[modkindle]

What kind of reader/book buyer were you?
I was the type to head down to my closest used book store or library sale 5 or 6 times a year and browse and pick up several books based on the cover and blurb. If I fell for a series or a book hit the best seller list that I was interested in, I'd pick it up at BN, Borders, or Amazon. I was not a library user.

 

[pomlover2586]

Non Library user......read maybe 1 book a month and generally re--read books I already had. Occasionally purchased a book from Amazon. Since the K2 came into my life I am now reading 2-3 books at a time and reading a lot more!

 

[Lindalkcruise]

I had almost quit reading because of eye sight, love the different font sizes!

 

[Meemo]

What kind of reader/book buyer were you?
I was the type to head down to my closest used book store or library sale 5 or 6 times a year and browse and pick up several books based on the cover and blurb. If I fell for a series or a book hit the best seller list that I was interested in, I'd pick it up at BN, Borders, or Amazon. I was not a library user.

I was much the same as you, but I did use the library as well. Biggest problem with the library was getting too many books at once & not finishing them before they were due. I pretty much never bought a new hardback, and if I picked up a new paperback it was at Sam's. But I could never go into Goodwill, etc without checking out the book racks. And a used bookstore had opened up near me that had great prices. I still have a pile of used books waiting to be read...it's just hard to make myself read them...

 

[intinst]

We hit used book stores, Barnes and Nobles, occasionally Amazon. Library really isn't convenient to our location.

 

[bkworm8it]

Lets see,

I signed up for the Harlequin Mystery and Historical Romance books for cheap easy read when in between books. Other books I would go to Boarders (b&N didn't seem to have quite as large of a sci fi section) and like modkindle pick up books based  on cover and blurb. Spend hours in the sci-fi section and about 1/2 hour in the fiction/literature section. I avoided the romance section 

I have favorite authors and/or series. I always waited until the paperback came out. Yip made myself wait (and those reading behind me) for a whole year. Then my sister would couldn't wait for the next plum book so her hubby started buying them in hard back for us. I always took a coupon and had B&N store card- not the CC. I could spend hours and lots of $$$$'s on books. It was so bad that I wasn't allowed to go to a book store during lunch break unless someone was with me with a clock because I'd be an hour late    still love wondering book stores but now I just write down titles.

I did the library only when I was very desperate but like Meemo I didn't always finish the book in time and hated being on a timeframe to read a book. Felt like I was forced to read not able to just enjoy.  Also sometimes during work I'd check out books on Amazon and read reviews then go to the book store and get the books.

Now I can barely handle reading from an actual book. It's soo uncomfortable to hold and tracking down my glasses. With the kindle I can read without classes and easier to hold for long periods of time.

theresam

 

[TM]

Well don't have a used bookstore near me...

When in the one town that actually had a bookstore (small one) i would often stop in and browse. I would occaisionally stop in there on a day (or the day after) I knew a book I wanted would be released, but only if i could find another reason to go to that town (and if I was not, in the same day, having to go to the other town  in opposite direction that has no book store).

I live in the middle of nowhere between on small town and one really small town (not counting a few others that are teeny tiny not really towns, more like a few houses together around). Since i work at home, i do not have to drive everyday.... and try not to have to go to both in the same day, and when i go to them, I like it to be for more than just picking up one thing/stopping one place (basically make sure i don;t have to make a lot of trips each week)

I did a lot of ordering from Amazon, often bought hardbacks due to not wanting to wait for the paperback, and also re-read.

 

[Leslie]

I bought most of my books from Amazon. I got into the habit of reselling them on Amazon, too, once I finished a book and knew I'd never read it again. I also bought books at airport bookstores. I was also reading a lot online -- fanfic and original stories that I would find on LiveJournal.

L

 

[crebel]

DH and I would make a once-a-month or so run to the nearest B&N (closest is 90 miles away) and spend a fortune stocking up on reads till the next trip.  I would take a dozen or so books with me on trips and just leave them in the nightstand drawer of the hotel as I finished to lighten the packing load.  I LOVE MY KINDLE!!!!

 

[Ann in Arlington]

I bought a lot from Amazon. . .but never passed a book store without going in and probably bought something. . .do you realize how many B&N stores are located in the same shopping centers as Home Depot? 

Ann

 

[Gables Girl]

I bought books all the time, hardback if they were I need it now or non-fiction book and paperbacks the rest of the time.  I went to Borders and B&N weekly to pick up the latest books out, plus I spent a lot at Amazon on books they didn't' have such as technical stuff and biographies.  I haven't been in a B&N or Borders  since last fall, in fact my B&N membership card expired in January and I didn't renew it.  I also always detoured through the books section in the grocery store, Target and another place I shopped that had a book section.  I never used the library so I had huge numbers of books I kept.  Every 5 years I would do a purge and donate them to nursing homes, most of the people there don't have lot of money and many don't have much to do.

 

[Cowgirl]

Pre Kindle I was a non-library user and a non-amazon purchaser of books.  I usually picked something up at Costco since the books there were usually best sellers at a discounted price.  I am now reading a lot of books the people are recommending on KB. 

 

[cincinnatideb]

Hmmmm..I seem to have different habits than most.  I was a hardcore library user.  Always reserving books and then going to pick them up.  I "THINK" Cincinnati has the largest circulating library in the nation.  My next stop was used book stores or the chain Half Price Books....I think we have 4 within a 30 minute drive.  I liked buying on-line at Ebay or Half.com.  I very, very seldom stepped foot in a B&N or anything like that.

That's why financially a Kindle totally didn't make sense for me.  But I looooooove it...so there.

