Do you keep a book after you have read it?

@maximax8 (31055)
United Kingdom
December 10, 2007 9:43am CST
I might read a library book and enjoy it so much that I buy a copy and then keep it in my bookshelf. I sometimes buy books and don't enjoy them very much so I give them away. Travel books quickly get out of date so I tend to update these quite often. On the top shelf of my book case I have large books like atlases, on the middle shelf I travel books and on the lower shelf I have favorite novels and and few other books like non-fiction. Do you have loads of books or just a few? Do you keep a book after you have read it? Do you go to your local library and borrow books? What sort of books do you like to read?
12 people like this
65 responses
18 Jan 08
*looks at boxes of books* I need new bookshelves!! I have LOADS of books. My partner also has LOADS of books... *sigh* I never part with my books. I used to borrow books but I'd alway buy them afterwords. It's odd because I don't often re-read books. In fact the only books I have read more than once (fiction than it) are The Chronicles of Narnia and Watership Down. I read sci-fi mostly but also fantasy, horror and classical.
1 person likes this
@Fidget (291)
18 Jan 08
Books are my weakness. I try and avoid charity shops and boot sales otherwise I'll end up with a bag full. Then if I'm feeling down when out shopping I have to try and avoid going into a book shop and impulse buying! And then I hate to part with them. Probably why I have over 200 books, probably nearer 300. Fictionwise I favour Sci-fi and Fantasy, though historical fiction and other bits and pieces occasionally make an appearence. I also have a lot of books on archaeology, classical history, and mythology. I still use the library though. Got three books out this week - one fantasy, one historical and the third is 'modern' whatever that means (it seems more comic historical). Sometimes if I read a really good book from the library I will go out and buy it, usually from a secondhand website. Don't get me wrong, I like new books but I also like cheap books! As long as all the pages are there, I don't mind it's condition.
1 person likes this
@steerforth (1797)
• Italy
12 Dec 07
Generally I don't buy a book after have read it.
1 person likes this
• Singapore
10 Dec 07
Nah, very seldom. Because I read so much, I borrow practically all from the library. No matter how much I like a book, I still don't like to re-read it right away. I will perhaps borrow it again when I feel like reading it months or years later. But if it is a reference book, I may xero the relevant pages. I do this occasionally.
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
18 Dec 07
Thanks for your very good response. I think borrowing books from a library is a good idea. Reading the same book a few years later might mean you enjoy reading the book even more the second time you read it.
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
18 Dec 07
Thanks for your very good response. I think borrowing books from a library is a good idea. Reading the same book a few years later might mean you enjoy reading the book even more the second time you read it.
• China
22 Dec 07
when i like a book,i will buy on the internet,because it has a good discount,so after i buy a good book i will recommend to my friends and lend to him/her.but finaly i will keep it in my bookself.
@youless (112091)
• Guangzhou, China
12 Dec 07
Sure, I like keeping the books I've bought. I like reading. Even if I already finish reading it, I still like to read it some time in the future. Besides, I can also leave my books for my son and I don't think it'll be a waste to have lots of books at home.
1 person likes this
@tiffiny (872)
• United States
11 Dec 07
My friend told me that she will read a book and then give it away!!! I was so dumb founded. I will read a book put it on the shelf and then come back to it in a few months when I've forgotten exactly what happened in the book. I have a million books it seems. Not that many but alot.
@wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
10 Dec 07
I tend to only read books when I go on holiday or travelling on the train for a long period of time, I used to be an avid book reader until the internet came along, now guiltily I very seldom get the chance to read! Books as you know are soooo expensive to buy new, £7.99 for a new paperback is a rip off! I like to buy my books from Charity shops costing 50p each, it helps the charity and it helps my pocket out, once I finish with the book I will give it to my 88 year old neighbour to read. I love reading detective novels like Rebus and Margaret Yorke as well as a good Martina Cole, I have about a dozen books, I don't like keeping them because they take up too much space. I have still got my reference books from when I was studying at college, they were expensive and I might need them in the future for info etc.
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
10 Dec 07
It is lovely to choose some books at the airport before flying off on holiday or at a train station for a long train trip. Yes, books can be expensive, getting from a charity shop is a superb idea. I am sure that your neighbour appreciates getting some lovely books to read. I am also keen to avoid much clutter in my home but I do keep the books I love. Yes, I also keep books about teaching. Detective novels make an exiting read.
@Ravenladyj (22904)
• United States
10 Dec 07
Do you have loads of books or just a few? - LOL I have a fairly decent size collection of books and thats after selling a good 100 books.. Do you keep a book after you have read it? - if I borrow it from the library and like it yes i will go out and buy a copy. Do you go to your local library and borrow books? - Well the nearest decent library is about 25 mins away but when we do get the chance to go... What sort of books do you like to read? - classics, horror, some self help, lots of spiritual stuff and graphic novels (some)
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
10 Dec 07
Thanks for your excellent response. My nearest library is a twenty minute walk away and a mobile library van visits my area every two weeks. You like to read a variety of different types of books. So you sold the books you didn't want anymore to friends?
