correct. To make matters worse I recently had a splurge in a charity shop and have dived into those books before starting on the pile that has exixted since Christmas and my Feburary birthday. To make matters even worse a very dear friend gave me a £40 gift card for Waterstones so temptation is right there in my purse everytime I pass the shop.

>111 elliepotten:

No, I haven't! It sounds really interesting, though... Sigh. Looks like my 'to-be-read' shelf is about to acquire another volume :-)

I've got about ten bookshelves of books to read, plus two wardrobe shelves, plus three towering piles, plus a pile of library books... and still I bought two books from the charity shop and was overjoyed when another three arrived from Amazon! :-)

I have a problem...i just spent 40 smackers on two books...well I renewed my membership with BAM so that added to the cost. I tend to over buy. I just bought 5 book from Bookcloseouts.com(if you havent been there stop reading this and go now, cheapest books ever) and decided I want to read some scary stories so I bought two more books today. Not to mention the 40 (no joke) books I received from a co-worker and my company's security guard this past week.

Just got home from 2 hours' charity shop shopping and now got a pile of fifteen new books to add to my library... yay! On a more serious note, this is the second or third week in a row I've spent far too much and gone way over budget, so I'm thinking I'll quit the book buying for a few weeks now and read the pile of library books and start on all my new buys!

I got eight books tonight at the booksale. Slim pickings compared to what I used to come home with, but they don't make booksales like they used to... :-P

Gack! I've already broken my vow to buy no books! Yesterday I bought fourteen books. Fourteen!

Although, eleven of them were used, so that's a tiny bit better, but still. I was doing so good!!!

We need a Bookbuyers Anonymous group, methinks.

Only I don't want therapy for it! I want to keep buying! Muwhahahahaha!!!

You know, I often worry that my mother will be angry with me for buying another book. I was especially nervous about telling her when I joined the Folio Society. But she always surprises me by being rather supportive! When I joined Folio she shrugged and said "Well, dear, I always think to myself that it could be worse - you could be a crack addict." She has a point. :-)

Maybe I will use that line on my husband. LOL.

I use that line on my mum and she's having none of it! Although I did persuade her to buy two books last time as well, which is her equivalent of me buying twelve, so she didn't say anything about my heaving bags. Usually she just reads my stuff!

When I lived in Michigan, I was a volunteer Friend of the Library and board member, so I always got first pick on any book sales we had. I would come home with 40-50 books every 3 months spending no more than $20. Including visiting on weekdays and checking the used book stores in my area I probably spent no more than $30 a month.

Hi, I'm new. :-D

I don't even know how many books I buy in a month! I suppose I could figure it out if I looked at the add dates of my library. Actually, that's a good idea. Hang on.

Hm. Didn't help much. In April I added 31, and in May I added 68. But I found a secret stash of old books in May. And I've already added 11 for June.

Sooo, I think I'm going to go with 30. Ack. I think I never really wanted to know.

Problem is, I work at Borders. So it's SO EASY, because of the discount, and then you know about every sale ever, so.. Things just pile up, I suppose.

Normally I don't buy that many books, as the books I want are normally pretty expensive here (The Netherlands). I don't like buying online, merely because I feel I might never stop buying. I like browsing a bookstore.
When I go to England (which is about once or twice a year on business) I make a big long wishlist and go all out on books (last time I got 14 in one day, the time before that 33). I just love how medieval history is so big there, in comparison to over here. Also, I like reading in English instead of Dutch, and English books are about twice as expensive here, so when I get the chance, I buy them in the UK much cheaper. The only thing holding me back then is weight restrictions on airline luggage, but I haven't gotten in trouble yet :D

Sooooo I just bought my first book from bookdepository.co.uk! The New Discworld Companion. I'm excited about it! I was oddly proud when I showed up in the Watch People Shop thing they do. "Lookit, that's my book!"

Free shipping from England to Florida is WIN!