 

[Avalon3]

Before getting my Kindle I bought most of my books through Amazon.  The only time I go to a library now is to vote.  The libraries around here have cut back hours.

In 2002 when I was in a cast with a broken ankle I bought and downloaded books to my laptop and read them with Microsoft Reader.  I could sit in the recliner, enlarge the font and turn pages with my cordless mouse and download books 24/7. 

 

[Kathy]

I love to read and have certain authors that I had to have the book as soon as it was released. I always asked for B&N gift cards for birthday and Christmas presents and used those for the hardback books. I can't turn loose of books, so I am overflowing. I will reread books I enjoy. I'm trying to replace my favorite books on the Kindle so that I can donate paperbacks to the library. I spent more money on books before the Kindle than I am now. Really love having my books on the Kindle and being able to take all of them with me. My DH is loving the fact that new books are not being brought into the house.

 

[drenee]

I was definitely a frequent visitor to libraries.  I live on the border of Ohio, so there were two really good libraries in Ohio, and three very near me in WV.  Both library systems are online, and I could renew my books from my computer.  Great advantage.  Once I found a book I really liked I would visit Amazon and use the "other customers bought this also" feature.  I would then make a list that I carried with me at all times.  If I could not find them at my library, or I thought it was a book I would reread or like to share with someone, then I would go to Half Price Books, B&N, Borders. 
deb

 

[marianneg]

I was (still am, actually) a total book junkie.  Couldn't pass a book store without going in.  When I went to a library sale I usually succeeded in limiting myself to one big grocery bag full of books.  I bought a lot of books from amazon, too.  I still have a huge wishlist, and I need to see which ones there are available on Kindle.  It was no problem to spend a lazy afternoon browsing and be $100 poorer when I was done.  (Could have been more, of course, but I have to budget )  I love my four shelves of DTBs, but I also love equally having page after page of books at my fingertips on the Kindle, and my DH complains less

 

[LaraAmber]

Oh gods, I feel like I'm walking on stage in my underwear. From these posts I'm definitely the freak.

I would almost always buy hardbacks for fiction. When the books arrived I would put a mylar dustjacket protector on it and scan it into my database. I categorically refused to lend one of my books to anyone. The idea of writing in a book, folding down pages, or horror of horrors, putting the book face down to hold one's place would have me hyperventilate. When I read a book, I took off the dustjacket, put that back on the shelf, and put the book in a protective zippered book protector. If I discovered an author I liked after previous books were no longer available in hardback, I would scour the used book market to find a Fine/Fine (one rating is for the book, the other for the dustjacket) and pay for it. I thought nothing of plunking down $50 for a book or buying from other countries (mainly England). I saw a book I really, really wanted, but knew my husband would kill me for plunking down $400 for a single hardback book.

A big reason I was so attached to them is I didn't want them to disappear, to never have them available again. I was born in 1977 and read my dad's Mike Mars books as a kid. Those are definitely not in print, and I doubt anyone not a kid in the 1950s would have a clue what I was talking about. I hated paperbacks, I loved long books and paperbacks would fall apart after just one read.

My husband is in shock that I've been selling my books to friends since I got my K2 (for well below market value, since I'm too lazy to do the online route). A lot of my reasons for keeping my books in such great shape is gone. I don't need to worry about damage anymore or a book "disappearing". I no longer need to worry about keeping a database up to date for insurance or buying & storing protective supplies. The limited storage of our town home is being eased by keeping fewer books around.

Okay, so that's my confession. Feel free to pity my husband for having such a crazy wife.

Lara Amber

 

[Gables Girl]

Oh gods, I feel like I'm walking on stage in my underwear. From these posts I'm definitely the freak.

I would almost always buy hardbacks for fiction. When the books arrived I would put a mylar dustjacket protector on it and scan it into my database. I categorically refused to lend one of my books to anyone. The idea of writing in a book, folding down pages, or horror of horrors, putting the book face down to hold one's place would have me hyperventilate. When I read a book, I took off the dustjacket, put that back on the shelf, and put the book in a protective zippered book protector. If I discovered an author I liked after previous books were no longer available in hardback, I would scour the used book market to find a Fine/Fine (one rating is for the book, the other for the dustjacket) and pay for it. I thought nothing of plunking down $50 for a book or buying from other countries (mainly England). I saw a book I really, really wanted, but knew my husband would kill me for plunking down $400 for a single hardback book.

A big reason I was so attached to them is I didn't want them to disappear, to never have them available again. I was born in 1977 and read my dad's Mike Mars books as a kid. Those are definitely not in print, and I doubt anyone not a kid in the 1950s would have a clue what I was talking about. I hated paperbacks, I loved long books and paperbacks would fall apart after just one read.

My husband is in shock that I've been selling my books to friends since I got my K2 (for well below market value, since I'm too lazy to do the online route). A lot of my reasons for keeping my books in such great shape is gone. I don't need to worry about damage anymore or a book "disappearing". I no longer need to worry about keeping a database up to date for insurance or buying & storing protective supplies. The limited storage of our town home is being eased by keeping fewer books around.

Okay, so that's my confession. Feel free to pity my husband for having such a crazy wife.

Lara Amber

Don't feel bad when I give my books away people ask if I've read them because the spines were not cracked and the books were in perfect condition. I never loaned my books either.

 

[luvmy4brats]

I rarely read physical books before Kindle. I mainly listened to audio books just because I'm in the car so much. Getting the Kindle opened up so many more opportunities for me to read. I now read whenever I have a free minute and every night before bed. I often read myself to sleep.