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Second-hand books - can you do it?


gax23

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I for one have absolutely no problem in buying, borrowing or reading second hand books. I mean, don't get me wrong, in an ideal world I would love to be able to buy my own personal brand new copy of all the books I read but in reality it's just not possible.

 

Saying that though the vast majority of the books I do buy probably are brand new, although I very rarely pay full price for them and with sites like Amazon and The Book Depository you don't really need to buy books at full price any more as you can buy most books at a discounted price and even in the shops you can usually get a 3 for 2 deal or something similar.

 

I do, however, buy second-hand books from charity shops and even occasionally on eBay and Amazon Marketplace (if I can't get it elsewhere) and I am of course a regular visitor to my local library so second hand books are not a problem with me as long as they are in good condition.

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Now Gax had a great idea when posting that question (good job!!!) and I had a nice time reading all your replies too, as they all seem very wise and rational and based either on financial grounds or logic.

 

When I first read Gax's post I didn't see it that way, I just read it as an impulse based on irrational emotional grounds. Like... how would people respond to "I check more than twice if my door is locked before I leave, what about you?"

 

So well, if we set aside the financial, as well as the rational.... don't many of us prefer good-looking 2nd-hand books to old over-read ones? That is, books that look new and in perfect condition?

 

Great post Gax, really ! :D

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So well, if we set aside the financial, as well as the rational.... don't many of us prefer good-looking 2nd-hand books to old over-read ones? That is, books that look new and in perfect condition?

It really depends on the book, such as whether I am having to read it versus wanting to, whether I intend on keeping the book etc., but unless the cover is hanging off or its been completely scrawled over, I am happy with it being readable.

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So well, if we set aside the financial, as well as the rational.... don't many of us prefer good-looking 2nd-hand books to old over-read ones? That is, books that look new and in perfect condition?

 

Funny you should say...but although I am definitely one that looks for the best looking, most pristine copy, my OH is not so particular. If he wants a book at the Library Sale, and the only copy is rather manhandled, it doesn't bother him a bit. And, oddly enough, once we get them/it home.....it doesn't matter to me either. :friends0::D

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oh the smell of a crisp new book.....I have second hand books but they dont smell as good...some even a bit wiffy ... I also wonder why that person has let go of it sometimes, then I read it and I understand...this is a common occurrence with the exception of one little book I found called 'The Right to Useful Unemployment' By Illich. I also wonder if I am a hypocrite as I get annoyed by underlined passages in second hand books but I underline text also. I suppose id be ok as I use pencil and I can rub them out for sale. My second hand copy of 'Diary of a madman' has highlighter in it. Now that really makes me mad! mainly because I cant find any reason why they highlighted the passages they did in the first place...

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I buy a lot of second hand books, mainly from charity shops. I check to make sure all the pages are still fixed in but other than that, I'm not bothered about the condition. This might be odd but a cracked spine and yellowy pages remind me of bookshops and trips to the library when I was little, the old dusty smell of hundreds of books stacked on top of one another. I also really like finding books with dedications or names in, it's nice to imagine what the person thought of and why it came to be in a charity shop in the first place. I've brought loads of different copies of Little Women for this reason.

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This is an interesting one for me and one I've often thought about. Does anyone else have a problem buying second-hand books?

 

For me, books are a very personal experience. To feel that someone else has been there before you and read the book is almost akin to your girlfriend telling you about her previous sexual partners in great detail. I don't even like borrowing a book which may have only been read once from a friend.

 

The only exception I make is when I see beautiful old editions in bookshops (I found a book on English prose in a local bookshop recently - named inside with the previous owner's name, and marked 'Cambridge University, October 1912' - how can you refuse that?).

 

I find the whole pleasure to be in owning the book and it being a part of my collection - and mine only. What are your thoughts?

 

I always buy new, I only have about 4-6 second hand books and this is due to an ex pretty much forcing me to buy them. I'm not 100% sure why exactly I prefer new over already loved & worn books but it's likely to relate to my OCD-ish nature with anything paper based. I'm truly terrible & I think I've gotten worse as I've gotten older :friends0:.

 

When I was younger if I was to pick up an argos catalogue for my mum, if I wanted to have a look I'd pick my own copy up as I hated the pages not being neat & tidy (my mums terrible at folding pages & things) lol. These days I don't lend books out at all because of the worry of how the will come back, if not at all. Also these days if my mum has one of my books I left her keep it & I rebuy a new copy .. awful I know but I can't seem to help it :D

 

I do think if I came by a book of a significant age I'd likely be fine with it not being pristine or with it being 2nd hand. As of yet though I've not come by anything like that so I can't say for sure :lol:

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Half the books I've read this year were downloads which makes the question half moot. But I love the smell, the look, the feel of a brand new book arriving at my doorstep, presents from me to me. It always makes me smile.

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I rarely buy secondhand books, in fact I have so far just bought a handful that I can remember. But not because I don't like it, but because I don't really have a source to buy secondhand books that is cheap. If I can pay double the amount the secondhand book costs and buy me a new one, then I'll do just that. The used book stores here sell books at pretty steep prices, buying a book that looks old, used for 3.50, where a new one costs 7 euros, is nto very attractive. The ones I have bought so far were all hardbacks, in pristine condition and costed me less than half the original costed. Two were of the Wheel of Time series, bought two lovely hardbacks for the price a new paperback would cost me.. and one was Harry Potter, think it was the Halfblood Prince. Adult version hardback, pristine, for 6.50. Brilliant. :roll:

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Grrr. I typed up a massive post, hit the wrong button and lost it, so please forgive the inelegant summarisation here...