I'm rapid-cycling bipolar (NOS), and buying books like mad is one of my manic behaviour patterns! *chuckling* I cycle _very_ rapidly - hours to days to weeks - and when I'm on the up end of the run, I get more books than when I'm on the downside. I worked it out a few months ago, and I spend about £10-30 buying books (almost always used ones) every month (and I'm on welfare, so that's a BIG chunk of my income), along with mooching five to ten a month. I read quickly! I love well-read books, so long as they're still legible, because it shows they've been loved.

I take back what I said about normally not buying many books. I just made three collections, everything I bought or got for free (gift or give away) in 2007, 2008 and 2009 so far.
In 2007 I got 94 new books (I was still in school)
In 2008 I got 168 new books (I finished school and got a job)
In 2009 I got 94 new books, so far. I just went on a trip to England, and got 42 of those 94 books in the two weeks there. And if I was allowed to take more weight on the plane, I would've gotten more.
I will slow down now, though I am keeping my eye on some books on Amazon, and I might ask an "order" as my birthday present :D.

I'm not rapidly cycling, but I'm very definitely bipolar... I find that I go mad on my book spending when I'm manic too! I just have this 'ah, sod it' mechanism with books at that point and go waaaaaay overboard. I buy loads and loads of books, far beyond what I can really spend (I was on benefits too until I finally managed to open my shop a couple of weeks ago)... Nice to meet you Trialia! :-D

"Well, dear, I always think to myself that it could be worse - you could be a crack addict." She has a point. :-)

#125...

The funny thing is, I tell myself this all of the time!

"Hello, my name is Dan and I'm a bookaholic."

...Or I would if I could find a close bookstore.

>136 dman999327:: It's the internet that does it for me. I can't physically see the money disappearing and then, all of sudden, I get a notice from my bank saying I've overdrafted. When I run through my receipts to see what I spent money on, it's always books. It's not healthy (but it's not crack :P )

...I can stop anytime. Honest!

Bookshops make me happy, and when I've had a hard day, I pour out my books on my bed, and look them over. My dad passed away last December, and I've inherited a large chunk of his books, so I can't buy any more books for myself (my unread pile is distressingly high)...but I can buy books for my sisters and girlfirends.

I don't need to own them. I just need to bring them home with me.

PS. The last time I went to the bookshop I didn't buy any books, but I just couldn't leave emptyhanded. So I bought three posters. As Nigerians say, "At all, at all, na winsch!"

...just read some more posts. I've got nothing on most of you. Books aren't cheap here, and good books are hard to find, so I am restrained.

Good to know I'm not alone though!

I've found a bit of a cure... I love the bookstores in England so much, that the Dutch ones pale in comparison, both with regards to selection and pricing... Which means I get dejected anytime I walk into one, and don't feel like buying much. They never have books from my wishlist, and if they do I can see they are twice as expensive as in England.
Downside is that whenever I do go to England I go overboard in buying books so I can refill my stash.... Ah well ;)

I buy entirely too many books. On average, I'd say that I buy around 10-15 books a month. I always hit the clearance section in the used bookstore, meaning that some of the books I buy are as low as 50 cents each. Usually they are between $1-$3 if I don't allow myself to stray from the clearance. I simply can not justify ignoring a book (or twenty) at that price.

I just got my Booktopia (we don't have Amazon in Australia!) parcel with 8 brand spankin' new book just waiting to be read. I'm VERY excited.

I hear ya... I'd been saving up Amazon vouchers from doing surveys and from my birthday, and the other week had a HUGE online blowout. A few marketplace parcels started to trickle in before the piece de resistance... a big parcel full of shiny new books from Amazon itself.

Who needs sex, drugs and rock and roll when you can have chocolate, a mug of tea and a pile of books?! OK, well, drugs and rock and roll anyway. ;-)

#143 "Who needs sex, drugs and rock and roll when you can have chocolate, a mug of tea and a pile of books?! OK, well, drugs and rock and roll anyway. ;-)"

That's what I always, but strangely not many of my friends and colleagues see my viewpoint. All I am doing is spending whatever they spend in the weekends on booze and partying on books and gadgets... much better!

