Why Buy Books on Retail? 20 Frank Answers About What’s in It For You
- Books just might be the best gift out there – easy to wrap without a box, and you can make the bookstore a one-stop holiday shopping site. It’s also probably the only present you can use beforehand without depreciating its value – if you’re careful. Just remove the book jacket until you’re finished reading. Gently used books can be donated to the public library or bookmobiles. Books in excellent condition (again, that white glove treatment) can be donated to charity auctions – or regifted.
- It’s an asset you don’t have to worry about losing to theft – unless, of course, you own Abbie Hoffman’s Steal This Book. If someone breaks into your home or dorm room, they’ll head for your laptop, DVD player, and TV – not your library.
- Books make a room interesting – color without too much uncontrolled visual clutter. Buying a new coffee-table book lets you control the appearance of what’s lying around your house. A new, unworn book jazzes up a space like a freshly painted wall or a gleaming new appliance. And it lasts longer than flowers.
- Loaning a book is a great way to cement a connection to a friend or acquaintance.
- Yes, you should use your library – but owning one means remembering to return, renew, and pay overdue fees.
- Visiting bookstores exposes you to titles that you may not find in the library. Bookstores expose the public to books, CDs, DVDs, and publications with limited circulation that you might not otherwise know about. The bookstore’s also the best source for calendars, planners, and other published materials.
- Being the first to read a book makes you cool. And it’s cheaper than an iPod.
- It’s a great conversation starter with strangers when you carry it around. Especially during those times when you really have to say something to them but can't think of a damn thing to start with. (Assuming you don’t insist on burying your nose in it in public.)
- A bookstore’s a place to get away from it all. You never know what you might find in there. A cheaper escape than a spa or salon, and nobody has to touch you.
- A bookstore’s a place for lectures, poetry readings, author appearances, and much, much more. Buy patronizing them, you’re supporting the arts.
- You’re supporting the American economy – and authors. Okay, most major publishing houses are owned by one of six worldwide conglomerates. But the goods these big guys won’t give you cancer.
- You’re exposed to art in subtle, subconscious ways – graphic design on covers.
- You can soothe that shopping bug just as easily with books as with shoes – and they’ll look just as good when your mood changes.
- It’s portable entertainment – cheaper than an iPod, and helps you tolerate road trips and coach seats on airplanes.
- Being a bookworm is a comparatively cheap, low-maintenance hobby.
- It’s more relaxing. It’s much easier to curl up with a book than it is to curl up with a laptop.
- Instant gratification – the more books you read, the more your tastes will develop.
- You’re exposed to architecture and culture of countries you may never visit. Travel books become outdated by the time they reach the library or a friend loans them to you.
- Kids get attached to certain books. Often a book becomes a memento of a time in your life or an era of history in which it was published. Some books you’ll want to loan or donate. Some are keepers.
- Reading new “titles” keeps you current. Even buying contemporary fiction keeps you up-to-date with current events and all things social. Every retail season sees books that are shaping culture and the history of literature and the world at large.
