I used to read constantly, so I would always at least look through the books on the racks at all the dollar stores. Some of them have higher prices and not everything is $1.00, but I generally picked up a few from places like Dollar Tree. Every once in a while they have some decent books. For a buck, I'm willing to give one a try. They often have hard cover ones as well, which is nice, especially if you want to hang onto it. I really like the larger print as well. These can also make a nice gift, especially if you know someone who loves to read and you just want to get them a little something.
I have seen the books at the dollar stores, and you can get some pretty good deals there; but you can probably get just as good of books online for the same price and maybe even free. I use a website called "Bookbub.com" and they will look on the internet and send you. Link to the kinds of books that you want to read that are either cheap or free. They have a profile that you can fill out as to what kinds of books you want to read, and then they send you an email each day with suggestions. You can be as specific or as generalized as you want with your lost of types of books. Also, Amazon puts some books on sale for free each day, so if you look there will always be different books on there that will be free for only a day of two, and then they put out different ones. I like to browse through and look for free books on topics that I am interested in.
I always buy books from Used Book Sale, that's the name of the discount store that sells second hand books. Reading science fiction is my hobby when I pass time. New or old stories are the same to me. What's important is that the book should be interesting to me. New books of science fiction cost around $10 while second hand books of the same genre cost $1 only.
The first book I've purchased is from a dollar store. After reading the book I sold it online and I earned thrice the amount I've payed for because that isn't just an ordinary book. With dollar stores, if you are patient enough to look, you may find some rare to find books that you can even sell for more.
Thanks for the tip, @Happyflowerlady. I'll have to check that site out and give Amazon deals a look as well. Nice. I agree, @Alexandoy. A sci-fi book doesn't have to be new or modern to be good. I like that genre as well. @beige, I've often seen expensive, hard cover books at the dollar store. Some still have big price tags on them, so yeah, you probably could sell some of those for a nice profit. I never thought of that, but it's a good idea. I don't have nearly as much time any more, so I don't get to read as often as I'd like, but I do like to take books with me sometimes. If I know I have to sit and wait then that's a good time. If I'm picking someone up and waiting for them to come out or in the doctor's waiting room, I can get some reading time in.
Used book stores are a great place to buy books, and I have also bought books that way, as well as at thrift stores and yard sales. The nice thing about book stores is that they often have them grouped by author as well as by catagory, so if you are looking for a particular author, it is much easier to find, and they are also a lot likelier to have the book than a thrift store would be. Many of the older books, like the Sci-Fi ones you mentioned, @Alexandoy , are not in eBook form, and finding old printed books is about the only way that you can find them and read them. One if the really old classic science fiction is a book called "Slan", which was written back in maybe the 1930's or 1940's. I remember reading it in the early 1950's when I was around 11-12, I think. If that is online, I have never seen it . I am not sure you can even find that old book anywhere anymore. It was old when I read it.
My favorite Sci Fi stories are those written by Isaac Asimov which are expensive that's why I opt to buy the used books to save. However it is not easy to find such used books. It's like finding a needle in the haystack. There are also the Analog magazine in that Used Book Sale store. It is my favorite magazine as well.
I have found that one of the best places to find almost ANY book is on e-Bay. Most of the used bookstores and even the thrift shops now list their books online at ebay, and also some are on Amazon, but I think they cost more on Amazon, and the selection is not as great as it is on eBay. You can also find some of these old classics online, and sometimes you can download them for free when they are the older books. It is always worth checking for them, and ebay is also a good way to resell you books that you don't want to keep in your book library after you are finished reading them.
In the UK we have the pound stores and often they buy auction lots of books. I have recently got some reference books, classics, Andrew Marr's history book (worth £25), and biographies. Some have been hardback too, and while there are lots of 'reject' books of biographies of reality stars, there are the odd good finds. I never found much in Dollar Tree, but it's one of those places you have to check a couple of times a week.
I usually find a few good ones during my monthly trip to Dollar Tree. I like that I don't feel as if I have to hold onto them after I've purchased them. At only a dollar apiece, I'm happy to donate them if I don't plan on re-reading them in the future. I was able to purchase a few Christmas books there last year, and will be checking out that section on my next visit, because in addition to enjoying them myself, it can also be a source of low cost gifts.
What kinds of Christmas books, @Diane Lane ? That sounds cool. I'd like to pick up some myself. I guess I need to keep checking all the time now. They hadn't added any new ones last time I checked, but as the holidays get closer, I'm sure we'll see more from which to choose. I think books make great gifts. I'll need to read some reviews on them before I give them out though. I don't want to give someone a book as a gift and have it ending up containing something that they might find offensive. So far, it hasn't ever been a problem for me, but a family member recently encountered this predicament and told me about it.
@thisnthat Wow, what was it they found objectionable in the book? I posted elsewhere about how I'm seeing more and more detailed sex scenes in what are supposed to be romance novels. The Christmas book I found last year was basically the nativity story (Jesus Christ's birth, Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, etc. ), and I bought a copy for myself and another for my mom. I think there may have been others there, but I'd already spent too much money. I would probably flip through the book or maybe even look online at reviews before gifting it if there was a possibility of someone being offended.
There was strong language and they took God's name in vain. It was a mystery story and there was no indication that it would contain such things, based on the description. I don't buy romance novels for myself or anyone else, so that part I don't have to worry about. I have heard that some are becoming much more X rated though. What happened to leaving a little something to the imagination? The Christmas books sound nice. I'd like to grab some of those for my kids and grandkids. I'll have to keep an eye out in case they offer something similar again. Thanks. Maybe they'll have some nice kids books as well.
Not only do I search around for cheap books at dollar stores (pound shops in the UK), but also I scour the charity shops for books that I love to read. Being an avid reader I am always on the look out for a good deal. I also belong to the library which really helps if I am short of funds and cannot afford to buy that particular book that week.
Sometimes I have bought dollar store books for Christmas presents, but generally speaking, I don't read many books myself. Anyhow, sometimes I don't think they are the best gifts cause they are bought out of desperation because during those times I don't have a lot of money. Nonetheless, many of the books have good reviews and at an earlier time in another store they probably would have sold for at least above 15 USD. By the way, you might also be able to find quality books for an incredibly low price, in the US at least, at a consignment shop or flea market. Of course, you can also sometimes find deals on eBay or Amazon.
The books at the Dollar Store are definitely a good price for a brand new book, especially at Dollar Tree where everything is actually only a dollar, and nothing is higher than that. However, since they are not an actual bookstore, they do not have any kind of a good selection there, and just carry overstocks from bookstores that are being liquidated. It is, of course, always worth looking through what they have in stock, and sometimes you can find a book there that you would like to own. So, I generally check just to see if there is something I am interested in; but when I am looking for any specific kind of book, then I always search online where the selection is vast compared to even the best Dollar Store selection, or even the thrift store selection.
Yes! There are gems in dollar stores, such that I feel rewarded whenever I spot a good book in the middle of the usual romance paperbacks. I recall finding Anne of Green Gables and Hundred Secret Senses in my treasure hunting, and it brought me such joy to buy these classics at low prices. While I am a fan of hard copy books (versus e-books), I normally go for the more affordable books. I don't mind owning secondhand books for as long as they are in good condition. What matters is the content, anyway.
I have seen many good titles at the dollar stores but have never picked one up for myself since I am not really a book person. I have bought several books for my daughter that can be pricey at other stores, especially when they are hard covered. My daughter is a toddler so I find it very convinient buying cheaper books for her as they only tend to last a few months because of the way she handles them.
