https://www.thriftbooks.com/ is my goto website for used books
Ask HN: If you prefer physical books, how do you read without breaking the bank?
11–14 of 14 posts
Re: Ask HN: If you prefer physical books, how do you read without breaking the bank?
#12I consider books like food. If you go cheap on them, it is only you who is left lacking.
If you can't afford a book you really need, look at other parts of your life and figure out where that money is going. That's not the answer for everything, for sure. But the latte factor does put a huge dent in the affordability of more important things.
It's like smokers who complain they can't afford groceries for their families. Prioritize cigarettes versus the well being of the family, and then go from there.
If reading is important, look at where your money is going that isn't important, and adjust what you can. If not all the way, it'll at least get you closer to your real goals.
Re: Ask HN: If you prefer physical books, how do you read without breaking the bank?
#13Ever since I was 16, I had a rule: never save money on books. If you try to save, you introduce disincentives: a. You may not buy certain books b. You may end up waiting for some books (lib etc), and reduce your chance of reading them c. You may take excessive care of the books (esp ofc if you need to return them): this makes it harder for you to mark it up, which is a great way to learn I don’t think these disincent…
The best books I have are marked up and dog-eared to the point they could never be resold.
I think that's a good indicator of how good a book is.
Re: Ask HN: If you prefer physical books, how do you read without breaking the bank?
#14As previously mentioned, the library. The argument that one has to wait sometimes is superfluous. Anyone saying such a thing isn’t a regular library user. Whatever is popular for the moment is just that: popular for the moment. It will pass. Almost never does a book need to be read the year it comes out. I mean, after all, if you value books, you value in-depth reading that provides perspective. As an example, when “…
"The modernist clamor for “the new” is dumbing down recent generations. Maybe what people really need to do is to read the existing books in the stacks so they can stop wasting time and money chasing the latest hip and trendy best seller that will supposedly cure all our ills."
That's one of my hobbies. For example, a lot of "new" modern magic and mentalism is based on material that was in print even as far back as 500 years ago (although incredibly hard to read!). I actively search out original sources, and find a lot of great "new" (as in "forgotten") material in the process.
That goes for other subjects as well, but magic and mentalism is a good example of how extreme it can get.