I'm embarking on my FOURTH year of the 50 book challenge. It's funny that so many people in my world balk at that idea, yet I browse around the web and see people that easily double or triple that goal. I'm still proud of myself for reading 152 books in the last 3 years - especially since they're such a variety. Here's to a new year chockablock of books!
- B
Thursday, January 14, 2010
A Guide To Buying Books
This post is indeed the first thing I've ever written in this blog - officially. This blog - B(u)y The Book serves as a place to both review the books I've read over the last three years and moving forward, with a special bonus for readers - a guide to a book's buyability (yay invented words).
So when I say buyability, I'm basing it on personal preference. Don't get me wrong, I own *most* of the books reviewed in this blog, but many were gifts, many were freebies, and many are some I wish I didn't buy after all.
Here's my quick rubric though:
8-10: Buy it - it's completely worth rereading and lending to everyone you know.
6-7: Ask for it as a gift, or worth a buy off the bargain table / used book stores / to top up that Amazon order for free shipping.
4-5: Split the cost with a friend, or wait till it's at the library.
2-3: If it crosses your path in some way, worth a read, but not really worth seeking it out.
0-1: Don't bother reading this, period.
I almost never buy a book after I've read it - although many people I know do. Over the last few years I've *had* a book buying problem, which I've recently curbed due to an overflowing end table and a renewed library card. So here we go, the ten points of book buyability. In theory you could rank every book you're going to buy on these points, but more often than not they're not all applicable - a debut book with a ton of buzz won't match up to most of these characteristics.
Note that although there are ten items on this list, each item does not count for one point based on the rubric above!
SERIES? - Sometimes a book is really buyable because you want to complete or continue a series. It's buyable because you've read other books in the series and anticipate you'll love this one (and therefore MUST get it right away rather than wait it out at the library) and would like to round out your set.
REREADABILITY? - Whether you're judging this category on your past experience with an author or series, or on your actual experience reading a book and then considering buying it, the number of times you'll read a book is a critical part of deciding whether to buy it. Just like how you justify to yourself that if you buy a $300 skirt and wear it 10 times you've practically made it worth it.
AUTHOR? - Sometimes ya just want to buy the latest from your favourite author. There are devotees to authors - whether part of a series or not - that will make a reader come back again and again. Obviously the buyability factor here is subjective :)
LENDABILITY? - Also supremely key for me anyway, is whether I anticipate those around me will want to read the books I buy. I have several mini 'lending' clubs with my friends and their books on loan make up a good chunk of my to read pile. I in turn consider - is this a book that would really just interest me (and can therefore wait till the library has it available?) or can I see my friends loving it as well?
URGENCY? - Got a cliffhanger that you KNOW will get spoiled if you don't buy it right away? This is mostly for big publishing phenomenons like the latest JK Rowling or Dan Brown...and not really applicable to stuff like Shakespeare :)
AVAILABILITY? - Maybe it's an obscure title you know your library will never get in. Maybe when you DO browse your library's catalogue you see there's 96 requests on it thus nullifying the chances you'll ever get it in a timely manner. It's easier to buy sometimes, plain and simple.
LENGTH? - If a book is really long, dense, or worthy of rereading for studying purposes, it might be worth it to have a copy in your library. An example would be something like a guide to your favourite TV show that numbers in the 600 page range (yeah I have a few of those) or the 500-page biography of a well-known politico. I call these books 'reference' books because they aren't necessarily (save for dense bios) meant to be read in one three-week library takeout period.
SELLABILITY? - Still not keen on buying new books for eco-friendly or whatever reasons? Consider the life cycle of a book. If some of the other factors on this list don't add up, consider how much you'll make by selling it to a used book seller. If a book is in good condition, in demand, and of higher-quality materials (like a hardcover) you can recoup up to $7 or $8 depending on where you go - about half the cost of what the book likely cost you.
