Explore: To Buy or to Borrow, that is the Question
A peek into my book-buying and -borrowing habits
Choosing whether to buy or to borrow a book is certainly a subjective decision. Here’s how I tend to make the decision.
First of all, is it fiction or non-fiction? You’ll almost always find me borrowing fiction as an ebook from the library. Part of my nightly routine involves reading fiction for a while after I get settled in bed. The backlighting on my e-reader quashes the necessity of a book light, and the ease of holding the device prevents the performance of hand gymnastics required to hold a bulky book while I’m lying on my side.
Non-fiction is not my preference for bedtime reading, mainly because it tends to take more brain power, and I want to be sure I’m comprehending everything I’m reading. (With fiction, either it’s clear that I’m forgetting a little bit of the story and I can easily flip back a little bit in order to connect the dots, or a small gap simply doesn’t matter.)
For me, I might purchase non-fiction in hard- or softcover so I can underline or highlight and write notes in the margins. Or a non-fiction title might be something I will read via audiobook. It depends on the topic, the writing style, and my reasons for wanting to read the book.
In 2021, what I read as audiobooks were either memoir—Kate Bowler’s Everything Happens for a Reason and No Cure for Being Human—or educational—Quiet; The Confidence Code; and Self-Compassion.
The books I purchased in 2021—all from independent booksellers—were those I wanted to savor or have on hand to be able to return to in the future: Your Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor, When Women Were Birds by Terry Tempest Williams, Hungry Hearts edited by Jennifer Rudolph Walsh and all about love by bell hooks to list a few.
And there you have a little bit about how my book brain works. What about yours? Do you prefer hardcovers or paperbacks? Audiobooks or ebooks? Do you read different genres in different formats? I’m curious to learn a bit about your book brain too.