Hello readers! It’s time for a book tag. I came across another tag I am surprised I’ve never done before. This one centers on book-buying habits. My book-buying habits have changed a lot in the past 5 or so years.
This one was created by a Booktuber named Megan Oliver, who no longer has a channel.
Don’t forget to check out my Book Tag Masterlist for the 100+ book tags I’ve done before this one!
Where do you buy your books?
Mainly, I buy my books either from Books-A-Million or the library. I am a price-first buyer more often than not. I will try to find books on sale at BAM or very cheap ones at the library book sales.
Now that I think about it, I also use Audible. If I can’t get an audiobook I want on Libby or Hoopla, I will get it on Audible.
Do you ever preorder books, and if so, do you do this in-store or online?
I don’t usually do this, but I did this month. And I have one other I plan to preorder for October as well. I think I will continue to preorder books as long as I am super excited for them. I don’t want to get too out of hand.
The book I pre-ordered this month is Slewfoot. There is a limited edition coming out on September 1st. It’s my favorite book of 2026 so far, so I wanted to get the copy. It’s going to have special art in it that I know I’ll love owning as well.
The book coming out in October is a book in the Mr. Lemoncello series. It’s a Christmas book. It doesn’t look like it’s in the series, but adjacent to it. The series ended in 2024.
The only other book I preordered this year was a Warrior Cats graphic novel for my stepdaughter. I’ve been trying to slowly buy her all the books in this entire series in the past few years, and it has not been easy.
On average, how many books do you buy a month?
I have bought 10 books this year, which makes about 1.25 a month. I mean, I’ve bought probably 2 dozen for my future baby and probably 7 or 8 for my stepdaughter as well.
I’ve also purchased 5 books on Audible, which would make my average 1.88 per month. I cancelled my subscription about 2 months ago because I have plenty on there I haven’t listened to yet.
Did anyone know you can share Audible books with members of your family? I learned this last month, so I connected mine with my boyfriend’s. Now we both have access to each other’s titles.
Do you use your local library?
YES! I love to use the library. Not only for Libby and Hoopla, but we do go to the library in person every 1 to 2 months. Sometimes I don’t get to my books after the month, so we will skip a month.
If so, how many books can you/do you borrow at a time?
I have no idea if there is a limit on Libby. Hoopla has a limit of 5 items per month, so that is what I’d assume is the limit. For physical books, my library allows 100 at a time.
I usually only have one audiobook at a time, unless another comes in while I finish one. For library books, I usually borrow 5-8 at a time. I typically only physically check out graphic novels, so I’ll get 2 or 3 in a series at one time.
What is your opinion on library books?
I love supporting my local library. Libraries are so essential to the community, not only for books, but for other services as well.
I am a big supporter of reading a book from the library and then buying it after.
How do you feel about Charity shops/second-hand books?
I do typically love to buy 2nd hand books. I went to this bookstore last month where I traded in some of my books and got a few new ones. I don’t think I’d go there often because their used books are not in the best condition.
However, one I love to support is Better World Books, which is a website. They sell used books, some of which are old library books. I have a ton of used library books from libraries all over America.
Do you keep your read and TBR pile together/on the same bookshelf or not?
Yes, I do. I’ve tried to separate them, and it feels weird. I don’t like separating series or authors.
My shelves are typically sorted by genre. I used to always do it alphabetically, but I like this better.
Do you plan to read all the books you own?
If this prompt means that I want my TBR to be zero, I would say no. But if it’s asking if I intend to read books I own, of course.
What do you do with books you own that you feel you’ll never read/felt you didn’t enjoy?
I recently took a bunch of books to a used bookstore and traded them in. I’ve also taken books to the Little Free Library in my neighborhood. I’ve also passed books down to my stepdaughter if they are middle grade books.
In the past, I lived near a Half Price Books, which I loved going to all the time. I would take in books all the time and get new ones.
Have you ever donated books?
Yes! Once a year or so, I will go to the Little Free Library in my neighborhood and leave books in it.
Have you ever been on a book-buying ban?
Honestly, I have never done this. I have done a series ban where I won’t allow myself to read new series until I finish old ones.
At the point I am at in life, I don’t buy books at random. I know I most likely will not read a book I randomly pick up at the bookstore. 99% of the time, I will buy books in series I’ve already started, by authors I already know I like, or books I’ve already read and loved.
I’ve also kept track of my unread books over the years, so I’m not buying books and then having them sit on the shelf for years and years. Of course, I have a few. But it isn’t as bad as it was in my 20s.
Do you feel that you buy too many books?
I would say yes and no. Looking back, I’ve bought 112 physical books since I started this blog, which is roughly 18 books a year. Of those, I still have 50 unread, which is about 45%. For Audible, I have bought 11 books and listened to 5 of them.
Compared to many others who are in the book community, I’m sure my 45% isn’t that bad at all.
Happy blogging and bookish adventures! 📚🦒✨
This post was created by Allison Wolfe for www.allithebookgiraffe.com and is not permitted to be posted anywhere else.
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