Well, this is easy: both. All of the above. But to go into more detail, it depends. I love new books, particularly now that I have respiratory issues so I don’t want books that are moldy or smell of cigarette smoke or are full of animal fur or even dust. So these days, if I’m buying a physical book it’s usually a new one. That said, if I’m really being honest, most of the books I buy these days aren’t print books at all. The majority of books I buy are audiobooks, and if I start reading and feel like there’s too much information to keep track of, or I need to be able to refer back to previous chapters, or there are a ton of passages I want to mark, then I’ll get a physical copy. For books I can’t find as audiobooks, my next choice would be digital most of the time. I use my library as my first port of call, so my Libby is doing a lot of the heavy lifting for books I’m reading and listening to. I also just re-joined Netgalley, which again is audio and digital books.
That said, I do buy some books new – if it’s an author I love and collect, if it’s an author I really want to show support for, or if it’s a book I know I’ll want to have on my shelves as part of showing my tastes and sharing them with my kid one day. I will also buy used books if I’m looking for hard to find books – I recently ordered a couple of Trixie Belden books used because I don’t think they’re even in print anymore. So it really depends. If a book is impossible to find new or if it’s too expensive, then I’ll roll the dice on a used book.
Basically, I’ll get whatever format is the most convenient for me, or, failing that, whichever I can find. What about you guys? Do you have a preference for new or used books? Any other audio and digital readers out there?
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is a blog hop hosted every Wednesday by Long and Short Reviews. The weekly prompts range widely, including both book-related and non-book-related topics. The idea is to get bloggers to interact, share a bit about their lives and connect with other bloggers. Click here for the list of upcoming topics, and visit here to join in the fun!
I forgot about audiobooks – I have quite a collection of them as well.
My post
Me too! I know one day I may have issues with my sight, so I’ve put in a lot of work to get used to them and build up a digital audio library so I’ll always have lots to read!!
I check out e-books and audio books using my library app. Other then that I buy books used.
I love my library app! It’s been great to really start taking advantage of that access, particularly during covid!
I have the same sort of allergy issues with books!
It’s one of the biggest perks of reading ebooks IMO. No respiratory issues.
Yes. Also that some can be quite heavy and I have weak wrists and that it means you have a book with you at all times!