Braddok

The only time I really use a dot com is if I have a coupon, of if the prices are super cheap like book closeouts.com. Most of the time I goto Borders or B&N cos' I like to look around and see what grabs my eye.

immortal_zeus

Well, I'm assuming that we all buy our books at the cheapest places we know of. After all, that's why we came to DVDTalk, right? To find good prices on DVDs.

So where do you buy your books? Online or B&M?

Since I've only really gotten into reading for pleasure like within the past couple months (but with a flurry), it'd be nice to compare the prices I'm paying to those that others are paying.

I'm buying my books at www.bamm.com. I've found that their Millionaire Club members pay a little less than Amazon.com prices. Also, I try to order my books in bunches (at least $25 worth) so that I can get free shipping...which is important since I live in Hawaii and shipping can be expensive. I don't remember if Amazon's free shipping just reduces my cost of shipping, but with BAMM, it's totally free. Moreover, shipping is usually faster than Amazon. I think Amazon's free shipping is 5-9 business days or so.

Anybody want to share their secret places for finding books at a decent price?

rkndkn

Hey Zeus!

I prefer to read paperbacks, as they're just more comfy to read in bed and easy to carry around. I think paying $8.00 for a new paperback is steep, so I like the used bookstores, like Rainbow Books, Cheapo's and The Book Rack. The Book Rack out in Stadium Mall, Halawa, has a nice selection. You can bring in your finished paperbacks, they'll select what they can use and will issue you a credit slip to be used toward your purchase.

immortal_zeus

Hey Elizabeth!

I like paperbacks, too, especially for the military books I read. I've been buying the Dan Brown books in hardcover for posterity's sake, though.

I'll have to check out The Book Rack. I live in Salt Lake so it's pretty close by. I thought you lived over in Kaimuki or the Waikiki area? Halawa seems like an out of the way place for you.

rkndkn

Yeah, I'm in Makiki. But once in a while, when I trek out to Pearlridge, I'll stop by the Book Rack. I used to go out that way to go to Costco, too, but now it moved so conveniently by my favorite Dole Cannery theatres.

immortal_zeus

Come on folks...sharing is caring.

benedict

Hmmm.... how about?

• Since merged into here!
• A good site for used &/or cheap books? [merged]

AGuyNamedMike

Used book stores, half.com, and the library. Also, I periodically find what I want at a dollar store or in the dicount bins at the regular bookstore. I never pay full retail for my books.

tasha99

ebay, half.com, amazon (with coupon or used.) Also, sometimes Bookcloseouts.com.

PalmerJoss

Most of the time I just jaunt over to my local Barnes & Noble and peruse the paperbacks. I rarely buy hardcovers with the exception of new Stephen King books. If I can't find what I want then I'll go online to Amazon.

Morvern Callar

Saskatoon's got a lot of cool used bookstores where I can find all sorts of literature, from Atwood to Zamyatin! For new books I like to go to McNally Robinsons, an indie bookstore chain.

Chapters-Indigo sucks and most of their employees are zombies with little or no book knowledge.

darkside

I only buy ebooks so all my shopping is done online at www.palmdigitalmedia.com and www.fictionwise.com

When I want to read something I can buy it and have it in a matter of seconds and ebooks are usually a lot cheaper.

immortal_zeus

After reading through those reads, I saw that a lot of people actually got books from the library. So I went to the library today, got a card, and borrowed some books. Wow, whoulda thunk it?

I'm proud of myself.

Braddok

I usually go to Borders or B&N. I like to walk around and see what catches my eye. I find it difficult to do that with an on-line store.

Deckard-10

My favorite place to buy books is Barnes & Noble. &nbsp I love browsing the titles, handling the books and reading the first few pages. &nbsp There's something to be said for being able to touch and look at a book prior to buying it vs. just reading about it online.

immortal_zeus

I totally agree. I went to Borders and B&N today and I looked at a number of books which caught my eye. Of course, I came back home and read some online reviews and then put them on my "library list" of books to get from the library.

mljones99

Books A Million B&M at Concord Mills. My wife has a discount card there so I buy my books whenever she buys hers.

Variable697

I try to go to independent bookstores like Dutton's or Book Soup.

rkndkn

FINALLY got a library card?

(Just for your info, did you know that if your particular branch doesn't have the book you want, they will bring it from ANYWHERE in the Hawaii State library system for you? You just have to put in a reserve and state which branch you'd like to pick it up from. They even brought it in from the neighbor island for me! )

immortal_zeus

Yup, finally! After living here for half my life.

Yeah, I noticed that about them transferring books. I love how I can go online and request the books! You should see this huge list I created on my account. I noticed that a couple of the books I wanted were at The Library for the Blind. Those aren't braille books are they? Do you know if they are large type books instead?

B.A.

I usually get my books from Border's - I can spend hours there w/out picking just one book to buy. I don't mind online stores, but I like to peruse and look through the books. I do buy a lot of my history books and www.HistoryBookClub.com. They don't have the best selection, so you have to check back w/ them every now and then to see what's new but their deal for a new member is really very good.

I don't think I have used my library card since high school - I need to go renew and use my tax dollars - thanks for the reminder.

MasterCXtreme

Borders all the time. There's a great Borders by the mall nearbye me. When I do buy books, I get em there.

EDIT: 300th Post!

rkndkn

My sister used to work at the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. They have braille books, books on tape, and Large Type books. She said that if you wanted a Large Type (LT) book and it became available, those would be available for transfer to other branches. The rest of their resources are only available to those patrons with a certain level of vision impairment or handicap.

Well, if you get a flood of postcards stating that your reserve is in and on hold for you, be sure that you at least call to cancel any which you can't keep up with! Otherwise, there's a $1.00 charge.

The library's also a cool place to borrow CDs and DVDs, too. No charge for the CDs, $1.00 charge for 1 week for the DVDs.

immortal_zeus

Thanks for the info rkndkn.

mwj

Amazon, until the coupons dried up. I have been reading my backlog since I don't have any used bookstores close.