Do you buy rent or borrow? Or do you have a subscription of some kind? Do you read physical books or do you read ebooks?

  • StringTheory@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Mostly borrow ebooks from the public library. There is a small new-and-used bookstore near me, one of those classic “open 3 hours a day, more if we feel like it” ones. Very fun to go wander the shelves when I want a physical book.

    • PanaX@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      I just realized, boy is it refreshing to actually talk about sites like z-lib without being censored. Library Genesis and Anna’s Archive are also nifty.

      • alyaza [they/she]@beehaw.orgM
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        1 year ago

        yeah if i’m even remotely ambiguous on whether i’d want a book, piracy. i can’t buy everything and i can’t go to a library every day. but i definitely try to buy books from the authors i know i like—i heard great things about NK Jemisin and Kim Stanley Robinson for example, read one of their books, and then that made me go out and buy large parts of both’s output. i think i have physical copies of like a third of KSR’s major novels, lol.

        • PanaX@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          Exactly. I always read a pirated epub first, then, I always go out and buy that book in hardcover. But many of the authors I enjoy are long dead, and many of their prints are in public domain. So piracy doesn’t matter there. That’s where Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks are incredible!

    • ellabella@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Book Depository closed the other month, I don’t know if Amazon understood how important it is for people outside US and EU, but the closure really pushed everyone I know to casually switch back to piracy.

      • Engywuck@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        I’m not sure what Book Depository is, but if it’s related to Amazon i would have avoided it anyway, even if it was free. I actively boycott Amazon.

  • edo@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Combination of my local second-hand bookstore (which has a wildly good selection given that I live in a small country town), my two favourite “regular” bookstores, Libby, and the Kobo ebook store.

    If I can’t find something particularly niche or out of print, I’ll use Abe Books but I try to avoid that since it’s owned by Amazon.

    Edit: I’ve started to favour print books most of the time, at least for poetry and non-fiction. I’ve started to write more again and I find physical books much easier to refer back to.

    • witless@lemmy.nz
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      1 year ago

      I prefer nonfiction to be printed books as well. For some reason I don’t seem to take it as seriously as an ebook, maybe it feels too insubstantial for my brain to take it seriously.

  • alehel@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    I just use my local library now. I don’t usually read a book twice, so I don’t see any point in purchasing books anymore.

  • Mortuum@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I buy books only when I really love the edition. Otherwise, I’ll buy some on kindle and rent others through my local library, or Libby. I only buy physical copies of books I am happy to re-read.

  • Midnight_Ice@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    I use the Libby app and check out ebooks from my local library usually. I have a bunch of physical books as well, but I am out of room to put them now. I also find ebooks to be more convenient. I can read whenever I want because I have all the books I’m reading on my phone.

  • ZuCo@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    I have some great used bookstores near me that I can browse on a lunch break and have established a decent relationship with the store owners. I love to have a physical book and the interactions with a store owner that lives and breathes books can’t be overrated, they always have a suggestion for me based on current interests.

    I do own an e-reader though and will occasionally buy books that I just can’t get in print, I’ve been really into the Warhammer 40k universe lately and while I could find them used on ebay they are generally pretty pricey. I did score two collections at my local thrift store last week though for $3 a piece and was pretty happy about that.

  • books@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    I buy my books from either ebooks or Amazon, then load them on my kindle which I carry everywhere. It’s an old paper white that usually fits into the pocket of whatever jacket I’m wearing.

    I like physical books too but I really don’t have the space to be stacking up. I also read a lot in public and don’t like for people to always know what I’m reading lol. Nothing sketch, I’m just a private person.

  • DiscoShrew@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 year ago

    I read a mix of ebooks and physical books. Usually the choice is determined by the type of book. For example, usually more genre fiction gets an ebook, whereas more so called “literary fiction” gets a physical copy.

    For example I’ve picked up House of Leaves at a local independent bookstore, along with the Molloy books by Beckett and the Norton Annotated Moby Dick. I don’t think house of leaves would work at all as an ebook and heavily annotated items I prefer a physical copy.

    Alas I am running out of bookshelf space so I have to be much more selective these days. As for finding books, it’s usually word of mouth or on storygraph. I also follow the book youtube Leaf by Leaf whom I can thoroughly recommend.

    The ebooks I prefer on eink devices, for portability I have a Kobo and for notetaking or needing a bigger screen I have a supernote A5X

  • toiletwhole@feddit.de
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    1 year ago

    I only read physical books, but i also try to buy only used ones. Worked actually pretty good for the past 10-15 years and still works for me

  • temporal_spider@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    I’m print disabled, which means I have problems reading printed text, but am not blind. Mainly, I have to be doing something with my hands or it’s really hard to focus long enough to read a book. So I get through a lot of audiobooks.

    In addition to Audible and Libby, I am also eligible for the National Library Service, which has its own app. If you, or anyone you know might qualify, here’s a link to the US NLS. There are similar libraries in most other countries, and there are treaties to make books available to people living abroad in their own language.

  • bootyberrypancakes@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    I usually buy ebooks from ebooks.com and DeDRM them with calibre and read them on my iPad. Pirated a handful of books but I can’t always find what I’m looking for. :(

    I also use my partners Audible account to listen to books at work lol

  • icanmakesound@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Either Library Genesis for ebooks, or thriftbooks.com. Also some local used book stores, like Half Price Books (not sure if they are everywhere?)

    Thrift Books is nice because you can choose the edition you want, if they have it available. Also you might get nice surprises occationally. I ordered Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons and ended up getting an autographed copy. You can also earn credits for free books, and it’s free shipping on orders over $25(?), so I usually order 4-5 at a time. (Not an ad, I just really like thriftbooks lol)

    • jiji@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      I have been 100% ebooks for years, but after a combination of factors such as books not being available from my library on Libby and them being kinda pricey on Kindle, plus getting in to a booktuber (Ariel Bissett!) I got introduced to ThriftBooks and in 2 months I’ve bought over 15 physical books. 😅 It’s a change to be sure and I’m not sure how I feel about all the space books will take up again in my life, but it’s nice to have them.