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Take movies, for example. A full price movie ticket is around $10 these days. Throw in a drink and some popcorn, and you've shelled out about $20 per person to see the latest blockbuster. That buys you 2 hours of entertainment in a dark, air-conditioned environment (nothing to sneeze at during a Texas summer). For about the same price (or a few dollars more) you could purchase a new hardcover release, which will buy you several hours of entertainment, depending on how quickly you read. As an added bonus, you can go back and re-read it again and again without having to pay. There's something to be said for that.
Now, I appreciate books are expensive and there is a legitimate issue regarding the price of e-books and whatnot. But when you think about how far your dollar goes, enjoyment-wise, I think books win every time. Maybe that's just me.
And so I have a question for you, dear readers. Do you buy hardcover releases? My finances can't support my book habit, so I only have a few authors on my hardcover 'ohgoditsanewbookImusthaveitNOW!' list, which helps keep things manageable. How many hardcovers (or new e-book releases) do you buy in a given month? Do you prefer paperbacks (or when the e-book price drops), or are you willing to pay a little extra to get the book right away?
Inquiring minds want to know...
I usually buy one hardcover whenever I buy books. Most of the time it's because I really want to read the book and I can't find any paperback at all, so yes, I am willing to pay extra just to get the book right away.
ReplyDeleteIf a book is part of a series and I have the first one as an e-book, I will buy the rest of them as e-books too. I can't stand having one book of a series on the shelf only while the rest are on my Kindle.
I totally get this--I like my books to look the same on my shelf, so I'll stick with one format if I'm accumulating books in a series. Glad I'm not the only one! :)
DeleteI rarely buy hard cover. That said, I do have all of Harry Potter in hardback that I got for my birthday this year. I've read the books twice, though not my hardcovers yet.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you the last time I bought a real hold-in-my-hands book though. Mostly I buy e-books and I tend to go in spurts. I'll buy/read 5 to 10 books in a short amount of time. SO I guess average is probably 2 a month and depending on the book, I rarely am willing to pay more than $4.99 for one.
I think I'm in the minority--I like my Kindle, but I still primarily buy paperback or hardcover books. Very rarely do I buy e-books, I think because it's too easy for me to forget what I have. I can always see the covers of my physical books in my mind, and since I walk by them all the time, it motivates me to read them!
DeleteI only buy Diana Gabaldon's books in hardback. I find that the ease of holding ebooks to read is far more important than the beauty of a well-made paper book.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I have all her books on my Kindle, too. ; )
Diana is definitely on my auto-buy list, whatever the format :)
DeleteYea, I definitely can't afford most hardcovers. For much anticipated stuff, they do seem to discount the books - I got Rowling's latest off Amazon for only 16$. Of course, I bought a Neil Gaiman at the same time, so I could get 25$ free shipping...
ReplyDeleteI'd always buy Diana's, no matter the cost. And Tolkien. Anything by Tolkien.
Yeah, due to all the discounts offered, I rarely pay full sticker price on a hardcover. Still, it's not a small expense... I have to really want the book to buy it in hardcover--a lot of times, I'll wait a few months for the paperback release.
DeleteI rarely buy hardcovers at full price; I wait until they're discounted 30-40%. Sometimes I find good ones for under $10--ecstasy! And I agree...I'd rather pay $25 for a favorite author's hardcover than the same for 2hrs at the movie, because I can then share said book w/friends and family that cannot afford to buy books (student daughter/fixed-income mother). It's a give-give opportunity. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, you're nice! I don't loan out my hardcovers--they're too special ;)
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