Hannah Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I have a list of books I'd like to read, but I get too easily tempted by 3 for 2 offers in book shops and usually find myself spending way more than I should. Plus, surely it isn't just me who can't resist a Richard & Judy read??? (sorry that might not make sense to anyone not from the UK) Haven't found a single book they recommended that I haven't enjoyed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I tend to buy a fair few Richard and Judy reads too Hannah, although mainly because they end up on offer or in the recommended section so I'm more likely to look at them in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirinrob Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I tend to have a short list of books I want to read - either of authors I already like or recommended. Have been known to enter a bookshop, find they havnt got what I want, leave sans books and try another lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrim Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I go to this site: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/ and look at their award winners or short list books for a given genre and it's been a very good way to get to some good ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 the Jasper Fforde books (the only crime I really read)ditto W Jasper!!! Plus, surely it isn't just me who can't resist a Richard & Judy read???I usually try to avoid R&J's latest on the principle that they're never really my thing unless they've also been recommended by another source I trust, i.e. someone on here, a friend with similar tastes or my uberliterate mum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 Normally, I have books in mind that I want to buy, so the next time I am in the book store I will just pick 'em up. Other than that I hear about books through word of mouth and will investigate them the next book store trip I take. Other than that, I just like to wander the book store/book isle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Reading the above comments, I can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueB Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Reading the above comments, I can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Well, it sounds like you're a hopeless case already...but at least you know that! Second-hand bookshops may be dwindling but there are still plenty of outlets for cheap books. I'm thinking mainly of charity shops. 99% of the books I buy are second-hand and there lies the problem. I tend to forget that just because you can buy six books in a charity shop for the price of one from Waterstains or Smiths doesn't mean you have to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueB Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Well, it sounds like you're a hopeless case already...but at least you know that! Second-hand bookshops may be dwindling but there are still plenty of outlets for cheap books. I'm thinking mainly of charity shops. 99% of the books I buy are second-hand and there lies the problem. I tend to forget that just because you can buy six books in a charity shop for the price of one from Waterstains or Smiths doesn't mean you have to. Hangs head in shame:blush: I buy from Play.com and I justify the amount I buy cos theres no postage and packing charge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I tend to forget that just because you can buy six books in a charity shop for the price of one from Waterstains or Smiths doesn't mean you have to. No, I think I have to pull you up on this Larry - I think you'll find it's the law! Why else would so many of us do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Thank you for justifying my existence, Chrissy. It's a psychological thing though, isn't it? I wouldn't dream of going into a bookshop and buying something from new for about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Book Fiend Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 As I have often claimed, should I live to the age of 94 I doubt I would find time to read all of the books I own already, and should I make it to 94 (avoiding death caused by the industrial level of dust from all the books) I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 My parents just don't understand and they keep telling me that I'm going to have to stop buying books or they're going to have to get my bedroom floor reinforced! Mine feel exactly the same way. Of course, I laugh it off, but then I am not the one who will be sitting directly beneath should it in fact give way. To be more specific, that person will be my dad! Book Fiend, do you find that when you've collected everything on one of those lists you start thinking, well, that's it! Barring this or that I might buy along the way, I've got enough to be going on with, so now I might actually start getting through some of them...until you find a new list or encounter a new author whose entire output needs acquiring and so you start all over again? And yes, FOPP is great for books, as well as DVDs (which I also have a mania for collecting) and music. Alas, there are now only nine FOPP stores in the UK but happily there's one in Nottingham, which is close to where I live. Earlier this year I picked-up a load of history books by Eric Hobsbawm, all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Book Fiend Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Book Fiend, do you find that when you've collected everything on one of those lists you start thinking, well, that's it! Barring this or that I might buy along the way, I've got enough to be going on with, so now I might actually start getting through some of them...until you find a new list or encounter a new author whose entire output needs acquiring and so you start all over again? I do that all the time! I think "right I've definately got enough books now, i'm not buying any more until I've read some of the ones I already have!" That generally lasts about a week, and then I'll be browsing on Amazon on my break and come across something that looks interesting! Thats another way I pick books, I look for something on Amazon, and then it suggests other things you might like and I just get drawn in! Either that or I'll come across something second hand that I fancy, and with second hand you HAVE to buy them when you see them because you never know if you'll find it again! Back to the original subject of this thread....I also buy books based on films, i.e I'll see a trailer for a film based on a book and think "that looks good" so go and buy the book, which is how I ended up with my current read based on a BBC review of the film! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 I've just noticed that recommendations from authors work even when second-hand, for me. A recent example: the collected works of Steven Brust have been put on my wishlist after Neil Gaiman and Tad Williams told me he was made out of awesome (Gaiman is one of my favourite authors and Williams is one of my mum's); I now have put Gene Wolfe's "The Knight" on my wishlist given that Steven Brust - whose works aren't even in my possession yet - tells me he is made out of awesome, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libri vermis Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I mostly choose my books by hearing them mentioned by other people. If what was said sounds interesting, I will then go to amazon.com and read over the synopsis. If it sounds intriguing, I will purchase it. I also have a bad habit of wanting every book I can get my hands on by certain authors. This does not bode well for my pocketbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Reading the above comments, I can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libri vermis Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 A man after my own heart! I keep thinking that I am going to have to live for a very long time to be able to read all the books I currently own. I own all of the top 200 reads in the BBCs Big Read list, except for the books for very young children (such as The Magic Faraway Tree). Currently I have over 700 books at home - yes, actually sitting on my shelf - that I have yet to read. I used to try and discipline myself, but now I just accept that I am addicted! Well, I feel a little bit better about myself now. I have over 600 books sitting on my shelf, but I would say I have read about 200 of them, if not more. The worst part is, if I like a book, I will not get rid of it, because I want to read it again. I hope I can re-read all of these before I die and still add more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Oh, I just can't help myself. And in addition to having all those unread books on my shelf, I have about the same amount which I have already read! So it's fair to say that there are a LOT of books in our house!! The daft thing is, I'll buy a book because I love the sound of it, and then I won't read it for ages, because I feel guilty reading a new book when I have so many old ones on my shelves:blush: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookWorm1976 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 I look for my favorite authors,if I dont find any I havent read,then I will have a wonder around,pulling books out at random,then I will read the first page or few sentences and if it's good, get it. I try to get books by author's I haven't read before as well as my favorites:mrgreen: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morbid Hermit Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I tend to set out with specific authors or titles in mind before buying anything, although of course will often succumb to an impulse purchase! If it's cheap and second hand then I'm more likely to pick it up without knowing anything about it - otherwise I may make a note of the title (I often carry a pen and scraps of paper just in case!) and then research on the Internet about it, reviews and such, before choosing to buy it. The aforementioned Fopp was very good, unfortunately it closed down here a while back, but we have two Waterstones and plenty of charity shops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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