Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Committing to a Book

I miss the good old days when you went to the bookstore to search for a new book to read. I remember begging my mom to drive me to Barnes and Noble where I search the young adult aisles furiously for interesting novels. There would always be so many! Then I'd tell my mom I was ready and she would tell me I could only get a couple out of my pile because, looking back, they were pretty expensive.

Now I find myself browsing Amazon but not finding nearly as many as I remember. Is it because my taste has changed? Or because I am just too afraid to commit to a book that I can't open to some random page and read to determine if it's interesting to me?

I've found that I have that problem more often than not these days. Every time I find a good read I hesitate on purchasing it because I'm afraid that I will absolutely hate the book and have wasted my money. I know it sounds silly and all the books I've looked at are great, but every time there's that thought lingering in the back of my mind.

Does anybody else have this problem?

9 comments:

loverofwords said...

I have a huge stack of books by my bed -- Some library, some bought at the library where they have a book store. I donate the books back and I have a friend in Florida where I send my better books. If you don't like the book, you can always donate it, just don't feel guilty.

Guilie Castillo said...

Absolutely, Jenn. Although I've come to--rather reluctantly--embrace the e-book, simply because in this rocky island where I live the possibility of finding good literature in either of our two bookstores (two! imagine!), in English, is at best slim, I don't enjoy reading those as much as I do the actual physical book. As for ordering online, whether e-books or physical ones, I agree it's a lot harder. Like you, I love to browse bookstores. The more obscure the better :) Whenever I'm in the US I spend way more on books than on anything else--including *bags*, which are an addiction of mine :)

Carmen said...

My best suggestion - because I'm a librarian LOL is to "try" the book from your local library first. Then, if you LOVE IT, go ahead and buy it!

I'll have to follow your blog to see what you decide to do next. hahaha
Carmen

T. Powell Coltrin said...

Here from the A-Z saying Hi.

Anonymous said...

I rarely buy books...the library is my friend.

S. L. Hennessy said...

I'm the opposite. I could go broke on amazon. I had to be cut off. I simply love books. But I do try and hit up the library when I can.

Happy A through Z blogging!
http://pensuasion.blogspot.com/

Kathy Skinner (Kat) said...

I love purchasing used books but enjoy a new book now and then. I am reluctant to try new authors sometimes because I don't want to be disappointed.

Danielle said...

Library. I go to the library every week and get a stack. The ones I love, I eventually purchase. I usually do this with series, test out the first one and if it's good enough, buy the rest.

Unknown said...

Just stopping by from the a-z challenge. I definitely get what you're talking about here. I'm the same way. Looking at books online is nothing like being able to hold a book in your hand, really look it over and make an informed decision. There's nothing like a real book.