Today I indulged in one of my favourite guilty pleasures by stopping by the bookstore after work. I happened to see A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan on the shelf and remembered Lupita Reads‘ recommendation and excitedly picked it up. This made me think about my other recent purchases and it made me realize that I do most of my book discovery online. More specifically, my book blogger friends and publishers’ social media accounts play a huge role in introducing me to my next read.
In my publishing class, we learned about consumer habits in terms of book purchasing. I learned that books bought in non-bookstore environments (such as Costco) are more likely to be impulse buys, whereas the majority of people shopping at independent bookstores have a specific title in mind when they visit.
In terms of discovery, it seems like word-of-mouth is still the most effective way to help a book gain traction. Of course, a lot of our word-of-mouth communication has moved online.
And, while I’m sure there is some sort of bias in this sample (note: this is my attempt at sounding scientific), I want to hear how you discover books!
When was the last time you bought a book impulsively? Where were you? Where do you find out about new books? (eg. a newspaper’s books section, bestellser lists, bloggers, etc!)
One More Page... 
Oh I am the most impulsive book shopper ever! I constantly walk into a book store to kill time or recover my mojo and end up walking out with piles of books. Sometimes just because I see them and they look great, sometimes it’s a book I didn’t realize was already out, often it’s a book I’ve been hearing about online. I went to the library today and thought about it even less.
Ha–you are indeed one crazy (in a good way) bibliophile. I love how you sweetly confess your book binging.
No sense hiding it hahahah
I can’t think of the last time I bought a book on impulse, though I must have. It usually happens when I have a fierce desire to read everything but the books I own.
The last time I bought a book without thinking twice was right after the Giller prize longlist came out, and I realized that Anakana Schofield had another book out. I immediately ordered it, so that I wouldn’t forget (I loved Malarky). Also, I knew our library wouldn’t get it in for a million years. It arrived yesterday – yay!
However, I don’t usually impulse buy, because I need the money to feed and clothe my children. 🙂 But, I’m a huge impulse ‘book-holder’ at the library. And, I get most of my recommendations on-line from bloggers.
i impulsively buy books from half price book stores, although I did just buy a book of poetry off amazon after finding some good quotes on goodreads
Last book I bought was The Illegal by Lawrence Hill… last week! Totally planned, I loved his previous book. I bought it online.
I have no preferred way to find/get new books. I use the library a lot (life saver) for books I hear of from the Internet (blogs, twitter, magazines…), but I also (though rarely) buy books on a whim at book stores or online. I also have a list of books I want to get and just hunt for those books in second-hand book stores. I buy loads of second-hand books.
Basically I have a want-to-read list and get those books the way I can. Every so often I’d buy a brand-new book on a complete whim but rarely… I mean a $30 brand new hardcover is at least 15 second-hand trade paperbacks at my thrift store so…
I find most of the books I want to read online, mostly through other bloggers and booktubers, and also from people I follow on twitter. When I go into a bookshop though, I do like to browse, and often come away with things I’d never heard of before 🙂
I’m such an impulsive book buyer that I’ve stopped going to bookstores on pay day. But now I’ve developed an impulsive book rental habit at the new library around the corner. Otherwise, I mostly find my books through friends.
I find most of the books I want to read next from blogs and Instagram! There is this account called Subway Book Review that I absolutely love and appreciate seeking out folks who are reading on the subway in NYC and getting their honest opinions about the book they are reading – no time to come up with a perfectly written review, it’s all natural and off the cuff! Following bloggers on Pinterest is fun since I am a visual learner and am afraid to say that I do judge a book by it’s cover :(. Those grammers know how to win me over with the way they stage their bookstagrams!