[...] Library book sales do exist, and they’re a great way to find used books for cheap. If you live in a city with a large public library, find out when they hold their annual book sale. At my library’s sale, I can generally pick up financial and personal development books for a buck or two each. Best of all, I’m able to find odd and unusual books that most bookstores won’t touch, such as Money-Making Hobbies, which cost me $1.50 in 2006. [...]

[...] other bloggers I am a bibliophile. I read a lot of books. I have a lot of books. Once I get married and [...]

[...] I purchased this book for $1 from the library book sale last October. I spent several hours scanning and re-typing these excerpts. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. [...]

The average homeowning American pays about the equivalent of ONE hardback book ($25.50, in 2004) in taxes to support library services. If you’re reading this thread, you already know everything you get for the price of that one book. And booksales get you not only cheap books, but even more value out of that $25.50! Book sales are the BEST. Thank you J.D. and all the library book sale fans.

An international move focuses the mind even more: when I moved from the UK to the US I realized that most of the books I had bought had been read once only. I ended up selling or giving away 80% of them. (And even then, I’ve found that 2 years later I have reread very few of the books I brought with me.)

It seems to me that often the pleasure of collecting is more in the ownership than in the consumption of the collection: what benefits does JD derive from his 80% unread books, other than the pleasure of living with them? What benefits the DVD collector with a wall full of discs he’s watched once?

I am a voracious library user but I now think very hard before actually buying a book or DVD. I still have something of a weak spot for CDs, though, although importing them all into iTunes means that I do now listen to a lot more of the music I own than I used to…

“I’ve listened to all of Patrick O’Brien’s Aubrey-Maturin novels.”

This tickled me, as I listen to audiobooks on my commute and have just started to listen to Master And Commander with an eye (an ear?) to working through the entire series. (I read them all a couple of years ago, but like JD I’m finding I often get more out of audiobooks: I suspect because the narrator’s pace prevents me from skimming.)

I also agree with the comments about utilizing the library – I’ve slipped a bit on this.

http://www.bookcrossing.com/ – the main idea is too free books around, but users also lend, do bookrings and bookrelays (where a person receives, reads, and passes the book on to the next person on the list).

http://www.bookmooch.com/ – swap of used books. You pay for the postal expenses and has a point system to keep it working.

It’s like a mini version of the Multnomah County sale that goes on all year.

My bookbuying obsession has contributed to my money woes over the years. It’s still a problem — no question — but because I’ve taken control of my finances, and because I’ve reduced my book spending, it’s not nearly so bad. My book habit (and, especially, comic book habit) is definitely something I can improve upon.

I’m not a heavy book buyer, but I have one genre that I absolutely love to read, so I use the library sale to try out new authors – authors who have multiple upon multiple series out – without having to outlay for a series that I might not like.

Your best bet is usually to go on the first day and on the last day: on the first day you can have your pick of the widest selection, and on the last day the prices are sometimes dramatically reduced; at my library system, you can fill a box for $5.

(These days I very rarely buy books, even at the library book sale. You know what’s more expensive than books? Bookcases. You know what’s more expensive than bookcases? A larger apartment; I don’t have space for any more bookcases).

I just started using it to get some churn on my bookshelves, and it bloody well rocks.

Apologies if I actually found out about it here.

The library is your friend.

A tip for finding library booksales:

http://www.booksalefinder.com/

Scroll down, then click on your state for a list of upcoming sales.

Find out if a book is worth much, before buying it at the booksale:

http://www.ringfo.com/
(formerly Amabuddy.com)

Swap books when you’re done with them, if you wouldn’t get much money for them anyway:

http://www.paperbackswap.com/

I, too, have discovered the joy of audiobooks. An iPod and an Audible subscription (and a good public library system) make for a great combination. I listen to about two books per month, and often enjoy it more than if I’d read the books on paper. I’ve listend to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell each of the past two Marches, and plan to do so this coming March. I’ve listened to all of Patrick O’Brien’s Aubrey-Maturin novels. Etc. Great stuff.

I like audiobooks because it’s a forced progression. Plus I could do laundry or walk the dog while “reading”.

-BD

My biggest headache with this addiction is: where and how to store them? I have thousands of paperbacks, hard-covers, trade paperbacks… I don’t have one library-like room to put them all, and I wouldn’t want to anyway. I wish I had carpentry skills.

Back to the topic at hand: I don’t buy as many books as I used to. Maybe a couple a month, and I usually buy used, although I can’t resist Costco prices at times.