 

I don't mind a pre-owned book as long as it's not pre-read. I don't sell books as it'd be like throwing away old photographs. The book is a reminder of the connection I had with it and what I've learnt from it. I buy 'new' books, yes, but they're generally three or four pound (my netbook won't let me use a pound sign...) paperback novels from Amazon so I don't tend to break the bank.

 

Thanks for all your input, everyone. Very insightful.

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Quite a few years ago I went through a phase of buying only first edition hardbacks of my favourite authors new books,but I've chilled since and buy paperbacks from charity book shops like Oxfam etc,but I like them to be in good nick,and also buy 'like new' from Amazon Marketplace,and use Awesome Books too. I also use the library a lot now. I give back most of my charity books and like the idea of a good book passing through several readers hands. :D

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Most of the books I have bought in the past have been new but I have been pleasantly surprised by Amazon marketplace, such good value and you can buy so much more for your money. I have recently re-joined my local library and am just discovering the great bargains to be found in charity shops. I love to pass on books to friends or charity shops. There is nothing like a brand new book though, taking it home from the shop and being the first to read through those lovely smelling clean pages! :D

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^ I've only ever bought one thing from Amazon Marketplace and that was a book that I could not find anywhere else, either online or in the shops, and I have to admit that I was extremely happy with the whole experience. Although I've not used it since, I wouldn't hesitate to use it in the future.

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I LOVE second-hand books!

There cheap, usually been well looked after and I love the musty smell from old books.

 

This may sound a bit stupid but I have a thing about opening a new book. Opening the front cover for the first time drives me crazy just because of how it just stays there and never goes back in the position it bought like again. A second-hand book has been opened hundreds of time and is used to being bent in that position. I hope that makes sense?

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Nothing beats the look, smell and feel of a brand new book but that doesn't stop me from reading, buying or even borrowing second hand books. It could get a little bit expensive if I refused to do so. As long as the books are in good condition, particularly if it's a book I'm buying, then I don't have a problem with it.

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For me it is not about whether someone else has owned a book before, although it is true you can't beat the smell and feel of brand new ones, but more about supporting the people who write and produce books. I understand that not everyone has much money (I only work part time myself), but lets face it, if everyone bought second hand then the authors wouldn't earn a bean and wouldn't have the money to live on and write books in the first place. We make little enough from brand new books as it is - an average of 75 pence for a trade paperback, that's an awful lot of books that we have to sell to make even a meagre living - no wonder so many of us have second jobs !

 

I do occasionally buy used books, but these are nearly always rare and out of print ones that I can't get from other sources and only after I have checked those other sources. If you don't have much money and can't afford to buy books then you can always borrow them from the library. It might not be a lot (around 5 pence per time) but at least that way the author gets something, and you are also supporting a valuable public resource.

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The best thing about second hand books is.......second hand bookshops! I love the fact that you are after a certain book, they might not have it and in looking for it, you don't know what other gems you may come across. Better still if the shop in question is a bit of a rabbit-warren; all nooks and crannys and ood steps up and down. I think this may come from a bookshop in Birmingham called Hudsons when I was growing up. It was a new bookshop, but it was seriously confusing. The number of times I got lost in there!

 

Ian

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Yes, I have very similar issues with SH books.

 

Generally I try and buy very old second hand ones, so rather than it feeling like one person has read it it feels more like it might have been from a library or even a different era.

 

For example the last second hand book I bought on Amazon, could have got a 2001 copy in 'good' condition but instead got a 1969 copy, also in good condition but somehow fun because of it's age rather than just feeling used. Does that make sense?

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because books are so expensive to buy new from a bookshop i have no problem with second hand books. i picked up "where the heart is" by billie letts at an op shop for $4. if i was in dymocks or borders i wouldnt have even picked it up but i found the book quite enjoyable even though it seemed it was written with a movie deal in mind

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I think there is definitely something special about buying a brand new book, its kind of like a new friend to keep you entertained for a while. I like the way each one has its own new book smell...

I have borrowed a few books from my dad, which he bought from boot sales and charity shops and was at first sceptical when I looked at the tatty covers but it didn't take long for me to love them too. Also I don't know what I would have done without the school library, there were not many books I hadn't read!

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I buy the books I want to read. Only if I can't find what I need I buy second hand. I love the smell of the ink on the pages of a new book, there's something that fascinates me in it. I rarely borrow my books(they're mine!) and if so, only to reliable people. However, I have the feeling that soon I'll start buying second hand and visitng the library more often due to financial issues.

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I almost refuse to buy new books. I adore second-hand books and second-hand book stores! I especially like second-hand books that have scrawlings and comments from previous owners... dedications are my favourite, and I love when people leave clippings and notes between the pages. I bought a book of Poe, it was 100 years old and had a weird old newspaper article about the signs and markings that gypsies leave behind to let the ones who follow know what kind of place/community they are in. I brought a Ted Hughes book and it also had a very old article about the author shoved into the pages. I have found pictures of the virgin Mary, irate letters to debt collectors and rail-way tickets... all adds to the charm I think.

 

I personally make a point of marking all my books in some way. I get people to write in them for me, or I write in them to myself. I leave notes on how I thought the book was, whether I liked it, and at times I correct grammatical errors that useless editors have overlooked. Second hand books are beautiful! They smell so awfully nice, and I love that someone else has owned them and, in some cases, loved them too.

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I love second hand books. I feel that a used book has the history that makes me want to open it up. I also enjoy finding other peoples marks, notes, or anything else you randomly find in a used book. I also love the savings when buying used

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