Want to see past topics? Click on the links below to see them:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6: Describe how you shop for books
Book shopping. I love those days. It's like a trip to Santa's workshop and I get to pick the toys I want :D
First of all, in the town I live in there are only two, maybe three (if the third one hasn't closed yet) bookshops that sell books in English. Some sell books in other languages too, but those shelves are small. The selection for paranormal/urban fantasy in my favorite bookshop is quite small for my tastes though *pout*. Anyway...
When I get to my favorite part of the bookshop, I sort of... disconnect. It's weird, but it feels as if my mind shuts down and there's just peace and quiet around me, just me and the books. There's actually a cute photo that reminds me of how I feel when I go shopping for books. Click here to see it (I'd post it here but I'm not sure about the copyrights, so I'd rather be safe than sorry :P)
Then I start looking for my favorite authors, to see if they have new books by them. I'm adventurous enough to buy paranormal books by authors I've never tried before, but I can't say the same thing about mysteries. I'd love to find good mysteries by myself, but I'm a bit scared. The only time I did that I got extremely lucky and I loved the book. Of course, it was about Shakespeare, and I don't think you can go wrong with that (in case you're wondering, the book is called Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell).
Because there aren't that many books in English, I don't exactly make a plan or a list with books I want to buy. I once talked with one of the employees from one of the bookshops and they told me that I could order a book and they'd get it, but I'd have to pay for shipping. Which sucks if you ask me. I get the why, but it still sucks :P
So like I said, I don't make a list. I do have books that I'm always looking out for, but I'm not getting my hopes up. If I don't find anything I like or new by searching for my favorite authors, I check the covers. And if there's a particular cover that catches my eye, I'll pick the book up and inspect it. If I like it, I'll read the last page and if I like that, then I'll buy it.
OH! One thing though. Even if I don't buy anything (which happens rarely) I still don't leave empty-handed. My favorite bookshop has a selection of FREE bookmarks. Not many, but they are free. Just waiting for someone to pick them up. So I do. I got tons of bookmarks like that, to be honest. Shiny, cute ones. *le sigh*
One cool thing is that most bookshops have these.. I think you can call them costumer cards. You buy one book and you can sign up for the card, usually free of charge. And you have sales and points and gifts and things like that, which is completely cool and awesome. And if that doesn't work, then I have 10% off of any purchase because I'm a student. It's not much, I know, but it's not nothing either.
I would be more organized if I read in Italian. They have tons of books in Italian, naturally, so I'd be able to spend more time searching (and probably finding) what I want, but I'm weary of that. I find that there are a lot of things that get lost in translation, not because of bad translation or anything, but a certain...something.
Anyway, that's how I shop for books. What about you?
