I think that e-books are cool, but nothing beats the feeling of reading a regular, classic, old-fashioned book. Do you usually borrow books from relatives or friends or do you buy all your books?
I love to read, I get books from the library, rent them or purchase at the book sale. I will purchase a book knowing that I will not be reading it right away. I also get them at garage sales, second hand book sales. I listen to audio books while working, although I do miss holding the book and turning pages. I have a book that I store my books in so that when I get a minute I can just go to my book and pull out a book and start reading.
I mix it up because there are some nice libraries in my area. Having a Kindle account also helps. I used to buy a lot of books and read maybe half from cover to cover. This way, there is less waste.
I borrow books all the time. My friends and I are constantly recommending books to each other. When I am done with a book, I give it to friends and relatives to see if they will like it. Most of the books I read are eBooks though.
I usually don't borrow books form the library, but friends and family is different. If they have a book that I want to read, they'll let me borrow it. If my friends and family don't have the book, then I will actually go out and buy it for myself. I know that you might be thinking that I would probably never read it again, but I make sure to read my books over again at least once within a 2 year span, during the summer breaks.
Actually I don't borrow from the library many books (just for my kids mostly) because my parents have a huge collection of books, they are avid readers. As for borrowing from friends, it has to be a close friend because everybody knows that most of the books that we lend never return to our home... So I just ask and give to people I trust.
I still borrow books from my friends and family, if we read a book and believe someone we know would enjoy it then we will suggest it to them and offer to lend it to them. I haven't borrowed from a library in over 25 years!
It's been a long time since the last time I remember borrowing books from a library. My family's house in the village is actually only a minute walk away from our community library so I usually just go there, sit, and read as much as I want to. I'm not worried doing that because the person who is working there is my mother's younger sister When I live in the city then I will buy a cheap ebook to read before going to sleep and if I found it interesting then I'll just forward it to my friends for free.
I sometimes borrow books from friends and relatives but not too frequently. I like taking my sweet time reading a book and if it's borrowed I find myself rushing through it so I can return it to the person, making it not as enjoyable.
My friends insist on loaning physical copies of books to me. I actually hate it when they do it- I rarely ever have the time to immediately read them, and I can't trust myself to keep something in good condition once it's in my hands. Now, if I'm actually intending to read the book I'll usually just ask, but I hate it when they foist them upon me.
LOL, you gotta be an exception Fauxpat, I don't know anyone who insists on loaning books, quite on the contrary, some don't love to borrow because they know they will never see them again! When it's from my parents it's safe though, they know I will return them. But yeah, I also don't like to receive a book when I know I can't read it immediately.
I mostly read e-books these days because: -There are no bookstores in my town. It's a small country town and apparently people who live in small towns don't read much. So even if you wanted to, you couldn't find anyone who has books which you can borrow. -The only library in town has books which could interest only school-going kids. I don't read such stuff. The above reasons compel me to find any books I want to read on the net. And because there are so many sites you can find free books you can download. I find that very convenient. I neither have to pay for the e-books I read nor take a trip somewhere to borrow the books. What can beat that?
e-books are pretty convenient I agree, we just get them with a click, but I am old-fashioned in that particular because I like to read on paper. Also, if you have no one to borrow you a book and you want a physical copy get one at Amazon, their used books service is pretty neat.
If I need to read a physical book, I would go to the local library and look for it. My problem in borrowing from friends or relatives is that they would also tend to borrow in exchange. While I make sure that I always return what I borrow, unfortunately some relatives and friends are not like that. I end up having to chase some of them for the ones they borrowed, or I don't get back my books anymore. I think less hassle would be to just go to the local library and look for books there or find a book sale shop and just search for cheap bargains there.
I think that the libraries can be a good option, I think it's a really small percentage of people that do use libraries and I really don't know why, possibly people don't read much or prefer to have their own books? Either cases, I think that both libraries and second hand books are affordable choices if we don't have anyone to borrow from or we don't feel comfortable doing it.
I don't really care whatever format my desired book is, as long as I'm reading it. Although I prefer e-books nowadays, because it's totally free and I'm spared of the expense of having to buy a book just to be able to read it. I'm quite shy to borrow things if the person is not close to me, so I probably won't borrow books from casual acquaintances. Besides, I hate borrowing come to think of it, so I will just buy the book that I want to read if I can't find an e-book version of it.
I agree: Nothing is better than reading an actual book. The feeling, the atmosphere, and the scent are different. They are very inviting for to get a book and to read. Without them I feel like I am lazy to read. Usually, I would both have an ebook andan actual book of what I am reading. I only read the ebook part, If I don't want to labeled as geek. I only use ebook when I am in a public place to hide my real agenda. So I still like borrowing books, no matter how much hassle it involves.
I get my books wherever I can. I buy them second-hand or borrow them from friends and relatives. I also buy books from Amazon, E-bay and the Book Ware House. When I have time, I go to thrift shops and charity stores to see what treasures I can find in their many cardboard boxes. I truly love books and have a big collection by now.
i buy most of the physical books that I have. The only books that I borrow are from the library. I used to lend out my books, but I never got them back. I don't borrow from family or friends because I no longer lend out my books.
Come on, are you serious? Do you really bother to have the paper version of the book and an ebook just that people don't label you as a geek? I could not care less if people call me a geek, if I have my book and I am doing what I enjoy I am fine with it. Also, I feel that having my own book is better because we can always damage a borrowed book, but I won't recuse if someone is available to borrow it.
