Book Shopping With Intention

Book Shopping With Intention

Hello everyone and welcome back to Chronicles & Coffee! I am so glad you were able to take some time and click on this post, it really means a lot to me!

Today I wanted to post a brief intermission to all of the book reviews I have been supplying to talk about a conscious and subconscious and muscle memory and… well, the intent that comes with book shopping.

The way to burn a hole in our pockets.

I cannot do that anymore. I have groceries to buy.

So, here I am to talk about book shopping with intention! And just a disclaimer, in no way am I saying it is bad to just have no idea what you want and just buying books to buy them is bad… I do that half the time. This is just a wake up call and reassurance for even myself as I write this, that buying books I am actually excited for is just that much more better.

So, first off, how do we find books that we want to read?

That’s easy! Social media and Goodreads! It really is easy, I am not being sarcastic. Follow some bookstagrammers, booktubers, book twitter creators and bloggers. Go on Goodreads and read the lists of recommendations in the genres you prefer.

Don’t know what genre you want to read? Take a look at your past reads and divide them into what you enjoyed versus what you did not. What is the pattern you see? Want to venture out? What are your favorite book content creators into?

There are so many processes of elimination, it really is the world at your fingertips which can get overwhelming.

To become less overwhelmed, you might want to just buy every type of genre in order to see what you like best. Here are some tips for that.

Go to the library. You don’t even have to check any books out, just set aside an hour or two in your day to browse the literal labeled sections and read the recommendations on the shelves. Also, all indie bookstores, or most for that matter, have little cards under workers’ favorite books usually. Or simply ask a librarian or bookseller their favorite reads.

They work at a bookstore, they love these questions.

And here is the mindset I tell myself with the library, as someone who loves to own my own books. Read the book you check out, if you love it enough take yourself to Barnes and Noble and buy it afterward.

Another option for you buying lovers like myself is Thriftbooks! This is an online new and used, but usually used, bookstore with books at such a discounted rate it will likely blow your mind. And if you sign up you get to earn points towards a free book! No sponsorship here, just avoiding any gatekeeping because you all need to check it out.

Thriftbooks.com

And speaking of thrifting, go to thrift stores! General shops like Goodwill or book second hand stores. I have an amazing book store in two locations in my hometown that takes books for cash and then lets you use that credit. All their books are 10% off even if new and then used ones have even bigger discounts.

Research your local shops, you never know what you will find!

Another book website is Book Outlet, I used to buy from them all the time! Even Amazon always has books on sale as well as Target with their 20-30% off all books in store!

To shop with intention means to pay attention to your best option economically as well as interest. I used to just buy books to buy them and have ended up reselling them. Your home library should be filled with small specks of your personality, not random loose articles that have nothing to do with your left brain.

I hope some of these shoutouts and tips have encouraged you to think deeper about your book buying extravaganza!

See you soon!

Olivia B.