I love buying books, but unfortunately books can be expensive and I’m a Penny pincher, so i have developed a foolproof method for book selection that saves me money, saves me time and prevents impulse purchases all in one go.
1: if I see a book I might like, in a bookstore, recommended by a friend, advertised online or elsewhere, I take a picture of it and put it in a folder in my phone. I leave it there. If I’m still thinking about the book after a week or two then I proceed. If i have forgotten about it or am no longer interested I trash the picture. This step can be skipped if the book is I being sold in something temporary like a garage sale and is dirt cheap, like 3$ or less.
2: if it’s available, I try to read an excerpt from the book. Sometimes, reading the first page is all you need to discover that the first person nerorator is incredibly annoying, or that the author has captivating prose. If your still not sure however, move onto the next step.
3: check online for reviews/more information. If for example, you found a book, read the blurb and liked it thinking it was a romance but then look online and find out it’s primarily a mystery, (and you don’t like that) you can stop right there. This will also help you discover if that book you thought was a stand-alone is actually book 4 in a 7 part series. When looking at reviews, I usually look at 2-4 star reviews. 1 and 5 star reviews usually don’t give any information other than “I loved it” or “I hated it”. 2-4 reviews will tell you WHY they did or didn’t like it. Maybe the review mentions that they didn’t like slow pace, but you love slow paced stories. Or they mention that the story involves domestic abuse wich is a deal breaker for you.
4: look at the books you already have. If you want to buy a romance book, but you already have 7 romance books at home you haven’t read yet, perhaps read those first.
5: this step usually only comes into effect when I’m buying nonfiction. If I’m looking for an Abraham Lincoln biography for example, I don’t go with the first one I find. I look at multiple books and weigh them based on factors like length, how in depth it is, what part of his story they focus on, when they were written, ex. If I want a book that briefly summarizes his life then I don’t want to pick up “Abraham Lincoln by Carl Sandburg”. If I want a book that covers Lincoln’s youth on the prairie they I won’t enjoy “team of rivals”.
The three steps above help me sort through the “this looks kinda interesting” books to find the books I actually think I’d enjoy. From there I sort them into two categories, books I’m excited to read and am actively seeking out and books I’m less excited about or are still unsure on. Books in the second group I will only buy if I can get them for cheep.
6: if it’s a book you don’t mind not owning, and it’s not a new release you’re absolutly desperate to read asap, you can borrow it from the library for the low low price of absolutely free. However sometimes you do want to own the book, or the library doesn’t have it. Then you move onto the next step.
7: Used bookstores. It supports the local community and is cheeper than buying new. In my city, there’s also an event where people donate their unwanted books to the library, who sort them and host sales for them once every two months. The books are incredibly cheep, mostly 1-2$, and the proceeds go towards supporting the library. However there’s still the con of the book your looking for might not being there to buy.
8: eBay. More likely to find the book you want and often cheeper than new.
9: if it can’t be found used, and I’m not willing to wait any longer, I go to physical bookstores to get it new. They don’t always have it in stock but they are usually willing to order it for you.
10: if all other avanues fail then Amazon is the last resort for me.
11: but sometimes it’s a rare book and can’t be found anywhere! From here you ether wait until a phisical copy becomes available or see it it can be read online. (It usualy can if you know where to look)
by cornfuckz