EXACTLY!!!! I was like that at uni - they'd go out and get drunk every night, I'd go to sleep all hot chocolatey and wake up to Amazon parcels and book shopping in the Yorkshire sunshine...

Seriously though, who wants to wake up at midday, £50 lighter, in a drunken mess when they could breeze into town along a sparkly river, drift around an English country market, pick up a few books at a second-hand shop and then wander home with a fresh milkshake and sit by the river reading?! That was my favourite thing to do while I was at university, utter bliss...

I did that too. What am I saying, I still do that! My friends buy drinks and clothes, I buy books. And more books. And sometimes even more books!

Traveling a lot means walking by airport bookstores way too often. I end up with way too many impulse buys! If I combine BookMooch (I only get rid of books I know I won't read again), used, and new I probably average about books 15 a month.

Ever since I discovered that my library has a used bookstore in its basement where it sells books as low as 25 cents, I've been making weekly pilgrimages, buying more than I can read in a year. I'm so addicted, but I can't stop!

Well... the boyfriend bought me a Kindle for Christmas and gave it to me early (HOORAY!)! However... this means instant gratification! I can go online and buy a book any time I want. Ooohhhh dangerous :)

Well... the boyfriend bought me a Kindle for Christmas and gave it to me early (HOORAY!)! However... this means instant gratification! I can go online and buy a book any time I want. Ooohhhh dangerous :)

@ 148/amckie - Congrats! Welcome to the legion! My boyfriend got me a Kindle for my birthday this year. I adore it beyond measure. And yeah, the instant gratification is always good, on top of the fact that pretty much everything is discounted. I even got a bunch of the freebies of classics they have on there. Love love love my Kindle. Enjoy it!

Cheers!

Thanks Ricechex :) I am going to have to start looking for them. I have to ask though, on the Kindle site I couldn't find anywhere a list of all free books... Am I missing something or is it a search and see what you can find type of deal? I also have to admit that one thing I am not loving about the Kindle is the inability to sort the books into folders. I am too OCD about filing and organizing for this to be good! Or, again, I might be missing something here too?

Bought 17 books for $7! That's my kind of bargain.

@151/amckie - Yeah, I too have that OCD need to sort the books. As far as I know (and I am by no means an expert! :P), there isn't a way to do that. Though I was at least able to sort them alphabetically by title (I believe you can do that for author as well).

Hmm. I stumbled across the freebies kinda on accident. Lemme see...

If you go to Amazon, go to Kindle books, and go to "Big Deals On Kindle" (it's on the left nav bar), they have some selections there. One way I did it was to click the "Kindle Bestsellers" and then sort by price (low to high) - it will give you the freebies first. If you find one you like, it usually starts suggesting other titles you might like, often about 5 that are free and 5 that are not, so that's how I ended up finding them. It may take a bit, but there are some good titles on there. Best of luck!

@152/BooGirl - That, quite simply, is awesome. Woo hoo!

Cheers!

I am definitely addicted to buying books!! Hopelessly.

Even though South Florida isn't exactly a book-reading type of place in general, I've managed to find a few places where I can buy used books.
I can't remember the last time I bought a book new. I'm a fast reader, so if I absolutely have to read a book I can't find anywhere but in the stores, I'll spend a few hours at Barnes & Noble's and read it in the cafe.

I buy a lot of books online, mostly on AbeBooks or Amazon.
My other main sources are Goodwill and the main library here, which has a "used and donated books" pile bigger than my house!

My boyfriend usually applies the brakes on my book spending, which is much needed. I just can't do it myself!

I always buy cheap books. I don't mind what condition books are in, as long as they are readable, so I'm not picky. If a book is above $5, I probably won't buy it.
That way, I can buy hundreds of books a month but not feel guilty about it when I check my bank balance. :)

I've had to stop buying books after I went a bit crazy on BookMooch earlier in the summer. I think I normally buy about five books per month, but that varies wildly depending on whether or not the month includes a trip to Hay-on-Wye, or if I'm feeling wealthy, or if I can't make it to the library... you get the picture.

