When you’re getting books do you prefer to get new ones or secondhand ones?
I really enjoy the “hunt” for used editions of books that I want, and browsing through stacks in used bookstores is fun and neat way to discover books that I might not ever run across otherwise! But I’m kind of picky about the condition of books I buy, so sometimes I just go the easy route and pick up a new copy. Or if it’s a book I don’t want to wait to read I’ll snag a new one!
Used book stores are great, and I’ve used Thrift Books online many a times. The problem is that I have a lot of physical books and the wife wants me to scale down. As a result, I had to switch to a Kindle so that I can have more books without cluttering up our space more.
With Thrift Books, I’ve found their ‘book condition’ references to be much better than what you’d expect. For instance, I’ve received books that were labeled as “good” and found them to be in much better condition.
YMMV, but I’ve found them to be a good option.
Conversely, since I’ve had my Kindle, I’ve found a lot of free books through Gutenberg.org.
Nowadays, I have to stay away from physical bookstores or else I’ll pick up something and my wife will not be happy.
I’ve heard of Thriftbooks but never gotten around to ordering from them. I need to give them a try.
Thriftbooks is great. I’ve ordered a lot of things and they have a pretty solid bar for quality, even if you pick the books listed as “acceptable” (which is the worst tier there is).
I really like them, but depending upon what you are looking for, they may have a wait list (but they do allow you to be notified when a book comes back in stock).