BUZZ? - Sometimes a book just gets so much buzz you can't help but wonder what the fuss is about. If you want to be in the loop and be able to give your opinions on the forthcoming movie adaptation, the number of best seller lists it ended up on, or the way it keeps on getting canned, you might just pick it up based on endless buzz.
WANT? - This is an easy one. See, want, order.
So when I say buyability, I'm basing it on personal preference. Don't get me wrong, I own *most* of the books reviewed in this blog, but many were gifts, many were freebies, and many are some I wish I didn't buy after all.
Here's my quick rubric though:
8-10: Buy it - it's completely worth rereading and lending to everyone you know.
6-7: Ask for it as a gift, or worth a buy off the bargain table / used book stores / to top up that Amazon order for free shipping.
4-5: Split the cost with a friend, or wait till it's at the library.
2-3: If it crosses your path in some way, worth a read, but not really worth seeking it out.
0-1: Don't bother reading this, period.
I almost never buy a book after I've read it - although many people I know do. Over the last few years I've *had* a book buying problem, which I've recently curbed due to an overflowing end table and a renewed library card. So here we go, the ten points of book buyability. In theory you could rank every book you're going to buy on these points, but more often than not they're not all applicable - a debut book with a ton of buzz won't match up to most of these characteristics.
Note that although there are ten items on this list, each item does not count for one point based on the rubric above!
SERIES? - Sometimes a book is really buyable because you want to complete or continue a series. It's buyable because you've read other books in the series and anticipate you'll love this one (and therefore MUST get it right away rather than wait it out at the library) and would like to round out your set.
REREADABILITY? - Whether you're judging this category on your past experience with an author or series, or on your actual experience reading a book and then considering buying it, the number of times you'll read a book is a critical part of deciding whether to buy it. Just like how you justify to yourself that if you buy a $300 skirt and wear it 10 times you've practically made it worth it.
AUTHOR? - Sometimes ya just want to buy the latest from your favourite author. There are devotees to authors - whether part of a series or not - that will make a reader come back again and again. Obviously the buyability factor here is subjective :)
LENDABILITY? - Also supremely key for me anyway, is whether I anticipate those around me will want to read the books I buy. I have several mini 'lending' clubs with my friends and their books on loan make up a good chunk of my to read pile. I in turn consider - is this a book that would really just interest me (and can therefore wait till the library has it available?) or can I see my friends loving it as well?
URGENCY? - Got a cliffhanger that you KNOW will get spoiled if you don't buy it right away? This is mostly for big publishing phenomenons like the latest JK Rowling or Dan Brown...and not really applicable to stuff like Shakespeare :)
AVAILABILITY? - Maybe it's an obscure title you know your library will never get in. Maybe when you DO browse your library's catalogue you see there's 96 requests on it thus nullifying the chances you'll ever get it in a timely manner. It's easier to buy sometimes, plain and simple.
LENGTH? - If a book is really long, dense, or worthy of rereading for studying purposes, it might be worth it to have a copy in your library. An example would be something like a guide to your favourite TV show that numbers in the 600 page range (yeah I have a few of those) or the 500-page biography of a well-known politico. I call these books 'reference' books because they aren't necessarily (save for dense bios) meant to be read in one three-week library takeout period.
SELLABILITY? - Still not keen on buying new books for eco-friendly or whatever reasons? Consider the life cycle of a book. If some of the other factors on this list don't add up, consider how much you'll make by selling it to a used book seller. If a book is in good condition, in demand, and of higher-quality materials (like a hardcover) you can recoup up to $7 or $8 depending on where you go - about half the cost of what the book likely cost you.
BUZZ? - Sometimes a book just gets so much buzz you can't help but wonder what the fuss is about. If you want to be in the loop and be able to give your opinions on the forthcoming movie adaptation, the number of best seller lists it ended up on, or the way it keeps on getting canned, you might just pick it up based on endless buzz.
WANT? - This is an easy one. See, want, order.
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