I now have a neice, and although she is only 14months old it is never to early to start a good habbit. My brother actually started it off by reading The Gingerbread man to his wifes tummy repeatedly when baby was in utero (apparently it would mean she would recognise the story and hearing it would calm the baby down when she cried). So now I am constantly getting books for myself and books for her and finding old childhood books of mine that I can't let go of so I am doubling up for her. My brother and sister-in-law are at least thankful that these books make less noise than some of the toys people buy for her.

its gotten worse since ive been overseas. ive been ordering books like crazy and just having them sent to the states for later. normally, i buy and read. still i buy a lot since some get skimmed when i find its not worth my time.
i never buy. and i only spend more than 5 bucks when its a beautiful dated hardback.

I'm definitely addicted to buying books; I forget that libraries exist. I don't get to visit good used bookstores very often (the one where I go to college is tiny and doesn't have too much turnover), so when I do, I buy like 20-30 books. I also tend to buy books online when I'm feeling down or depressed.

I also buy books on Amazon from time to time (usually used and under $5, shipping included), and very rarely new. I would say I spend maybe $200-$300 a year on books, but I buy more than a hundred books a year.

I don't know what's going to happen when I'm out of college and earning money...

I used to manage a used bookstore, and I acquired a ton of books during that time. Now I have to buy them, and said bookstore is now gone. Very rarely do I buy a NEW book; I tend to stick to the sales shelves. Since I got a nook for Christmas I have loaded it with every free book I can find.

I think I've gotten about 200 books in the last few months...mostly free for my nook, so I haven't spent much money at all!

I don't use Amazon as much as I used to, unless I find something I've been wanting for a good price. I get a lot of things through paperbackswap.com so at least that helps me keep something in my wallet.

I get paid this week, so I may have to head to the used bookstore in Savannah - and I'll probably leave there with a couple dozen books (they have excellent prices!)

For a long time the only books I acquired were given to me as gifts. Or I would get a B&N gift card for my birthday and Christmas, and I'd buy books then. Sometimes, if we were in a bookstore, my mom would be so kind as to buy me something. I'd get maybe one or two books a month. Sometimes more if I was lucky.

Now that I have a job, my library has almost doubled in about eight months.

I get a lot of my books from PBS.com. I can pay $11 for three book credits--three books at B&N could cost me $40! So PBS is usually where I do all of my book buying now. Though I do still buy from B&N. It's my favorite store, I have to support it! Oh, and I recently got a NOOK, so I've been spending money on ebooks too.

You may also want to check out www.bookmooch.com, owltype. It's like PBS, but with some different policies.

I have a BM account, I just never use it. But maybe I will look into it.

The last trip I made to the Borders bookstore, I bought 3 books. The store was closing and I couldn't pass up 30-40% off.

But since I am working at a library, I now borrow books at an alarming rate -- there seems to be books that I can't just pass up. I have about 12 books checked out right now! Haha!

You think that's bad, my Borders had 50% off. So long, discretion... hello, A Suitable Boy! Because yes, I will read that 1400-page India novel in my lifetime...

I generally buy a couple a month. I have also started continually culling. I bought a TON of books while I was in college, and am finding many I never got around to reading and am no longer interested in. Thankfully I have a good used independent in walking distance that will pay me $10 and up for a stack of books. This isn't helped by the fact that, on occasion, part of that money goes right back to them. :D Its one of those places that's little more than a hole in the wall, but you could get lost in all afternoon.

Oh hey I totally did finish A Suitable Boy. However, as my wedding approaches, my budget dwindles... maybe I can get through the 50+ books I've bought but haven't read...

Went to the Boston Public Library a couple of weeks back to finish reading a book in their gorgeous reading room. Walked out with one book checked out and three books bought from a book sale. Ugh, this is why I stay away from bookstores.

I used to be, I find I'm culling my library and starting to use the library more.