I saw this over at Zezee’s blog, Zezee with Books and thought it was fun, so here’s the Book Buying Habits Tag created by booktuber Megan Olivier.

Where do you buy your books?

I buy most of my books from the used bookstore downtown. After that, it’s Barnes & Noble, the indie bookshop downtown. I started using BookOutlet more often during quarantine, but now that the bookstores are opening up again, I can walk into (with a mask) two of the three bookstores I shop at in town.

While the used bookstore isn’t fully open yet, they’ve been posting photos of their New Arrivals shelves, and I’ve found several books because of those pictures. And if there’s a particular book I want in general or need for research, I send them a message to ask if they have what I’m looking for. It’s worked well so far, but I’m looking forward to the days where I can browse for an hour or two, chat with the staff, and play with the cats.

Do you ever preorder books and if so, do you do this in store or online?

I’ve pre-ordered two books so far this year. One was online, and the other was in store. I might pre-order a 2021 book I’m looking forward to, but mostly I don’t even think about pre-ordering, and I just buy the book at the store after the release date.

On average, how many books do you buy a month?

Usually, maybe five or so. But thanks to quarantines and not being able to see my friends or go do things, I’ve been buying more books than normal. In July, for example, I bought ten.

Do you use your local library?

Yes! All the time! I feel strangely unmoored if I haven’t been to the library at least a couple of times each week. It was awful when it was closed to walk-in traffic.

If so – how many books can you/do you borrow at a time?

It depends. Usually I only check out one or two items at a time, but– like right now– when I’m doing research for something, I’ll have more out at a time. At the moment, I have seven items on my shelves. Most of them are for the research I’m doing for my next story.

What is your opinion on library books?

Library books are awesome. There aren’t enough of them.

How do you feel about charity shops/second-hand books?

They’re great! They make up most of my collection.

Do you keep your read and TBR pile together/on the same bookshelf or not?

I used to, but it didn’t help me to make my TBR any smaller, so I just put everything back together.

Do you plan to read all the books you own?

Yes. I bought them because I thought I would enjoy them or gain some new insight because of them. It might take a while to get to them, but eventually I will read them.

What do you do with books you own that you feel you’ll never read/felt you didn’t enjoy?

If they’re in good shape, I sell them to the used bookstore for store credit. I’ve bought and sold so many books from them that it feels like I rent their books, rather than owning them.

Have you ever donated books?

Yes. Quite often. I’ve donated to the library on many occasions, and if the used bookstore doesn’t buy the books I’m selling, I usually just leave them in the ‘free books’ boxes they have outside their door.

Do you feel that you buy too many books?

Absolutely not. My shelves are not falling over and there is space to walk around in my apartment, so I don’t have too many books. What kind of a silly question is this?