Monday, November 13, 2006

Your Money or Your Life?

See what the New Yorker has to say about your raging book habit (thanks to educating alice for the link, you can check out the actual article in last week’s New Yorker).

Thoughts?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I choose hard cover novels over high-yield bonds. Economists and financial planners be damned.

Beautiful Food Gardens said...

LOL

I always buy paperbacks. Nothing to do with the price, I just like them better.

Anonymous said...

Not buy books???? What is the world coming to? Bonds never kept you entertained while stuck at the DMV, doing laundry, getting the oil changed, etc... Bonds never kept me awake at night, trembling with fear or excitement. And Bonds certainly didn't make me read by flashlight, under the covers long after "lights out". No siree, no Bonds for me!
Check books out of the library, indeed. Harumph! What do you mean I have to give it back?! (Course I've learned the hard way that those late fees can really add up, so I might as well buy the damn book anyway).

Hell, the only reason I work is to support my book habit.

Gari

ebbye said...

I understand that buying new hardcover books are expensive but feel that if that is what someone spends their money on then who is to tell them to visit a casino or whatever else was recommended in the article.
I have also not heard of books blocking storm drains or people reading a book not keeping their place and throwing them away!(can anyone give me factual statistics of this happening?)
I am a second hand book seller and sell my books at fair prices, despite how new they are and what they are worth - to encourage the love of reading.
People spend thousands of dollars on dining out and takeaways, clothes, music, gym clothes - let's compare statistics here!
I love that people are reading and buying books and wanting to own books and pass them on to other readers. I sell second hand to lower the expense and because new books are expensive! But all shops have discounts - even new ones and libraries encourage a love of reading and borrowing.
And what is criminal about making money from novels and bestsellers?
Surely buying books is better than visiting casinos?
May people never stop reading or want to read how they chose, at libraries, a brand new book or one that has been passed along!

Anonymous said...

I spend a lot of my income on books and the ironic thing is I work in a library! You would think I would never need to darken the door of a bookstore, but half the fun is browsing around in one which I cannot do in the library anymore as people will bother me thinking I'm on the clock when I'm not. I have to be there 2 hours before we open and that's when I choose reading material, but even then there is not much time as there are other things to do. If you really love to read, you will not care how much money you are throwing away on books. After all, it's just money, right?:) It's all a matter of where your priorities are.

Anonymous said...

It's great to read an article with both truth and humor in it. Obviously there aren't books blocking storm drains, but people who read voraciously can go through a lot of money on books, even if they're only paperbacks. And most books we buy are only read a few times. But people who are addicted to Starbucks go through a lot of money too ($3x5 days per weekx52 weeks per year...). We all have our passions, it's just a matter of maxmizing what you get out of your money. If it's a book that draws you in instantly and you want to share with others, buy it. If it's a book that looks like it will pass a rainy weekend or a sunny day at the beach (they'll come again...), then get it from the library. My only warning - be wary of "collecting." I mean really, does it matter if you have the whole series from the same publisher in matching format? BSC is laughing right now because she knows this is my downfall - I like things that match, but I am trying to adjust. And if you have the whole series so you can share the wonder with others, do so - don't be afraid of someone (like your older sister) losing a book from the middle of the series, it can be replaced if it really matters. We'll see if I can follow my own advice.
The Druggie
P.S. Textbooks cost waaaaaay more than novels and I hardly ever read those, what a waste : )

Bernita said...

WWhy can't they just leave my addiction alone and let me go to hell in my own fashion?

Anonymous said...

I'll give up my phone and television before books. Books are the ONE item that is NEVER restricted no matter how tight the budget. And I do reread them, I do, I do! Even if it might be several years later. (Where's my Gellis series? I'm having a drop in my romance levels.......)