Hello LYN book readers!

Out of curiosity, do you prefer buying books or borrowing books? Why?

Downloading books

i prefer to buy my own books, partly because i have my own favourite authors, some of whom are a little off mainstream, and would like to keep their works - John Irving, Rushdie, Chuck Pahlniuk to name a few. The other reason being the specialised nature of the books which i keep for reference or for just plain collecting.
not a big fan of borrowing - mainly because there aren't many good libraries with any decent collection to talk about and the other alternative - the rental stores cater for only the popular titles and their selection isn't too my tastes
of course when you hit 1000++ books storage becomes a huge problem.
i tried downloading and even audiobooks but they aren't quite the same as reading a book

Here's my take :

As much as I would like to buy books, being a student without an income, I cannot afford them. (or maybe I'm just too miserly)
I would choose to buy loads of books over those nifty gadgets everyone my age group seem to own anytime but I can't seem to part with my ~life~ savings. (which aren't much, I tell you)
So, I borrow books from my friends who are bookworms too. It there's a book that I want to read but cannot find anyone/anywhere to borrow it from, including libraries, (bleeeah) I just don't read it until I manage to save up and buy it.
I buy my favourite books so that it'll be easier for me to reread it anytime.
I don't like downloading books. It feels different. Holding a book and feeling the pages between my fingers is way better than staring at the computer screen and destroying my eyesight.

Here's a thought : what if you buy a book and turns out you don't like it? It's going to sit in your bookshelf for ages. What about the money wasted? Books aren't cheap. (at least, to me) Or what if you read a book once, enjoy it but don't want to reread it? Wouldn't it be better to borrow?

I don't know if I'm making sense up there.
Sorry.

ii love collecting books..thus buying is my choice

blueflame, i can understand where you are coming from based on your comments above so dont worry it does make perfect sense.

two important points that your post raised are the availability of books and reading as a whole.

i think access to getting books has improved over the last 20 years with there being much more choice than before, even more if you add in the internet as a source for books as well. as for the future of books - i fear we may be fighting the tide as costs of traditional publishing rises.

as for reading, while you still find lots of people reading, as judged by those who frequent bookstores etc there are twice as many who do not. i came to like reading much later in life, and i missed out on almost all the classics mainly concentrating on contemporary writing.

as for those poor unwanted books there is always Bookcrossings and the like :-)

well if sometimes i need to save up money, i will go and borrow books from the library or my friends =)

i prefer to buy my own books! don't mind secondhand books though.

I know exactly how you feel, me being a student and having no income right now. But I have worked and saved up a decent sum of money as well as a nice little shelf full of books. I know people who borrow books and it is a hellva lot cheaper way to read. But I've never really done that so I can't say.

I've recently bought a kindle for about 240RM, a friend brought it back for me. It sounds expensive but i've already downloaded hundreds of books and read quite a few. It's one option of course but to me it was one of the best decisions ever made. I've never liked the idea of reading off anything but paper, but the kindle's e-ink screen is so easy to read you really forget you're reading off a electronic device. I only bought it because I read alot and wanted to save money on books. I understand it sounds like I'm writing an ad for Amazon, but it really is that good.

So don't be discouraged there will always be ways to get books you want to read, even if it takes a long time. There will always be people willing to lend you their books and if all else fails you can always sit down at a bookstore for a day and read books for free, (I've done it before and surprisingly no one kicks you out).

This post has been edited by Blackfinn: Jun 25 2012, 08:20 PM

like to buy books. especially when they are cheaper

I prefer to borrow books. If they are really nice and worth collecting, I will buy them. But I do buy books from time to time. If I don't feel like keeping the books after reading, then I will sell them off as second-hand.

Oh my, I didn't think of that. Sigh, that's sad.

It's nice to know someone in the same situation as me.

Okay, I have to admit that I have NO IDEA how kindles work. Tried googling but I still don't understand. Do you mind explaining?

This post has been edited by blueflame: Jun 29 2012, 09:15 PM

Well a kindle is a electronic reading device produced by Amazon (The online bookstore/megastore), which is currently the best selling and most affordable one out on the market. It's basically like buying an iPod, it's a device so you gotta go buy music and put your music files into it to listen to music. After buying your kindle you still have to buy books off amazon to read, but like music, movies, and everything digital, you can just download books and put them into your kindle or any eReader you own. But if you want to actually buy books from Amazon it's actually quite a complicated process because you can't actually buy the kindle here.

Hope this helps =)

Thanks a lot. Hmm, looks like it's hard to get one here.

I buy books when they are on sale. I have Kobo reader installed in my phone and I love it. I also have ebookdroid installed to read PDF files obtained elsewhere ;-p

Holy shit! It's Jorah Mormont.

I prefer to borrow because I don't want to keep too many books at home. Will only buy books I want to keep. Right now I am buying for income tax purposes. I am life member of public library.

buy books. because i can read at my own pace. if borrow, need to consider how long to borrow. besides, i want to make a small library when i bought a house.

Rent books. The cost of buying books in Malaysia isn't worth it (unless you snag them from places like the Big Bad Wolf sale, etc.). So I'll go to places like Bookstreet in Sri Hartamas and "borrow" books from there. At least I can read it and determine if it's a keeper, instead of shelling out RM40+ for a book that I might not want to add to my permanent library.

IINM, generally books in Malaysia is quite cheap and comparable to the price you buy online. A mass market paperback cost around $9.99 - $15 maybe at Amazon or bookdepository. The same book at kino/mph/borders cost roughly the same after conversion.

Of course the price at Big Bad Wolf is completely a steal.

buy. got tax deduction mah...

Well, I guess it comes down to the use of the book. I prefer buying my novels

buying them. I don't go to libraries at all except when I was a small kid. But that grew out and I felt that you get more choices when you browse for books in a bookstore, MPH, Borders or Kinokuniya. Plus, the books I want may not be available in libraries.

And to add up to that, I prefer new books over books that had been touched by thousands. Maybe it's just me. And a sense of owning a book I like.

I prefer buying books, especially if they deserve sitting on my shelves. Books are expensive in Malaysia, so someone with student budget like me will scour the internet and places for 2nd hand books, which are waaay cheaper. I dont mind the aging books, as long as I enjoy the content. Old books smell good. hehe
If I can find the books in the library I wont buy.

Buying books. Alot of ppl don't take care of their books. I don't like those books with a sticky feel to it coz to me, books are intimate stuff. I read them on the couch and in bed.

Fiction = borrow [unless they're really good and will be re-read]

Non-fiction = buy

I'll try to look up on the net first. i don't mind reading on reader. so it will goes like this:

> look for free epub on net,
> if not availble for free epub, then buy hardcopy via online/walk-in
> if not available to buy hardcopy, then buy epub on net

Buying for sure,I never liked borrowing anything from anyone in nature anyway.

I feel more at ease too,like not worrying if I spoil it.

buying, because i love collecting them. it feels good looking at the stacks of books i have and going to bookstores has a therapeutic effect for me. nowadays i mostly download them though

I prefer to own the books but sometimes I regret buying because the books did not match my expectations. Books in Malaysia are generally expensive so I have to pick and choose titles to buy.

To cut down spending, I also rent books. There is a book rental store called SS Readers Corner. It is located in SS15, Subang Jaya. There's a webpage ssreaderscorner.wordpress.com (it has the contact details & Google Map). Have a look!

Buying books because I like to keep them as collection and I can re-read it whenever I free :]

i prefer buying since tax deductible. strangely though... much as i would want to say that i collect books that i will likely reread, never really had the time to reread any. hehe.