Someone recently asked where I buy my books.The real question is where DON’T I get them!
First, the secret.
whispers I don’t buy them all.
I have access to Phoenix Public Library, Maricopa County Library, and several large city libraries (the privilege of being in a ginormous metropolitan area). I can read books from popular and academic presses for free. So I do, often and at a large volume.
If your own library’s collection is, shall we say, not meeting your needs, ask a librarian to interlibrary loan that title you had your heart set on. It’s free!
Since we are already at the library…stop by the Friends of the Library book sale. Perhaps, like Belle, you were the only person who ever checked out a specific title. Libraries pull books that don’t circulate, so you you may find yourself taking your (and nobody else’s) favorite title home one day!
But let’s say you’re in the market to buy a non-library title. I start at Bookman’s. This is an Arizona chain, sorry everyone else, but they mostly sell used books. That title that everyone had to read five years ago is going to be here, classics are here. Books are priced at a discount: my softcover nonfiction finds usually run $8-$12. The Flag location is my absolute favorite. Their nonfiction section is stocked like all the NAU professors cleared their offices out last week and there is a coffee shop, a feature which weirdly both Phoenix locations slept on.
For less predictability but more volume, I hit the VNSA Book Sale every February. Phoenix-specific again, but search the interwebs or ask your local librarian: your area may also have a massive used book sale at the county fairgrounds, too. My spicy little brain gets wiped cleaner than a slate every year, but I point myself in the direction of subject areas I know I need and usually come home with an armload (coughcartloadcough) of titles. Rarest find: a collection of post-WWII German knitting magazines. Most random find: Flamer in the Self-Help section.
Why was Flamer in the self-help section? I have no idea.
Guess 1: It was misplaced from another table
Guess 2: The VNSA is all volunteer run, so there is some creativity in how books are categorized. Graphic novels and memoirs are a new addition to the sale. Perhaps a volunteer, unaccustomed to the genre, did their best and…whimsy ensued? Lol, I wish I could know!
When all else fails, I go online. Don’t use Abe books, Amazon bought them, but for the super random, slightly older titles I can’t special order from a local bookstore and I’m too antsy to hunt down at Bookman’s, I will order from Alibris. They aggregate books from sellers in multiple countries, so check the seller’s location to get a sense of how much shipping is going to cost and how long you’ll have to wait. Shipping is rarely free, but when I’m buying a $6 hardcover, I’m going to call it even.
Add these six sources together, and you can see how quickly I fill my shelves (and nightstand). Where do your books come from?
Allison Ringness 