Being the booklover that I am I can never resist talking about the object of my desire (aka: the books!). This book buying tag was what I really needed for a new blog entry!
Where do you buy your books? I love to buy my books after accurately browsing bookshelves in the main bookshop of my town, but I must admitt that -to my big disappointment- they're lately getting less and less books and giving space to souvenirs and whatnot (in a bookshop! Yes! Unbelievable!). Also, I must say that I mainly read in English nowadays and in my town books in other languages than italian are not that easy to find. And when you do they are still very expensive (I mean, 13€ for a paperback is a bit too much, ain't it?!). I have recently discovered the amazing virtual "bookshop" that is called Amazon and I would browse my books there and buy the titles that catch my attention either new or used-but-like-new. Amazon is lots cheaper if compared to my local bookshop and, even if it takes the fun of bookshelves browsing off you, it is an amazing shore for those bookworms who love to read in english but have not the luck to live in an english speaking country.
How many books do you buy a month? Buying my books online I don't buy them on a monthly basis. I tend to buy books every second or even third month. I would then buy 3-4 books so that I get to amortise the shipping fees. My last two purchases were of 4 books in October (when I was in America on our honeymoon) that I bought at Barnes & Noble in New York City, and of another 4 books that my husband got me as a Christmas gift on Amazon. I am already craving for the next purchase, but we first need to buy a new bookshelf since the one we have it's already full to the brim with books!
Do you use your local library? I recently moved house and the area where I live now doesn't offer a public library. There's one in the area I've grown up in and where my parents and sister still live. Yet, I don't use it as much as I'd like. I'm mostly put off by the idea of having a date when to hand back them books and my life usually gets hectic around the due date so that it becomes extremely difficult for me to find a spare moment to go to the library to return them books.
What do you think of library books? I love library books! They are books and that's a good enough reason for me to love them! They are travelling books, because they pass from reader to reader and they visit many houses and they carry in their pages the stories they live with the many people that read them. I have a thing for used books! And I think library books are especially fashinating!
How do you feel about second hand/charity shop books? As I stated above, I love used books, because they are special with the travelling history they carry on them. Alas, there's no second hand/charity bookshop here where I live. So they are just a myth for me. When I am in London I take a tour at Skoob and at Black Gull Books, my two favourite second hand bookshops there.
Do you keep your read and to-be-read books separate? When I was still living with my parents and I had an enormous (ok, not as enormous, but a big enough to contain all of my books) bookshelf I would keep my read and to-be-read books separated. Now we've one bookshelf only (so far. Hubby and I have already planned a trip to Ikea to buy our second bookshelf because we have many books to fit in still) and we had to keep our books together, favouring a descending order according to the binding. Yes, I am a bit of a freak and love to keep my books in an accurate order.
Do you plan to read all the books you own? Buying all the books that catch my attention for their topic or plot I want to read all of them, of course, in a (more or less close) future. Still I sometimes receive books for birthday and Easter and Christmas and they sometimes don't perfectly match my likings. Or it sometimes happen that I buy a book thinking I will love to read it so much, but then I am stuck with it either because the writing isn't smooth enough for me to read, or just because the plot isn't as thrilling and interesting as I was wishing for! In that case I am not sure I would really read the book. So, I think I'd better answer this question by saying that yes, I aim to read all the books I have in my bookshelf, but I am aware there are some exceptions that I will find out eventually from time to time.
What do you do with books you own that you know you won't re-read? Well, it depends. If the books is a book I read and liked it ok but not too much and I wouldn't re-read because of that, well I would give it to libraries or free it in a wild release (joined bookcrossing recently). But if the book is a book I loved yet know I won't re-read because it's too long/a story that has a twist and once I found it out wouldn't be as good to read about it again, I keep them books. I keep books I love and want my kids (if any in the future) or friends to read after me, thus I keep them even if I know I won't read them again.
Have you ever donated books? I donated my books sometimes, yes. I love the Random Act of Kindness that Bookcrossing suggests its members to do. I sometimes browsed fellow bookcrossers shelves and if I had a book that was on their wishlist I would send it as a Random Act of Kindness. Lately though the postage cost has increased and I can't do that anymore, to my big regret. Nowadays I donate books to the public library only, when I have an amount of copies I want to get rid of because I didn't like too much.
Do you think you own too many books? Nah, a bookworm can never have too many books! If there's not enough storage space in a house you can still buy a new bookshelf or even start piling books on tables and other shelves! A house without books is like a body without a soul, and I completely agree with this quote.
I tag for this one everyone that read through the pages of my blog.
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