@babystar1 (4233)
• United States
10 Dec 07
I like reading very much. I usually read before I go to bed reading helps me to fall to sleep. I usually save all the books that I buy. Sometimes I give them to my friends to read and they return them to me.I usually dont go to the library,but I should it would save me some money on buying books. It does not make any difference what kind of book that I read just as long that i enjoy reading them.
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
10 Dec 07
Reading a book before you go to bed is a good idea so is giving some of your books to friends to read. It sounds like you really enjoy reading.
@beyonce03 (2331)
• Canada
10 Dec 07
Most of the time, I will buy a book that I want to read. I will buy a book from an author I like or that has been recommand by a friend that I know has the same taste as me :) I think I only have between 20-30 books because I start buying some only 3 years ago. I don,t buy a lot of books.
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
10 Dec 07
Thanks for your very good response. It sounds like you have quite a small number of books. It is wonderful when you find some excellent authors and you get a number of their books.
@whyaskq (7523)
• Singapore
10 Dec 07
I do not keep the book unless I buy it. I do not normally buy books as I could not have a home for them. Most of the times, I borrow from the library the books recommended by a friend. I no longer step into the library to browse for books to read. Naturally, I shun non-fictions. lol.
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
10 Dec 07
It is superb that you read books recommended by friends. Sometimes a person can spend ages in a library browsing at all the different books but you avoid doing this. Great.
• Singapore
10 Dec 07
So you must read a lot of fiction then.:P
1 person likes this
• Philippines
10 Dec 07
Ummm...that really depends if I enjoyed reading that book a lot. It is quite surprising that I don't have a stack of books with me considering how much I love to read. Most of the books that I read are borrowed ones. I can't afford buying all the books that I want to read because it seems faster for me to read than to earn money to buy a book. It falls under my luxury budget for now. I have other priorities. Anyway, a book doesn't stay long in my arms because I read a book as fast as I can once I start reading. However, I really plan to collect the books that I read and I enjoyed reading them. I hope someday, I can achieve that and I'll be surrounded with books I love. Have a great day and enjoy reading!
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
10 Dec 07
I can see that you really love books and reading. It is a great to borrow books and perhaps write down the title and author of the ones you like most. I also read quite fast. When I was studying English Literature we were meant to read each book three times. I still have some of these books that I really loved. I hope that you are having a lovely days and are enjoying reading some lovely books.
@Sillychick (3275)
• United States
10 Dec 07
I keep my favorites. I have probably 100 books that I have read that I hang on to because I think I will want to read them again, some I have already read 2 or 3 times. I need to start getting rid of some, since I keep adding more, and I don't have a whole lot of space to keep many more. I often give them away or trade with someone.
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
10 Dec 07
Yes, it easy to ruin out of space for anymore books. Trading books with a friend is a superb idea. Many thanks for your wonderful response.
@tmg761 (19)
• Denmark
24 Feb 08
Yes I do - books are like treasures to me, so I keep a lot of them. I have quite a lot of books and I sort through them sometimes in order to make room for new ones, but some books will allways stay with me because they have a special significance. When I pick up these books I remember how they made me feel, when I read them. I borrow from the library but not very often because I would like to own books that are important to me.
@nancyrowina (3850)
19 Feb 08
I have hundreds of books and if I like when I read it I keep it. I've just started trying to sell some of the books I didn't like that much on eBay but it's hard, I had to list them twice and I've still only sold two. I don't use the local library anymore as I have two books that were due back years ago and it's just too embarrassing to take them back. I don't seem to have enough time for reading anymore I used to read books really quickly but now it can take me months just to finish one. I like fiction and biographies of people who I find interesting, along with non-fiction books about my interests and hobbies.
• China
14 Feb 08
I like reading books, and I like buying books too. I'm not sure how many books I've bought. When I'm free I'm going to the bookstores. If I find a book interesting after just reading several pages I begin to have an urge to buy it. So I've got a lot of books now. Some of them I've finished and some I just read part of it. I like history very much. The stories of emperors and deologists, the culture of each dynasties let me fell very rich.
@manya_pearl (1901)
• Singapore
23 Feb 08
Yes, i have load of books and i keep them. But i still go to library to borrow books because there are many collections that i want to read. I like detective novels and funny stories.
• Estonia
20 Feb 08
I am studying film making and I travel a lot because of my occupation, so it is a luxury to me to have a huge collection of books, simply because I still do not have a place to settle down - but once I have found a nice place to live somewhere on Earth, I will definitely start collecting books again. I used to buy books when I was a student in a philological university, and I still keep them all in my parents' place, and never give or sell them away.
@JAYMAR777 (840)
• Philippines
19 Feb 08
I do keep the books. depending on its content. i normally keep the books that influence me. i sort of read it again to refresh myself. yes i do. i wish i could have a library of choice books that my children's children.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
19 Feb 08
I don't buy many books anymore, I mainly use the local library. I read mostly Christian fiction, but if a particular book is recommended to me that I like, I'd buy it if it was something I'd like to refer to again. Example: Inspirational, nutrition, medical, spiritual, etc