#Microblog Monday 277: Used Books
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Another thought from Shaun Bythell’s Diary of a Bookseller. (Can you tell I marked up his book?)
On page 294, he tells a story:
In the afternoon a customer spent about an hour wandering around the shop. He finally came to the counter and said, ‘I never buy second-hand books. You don’t know who else has touched them, or where they’ve been.’ Apart from being an irritating thing to say to a second-hand bookseller, who knows whose hands have touched the books in the shop? Doubtless everyone from ministers to murderers. For many that secret history of provenance is a source of excitement which fires their imagination. A friend and I once discussed annotations and marginalia in books. Again, they are a divisive issue. We occasionally have Amazon orders returned because the recipient has discovered notes in a book, scribbled by previous readers, which we had not spotted. To me these things do not detract but are captivating additions – a glimpse into the mind of another person who has read the same book.
While that is a bizarre thing to say to a second-hand book dealer while in his shop (why did the person wander around if they don’t like them?), I’ll admit that I prefer new books, though I also buy used books. I like the idea of recycling and the cost of used books, but I love holding crisp, new books.
Do you like used books?
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10 comments
Like you, I like new books. The feeling of a pristine new book has always heralded excitement for me – perhaps that it has been made just for me, that there’s a story waiting inside its covers that I will be the first to read. A second-hand book is no different from borrowing a book from the library, in that we don’t know how many people have read it before them, and the only thing that has ever bothered me about that is if a book feels dirty or musty. But a book that has been used, but is still in decent condition, is fine. Annotations do bother me a little, because whilst I have always been curious to see what features others highlight, I also want to read without anyone else’s ideas interfering with my experience of the book.
Though for a germ-phobe (not me), an ebook would be ideal!
I like books. Period! I have heard other people express this weird issue with used books though. Among the people I’ve talked to, their concern is primarily that someone might have read the book on the toilet, thereby “polluting” it. I felt sorry for them. Imagine going through life that way.
I love all sorts of books. I love delving into used bookstores to give some of these honorable books a good home. So many wonderful books are not in print and how else are you to find them other than lucking into them at your friendly used book seller. I love visiting used bookstores in other places to see what they have. I love the idea that I’m rescuing these books from languishing on the shelves in obscurity. When we drive through CT we often stop at a restaurant/bookstore on the CT/MA border called Travelers Inn. Downstairs you can buy books, but with your meal, you can take up to three books with you and the whole family looks forward to what we’ll find when we stop.
I have come to prefer used books. I like the idea that someone else already read and enjoyed the book, and as long as it’s still in good condition, it’s not as though the previous owner(s) could read the words off the page. 😉
I often feel guilty about spending money on books, when I could just check them out from the library for free, so buying books used assuages my guilt a little.
@omdg—ha ha that Seinfeld episode”this book’s been in the bathroom” 😂
I often buy used books. But don’t care for marked up books. I often bought used in law school and tried to avoid books with lots of writing (in ink!)/highlighting. At most I would lightly write in pencil then erase before trying to resell…even when I didn’t resell. I mean I am the queen of highlighting but not in books (!)
I prefer new books. That said, I belong to an online fan group for an author from the 1930s-70s (D.E. Stevenson — if you read my blog, she has her own tag there, lol), and while some of her books have happily started to be published in new editions recently (both print & e-versions, as well as audiobooks), there are still many of her titles that are only available on the resale market. Our group reads & discusses several of her books each year, and I’ve had to go online to find & purchase some of them — and some of them have been fairly expensive. I have paid $20-$40 for musty yellowed books (both paperback & hardcover) that have been shipped to me from as far away as England or New Zealand. (I’ve wound up keeping them in ziploc bags when I’m not reading them, lol.) That’s about as far as I’ll open my wallet for a used edition of one of her books, though. I had to sit out one discussion of one of her rarer novels because I couldn’t find a copy priced reasonably enough for my liking.
I like them both. And yeah, that’s real weird that someone went into a secondhand bookstore, looked around, and THEN announced how they didn’t like secondhand books. ??? So weird.
I like used books that are in good condition, and nice shiny new books. I’ve bought used books at Barnes & Noble, but now I’m buying a lot of my used books at a store about 20 minutes from me, The Dog-Eared Book, which has a mix of new and old AND a store dog with big ears and eyes that beg for pets. All used, hardcover or paperback, are $5, less for children’s. It’s nice to think of the recycling aspect, and also supporting a local business. PLUS I can get new books too and her displays are great. So it’s the best of both!
I love books, all books–but there’s nothing like the smell of a fresh off the press new book. I buy used to save $$$, but I always look for those with as little wear and tear as possible.
I’m with you. I love a brand new book with it’s crackling cover & wonderful smell but I don’t mind used books especially if they’re not recent literature. I don’t like them written all over but I am always intrigued if there’s a name / a date in the front. I always have the urge to try to find out more about the previous owners. Once I get into a book, I don’t really think about whether it’s new or not and like you, love to keep books in circulation.
I do not mind used books if they are in good condition I will purchase them, but I LOVE new books. There’s just something about thumbing through a clean brand new book!